Razorbacks always prepared for a victory

There doesn’t seem to be a logical explanation.

The University of Arkansas Razorbacks are 16-6 overall and 4-5 in SEC play.

Tuesday night’s overtime loss to No. 11 Auburn, 79-76, was another head scratcher.

Not that the Razorbacks lost. No, Eric Musselman did not let the air out of the ball with the Razorbacks leading 65-54 with 5:59 to play.

From that point on, only five shots were attempted by anyone other than Mason Jones.

That a team with literally no height and no depth — and the bench is even shorter with the loss of Isaiah Joe to knee surgery — somehow played 19-2 Auburn, who had just beaten Kentucky, into overtime is the question.

In overtime, the game was lost on what appeared to be a phantom foul call on Desi Sills defending a three-point shot that wasn’t going in no matter what.

There was 1:42 to play, which is a ton of time in basketball, but the Hogs lost their best defender in Sills, who also had 14 points. Even more importantly, he had four steals.

That left the Hogs with one true jump shooter, Jones, who was absolutely amazing.

Jones played all but 25 seconds and was still standing at the end. He finished with 40 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.

If he’s not the most improved player in the SEC, then no one is. He should be a shoo-in for SEC player of the year.

Auburn is probably a No. 5 seed, maybe a No. 4, in the NCAA Tournament. Consider these games, too. The Hogs lost at LSU — ranked No. 18 and another NCAA Tournament team — 79-77 when they were outrebounded 53-24. LSU had 23 offensive rebounds to the Hogs’ 3.

They lost to No. 15 Kentucky when the Hogs were outrebounded 47-29.

They lost at Mississippi State, who is on the NCAA Tournament bubble, 77-70.

They also lost at home to South Carolina in arguably their worst played game of the season, 79-77, although they almost overcame a sixpoint halftime deficit.

No, Musselman did not lose the Auburn game Tuesday night.

The team was gassed the last five minutes of regulation and into overtime. Auburn’s nine-man rotation — the Hogs are basically down to six now — is why the Tigers have won 20 games.

When this season started, the best guess here was the Hogs would go 16-15 and get ready for Musselman’s first real recruiting class.

Instead, they have gone on the road and beat Indiana, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss and Alabama. They are 4-3 on the road.

Of their final nine games, six are winnable. OK, all of them are winnable when you throw in the fact that this team is mentally and physically tough and always ready.

Jones has become the most complete player in the SEC, but how many of these Hogs could start for Kentucky, Auburn or LSU? Their success is almost unfathomable.

What doesn’t defy logic is their incredible heart and desire.

They didn’t give up against Auburn. They hit a wall. If the referees hadn’t eliminated Sills from the action, the outcome might have been different.

As disappointing as the loss to Auburn was, it is not on the back burner — it’s off the stove.

Before the players left the locker room to get some much needed rest, they had a complete and total breakdown of the Missouri Tigers.

Perhaps that preparation explains why this team so often finds a way to win or at least have a shot to win.

Nolan Richardson had his five P’s, and they started with preparation.

So far, no one has been better prepared than the Razorbacks.