Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Muss will try to convince his Hogs
FAYETTEVILLE — Eric Musselman stares directly into an incentive dilemma.
How can Arkansas’ coach convince his Razorbacks (14-14, 5-10 SEC), who last Tuesday became the first SEC team to lose a home game to Vanderbilt, that they can upset the fabled 16th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats (20-8, 10-5) today at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky.?
CBS televises today’s 12:30 p.m. tip-off.
Musselman’s answer may come more readily than most would think.
For this season the Hogs, formerly enjoying among the nation’s best homecourt advantages, have found life on the road more bearable than some embarrassments at Walton Arena. Arkansas’ 2023-2024 vicissitudes at Walton apexed with full house October and November victories over No. 1 Purdue in an exhibition game and then beating No. 7 Duke in one that counted.
The Auburn Tigers bulldozed those giddy highs, routing Arkansas 83-51 in the Walton SEC opener.
Other SEC Walton washouts include Tennessee’s 46-23 second half winning 92-63 and South Carolina winning wire to wire and now Vandy victorious.
Other than victories over Texas A&M, Missouri and Georgia, Kentucky represents the brightest spot on Arkansas’ Walton ledger. Until running out of gas with Kentucky closing an 8-0 run, the Razorbacks battled hard in a 63-57 loss.
Given Kentucky was leading the nation in scoring, Arkansas allowing a mere 63 points was a nationally stunning defensive stat.
However Kentucky’s Antonio Reeves, 24 points, and Reed Sheppard, 14 including seven putting the game away, still starred.
Arkansas big man Makhi Mitchell, 12 points and 13 rebounds, was especially effective against Coach John Calipari’s Wildcats.
Until Vanderbilt, Mitchell has been superb as Arkansas’ best big man alternating with Chandler Lawson in an otherwise 4-guard lineup while forwards Trevon Brazile and Jalen Graham rested injuries.
Brazile is two games returned and Graham will play, too, Musselman said providing an alternative to playing four guards all the time.
“I think we’ll end up playing a little bit bigger down the stretch than the four guards,” Musselman said Thursday.
Expect one guard, hot hand Khalif Battle, 42 points and 36 points his last two games, in the Arkansas mix regardless.
“He’s a player that’s in a groove right now,” Musselman said. “He’s got great confidence. Guys have done a good job getting him the ball. We’ve tried to add some sets to get him some different looks, and he’s playing at a really, really high level.”
Brazile was already injured when Arkansas hosted Kentucky on Jan. 27 but Musselman remarked that Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham, averaging 14.3 points with 101 assists, has returned from his injury sidelining him the first Arkansas game.
Musselman and Calipari both stand aware that Musselman’s last two teams to visit Rupp flew home victorious.
“What those two teams did is they went in with confidence, they went in with toughness, they went in there with grit, they went in there with belief,” Musselman said. “If you don’t have those characteristics, it’s going to be hard to win in Rupp.”