Musselman: Playing series in Tulsa makes sense
FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas and Oklahoma basketball teams have played 28 times since the 1938-39 season.
Finally, the Razorbacks and Sooners will get together in Tulsa.
Arkansas will play Oklahoma at the BOK Center the next two seasons, the schools announced Wednesday.
The teams will play this season on Dec. 12 and on Dec. 11, 2021. There also is a possibility of extending the series with games in December of 2022 and 2023, according to an Arkansas news release.
Tickets will be evenly divided between Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Tulsa is 111 miles from Fayetteville and 122 from Norman, Okla., so a series between the Razorbacks and
Sooners seems like a natural. But it never has happened — until now.
“I think it’s a great series for a multitude of reasons,” Razorbacks Coach Eric Musselman said. “Obviously, geographically it makes a ton of sense.
“It makes great sense from a recruiting standpoint. Strength of schedule, playing a Big 12 team at a neutral site is great. I think from a travel standpoint, it’s great for our student-athletes because it’s so close to Tulsa. It’s great for our fan base as well.”
Musselman credited Oklahoma Coach Lon Kruger — with whom he is friends from their time working together in Atlanta when Kruger was the Hawks’ head coach and hired Musselman as an assistant — for pushing for a neutral-site series with the Razorbacks.
“We’re excited about it,” Kruger said. “We’ve been talking to Arkansas for two or three years about the possibility, and I think with Eric Musselman coming in, it got a little bit more real.
“I think it’ll be a fantastic series.”
When Kruger was Illinois’ coach, he took part in the Illini’s series against Missouri in St. Louis. He said he believes
an Arkansas-Oklahoma game can develop into a similarly neutral-site rivalry game, and hopes it can be played on an annual basis.
“Definitely,” Kruger said. “I see that growing with each year and being a huge success. You have two really good programs not that far apart and traveling an equal distance.
“Tulsa is a great town for alumni for both institutions. Absolutely, this can be a great event.”
Oklahoma is 2-0 in the BOK Center, where the Sooners beat Tulsa 69-44 on Dec. 7, 2008, and Southern California 80-71 on Dec. 8, 2018.
Arkansas never has played in the BOK Center, which has a seating capacity of 17,839 and hosted NCAA Tournament first- and second-round games in 2011, 2017 and 2019.
Musselman said his game experience in Tulsa is limited to the 1989-90 season when he coached the CBA’s Rapid City (S.D.) Thrillers against the Tulsa Fast Breakers at Expo Square Pavilion.
“There wasn’t a lot of fans then,” Musselman said. “I can tell you that.”
Musselman expects a large crowd in the BOK Center for the Arkansas-Oklahoma games.
“I think the thought process with our administration and with our coaching staff, we would hope to have a great turnout there,” he said. “Obviously, Oklahoma will have a tremendous turnout.
“I think it’s really good for both programs. I really do. I know that our fans travel really well. That’s a natural place. Tulsa should be easy for our fans to get to.”
The Razorbacks and Sooners have played on each other’s campus 23 times, most recently during the 2012-13 season when Arkansas won 81-78 in Fayetteville. They also have five neutral site games — all won by the Razorbacks — in Oklahoma City; Little Rock; Anchorage, Alaska; Honolulu; and Portland, Ore.
In the teams’ most recent meeting, the Razorbacks beat the Sooners 92-83 on Nov. 23, 2017, in Portland to improve Arkansas’ series lead to 16-12.
“It never really got to a home-and-home,” Musselman said of the discussions with Oklahoma for a series. “Because [he and Kruger] are friends, I think this probably made a little bit more sense.”
Musselman said Arkansas will play two games in Tulsa next season. Along with taking on Oklahoma, the Razorbacks will play Tulsa in a return game after Arkansas beat the Golden Hurricane 98-79 last season at Walton Arena.
Arkansas last played in Tulsa on Nov. 20, 2003, when the Razorbacks beat the Golden Hurricane 81-74 at the Reynolds Center.