MUSSELMAN TAKES analysis “personal.”
FAYETTEVILLE — If Todd Fuhrman was looking to get attention by taking a shot at University of Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman, he succeeded.
Fuhrman, an analyst and oddsmaker for the streaming channel CBS Sports HQ , said before the Razorbacks played their second-round NCAA Tournament game against Texas Tech that Musselman was no match for Red Raiders Coach Chris Beard.
“When I look at the head coaches in this game, I think it’s one of the biggest mismatches we’re going to see in the round 32,” Fuhrman said. “We talked going into [Texas Tech’s] game against Utah State what Chris Beard’s record looked like during the NCAA Tournament.
“Well, he has to be licking his chops knowing that Eric Musselman will be on the other sideline.”
After the Razorbacks beat Texas Tech 68-66 on Sunday night to advance to the Sweet 16, Musselman made a reference to Fuhrman’s comment.
“I’m surprised we could do that,” Musselman said when asked about the defensive stop Arkansas made to hold on and win. “I was alerted before the game about somebody on CBS who said something about the coaching matchup.
“So I was a little shocked we could actually win a close game based on his comments.”
Musselman said his son, Michael, who is on the Arkansas staff, showed him video of what Fuhrman said.
“Whoever that guy is, I’ve never heard of him in my entire life,” Musselman said. “So his credibility is absolutely zero.”
Musselman, speaking on a postgame Zoom call with the media, was asked whether he took what Fuhrman said personally.
“I brought it up right away, right?” Musselman said. “Yeah, I take it personal. I mean, who is this guy?
“He’s never called a timeout. I mean, who is the guy? I don’t know who he is. So, yeah, I take it personal when someone says something like that.”
Musselman has a team in the Sweet 16 for the second time in the last three NCAA Tournaments that have been held. He also led Nevada to the Sweet 16 in 2018.
This season is the fourth time Musselman has a team in the NCAA Tournament since 2017. His Nevada teams went to the NCAA Tournament three consecutive times from 201719.
Beard, a former University of Arkansas at Little Rock coach, led the Trojans to the 2016 NCAA Tournament. He led Texas Tech to the Elite Eight in 2018 and the national title game in 2019 when the Red Raiders lost to Virginia.
Musselman and the Razorbacks denied Beard a third consecutive trip to the Sweet 16.
Fuhrman, who has 135,000 Twitter followers, received plenty of critical replies from Arkansas fans about his Musselman take.
ORU duo
The Oral Roberts duo of Max Abmas and Kevin Obanor have carried the Golden Eagles to upsets of Ohio State and Florida in the NCAA Tournament and into the Sweet 16 for a game against Arkansas on Saturday night.
Obanor is averaging 29 points and 11 rebounds and has made 13 of 15 free throws in the two games. Abmas, the nation’s leading scorer at 24.5 points per game, is averaging 27.5 points and 5 assists and has made 16 of 18 free throws.
In the Golden Eagles’ 87-76 loss at Arkansas on Dec. 20, Obanor was on his game with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 10 rebounds. Abmas had 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting and was 1 of 6 from threepoint range.
“Their two-man game is phenomenal, just Abmas or Obanor,” Arkansas guard JD Notae said. “They’re both shooting the ball very well. They’re both averaging like 28-plus in this tournament. So it’s going to be a tough task to stop them two, but we’re up for it.”
Hang time
After Arkansas freshman guard Davonte Davis dunked on a breakaway against Texas Tech with 9:34 to play to give the Razorbacks a 54-42 lead, he was called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim.
“I mean, when you’re running full speed and going to dunk it, I can’t just fall off the rim and bust my head, you know,” Davis said with a smile. “But it’s fine. We got the W and it’s all that matters. As long as we won, I’m fine with the technical and all that.”
10 boards
Former Razorback Blake Eddins posted on Twitter that Arkansas forward Jaylin Williams’ 1-point, 10-rebound game against Texas Tech was one of the most important performances by a Razorback who didn’t have a basket.
Williams was asked Tuesday for his reaction to the performance, which included a game-high four assists, mostly from the high post.
“I think about the win,” Williams said. “That’s what I’m thinking about. I’m thinking about how
I had to get all those rebounds to keep them off the glass to make sure we can win that game so they wouldn’t get second-chance opportunities.
“I’m thinking about the [two] charges that I took that were stops on them. It’s things like that, that the team needed at the moment, that I’m happy with.”