Hogs return to drawing board after dud season
FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas men's basketball team's most impressive victory didn't count on the Razorbacks' record.
That sums up a bummer of a season.
The Razorbacks played Purdue — ranked No. 3 in The Associated Press preseason poll — in an exhibition game at Walton Arena and beat the Boilermakers 81-77 in overtime before a sellout crowd on Oct. 27.
“It felt like an NCAA Tournament vibe to be honest,” Razorbacks Coach Eric Musselman said after the game. “Who gets to watch that in October? It just doesn't happen.
“That game was incredible for anybody that got to witness it. It really was.
“Almost as good as any game I've participated in and it's an exhibition game.”
Arkansas played well enough to make you wonder if at No. 14 in the AP and USA Today preseason coaches' polls, the Razorbacks were being undervalued.
But it turned out Arkansas was vastly overrated.
In Saturday's NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, the Razorbacks were No. 115.
The victory remains impressive — and now difficult to explain — because Purdue won the Big Ten regular-season championship and is ranked No. 3 in the current AP poll after spending some time in the top spot.
Purdue (29-4) lost to Wisconsin 76-75 in overtime in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals on Saturday, but the Boilermakers are assured of being a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Arkansas finished 16-17 with an 80-66 loss to No. 15 South Carolina in a second-round SEC Tournament game at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday in Nashville, Tenn.
“Not the season we wanted, but sometimes that happens in basketball,” Arkansas junior guard Tramon Mark said. “Sometimes that happens in life.”
There were some notable victories that did count on the Razorbacks' record.
Arkansas beat No. 11 Duke 80-75 in the ACC/ SEC Challenge on Nov. 29 at Walton Arena and swept two games from Texas A&M, beating the Aggies 78-77 at home on Mark's last-second shot and 78-71 on the road.
SEC teams that will play in the NCAA Tournament — No. 5 Tennessee, No. 9 Kentucky and Florida — didn't win at Texas A&M, but the Razorbacks did.
“It was an up-and-down season,” Arkansas senior guard El Ellis said. “We really weren't consistent with anything.”
Ellis and Mark were among seven transfer additions and nine newcomers overall.
It was a roster formula that worked well previously for Musselman at Nevada and Arkansas in putting together teams that had reached the NCAA Tournament the last six times the event was held.
Musselman has signed 26 transfers at Arkansas, including the addition this season of Ellis (Louisville), Mark (Houston), Khalif Battle (Temple), Jeremiah Davenport (Cincinnati), Keyon Menifield (Washington), Chandler Lawson (Memphis) and Denijay Harris (Southern Mississippi). They joined returning transfers Trevon Brazile (Missouri), Jalen Graham (Arizona State) and Makhi Mitchell (Rhode Island).
Impact transfers at Arkansas previously under Musselman included All-American JD Notae (Jacksonville), AllSEC pick Ricky Council (Wichita State), Jimmy Whitt (SMU), Justin Smith (Indiana), Jalen Tate (Northern Kentucky), Stanley Umude (South Dakota), Au'Diese Toney (Pittsburgh), Trey Wade (Wichita State), Chris Lykes (Miami) and Kamani Johnson (Arkansas-Little Rock).
Musselman's transfers on NCAA Tournament teams at Nevada were led by twins Caleb and Cody Martin (North Carolina State), Jordan Caroline (Southern Illinois), Kendall Stephens (Purdue) and Hallice Cooke (Oregon State).
But the transfer magic didn't work this season.
“We just never found a groove with each other,” Brazile said. “I can't put my finger on one specific point. Just kind of a little bit of everything.
“It was a year of learning and a year of adversity.”
Musselman said throughout the season the Razorbacks had good practices.
“We've had some bad moments in games,” Musselman said after Arkansas beat LSU 94-83 in the home finale. “But this team works, man. I like coaching them. Wish the record was better.”
Arkansas hadn't finished with a losing record since the 2008-09 season when the Razorbacks were 14-18. They were 7-13 against SEC opponents this season and went 1-8 against teams ranked in the current AP poll.