Arkansas’ win over Lipscomb on Saturday was not a must-have in the traditional sense. College basketball is such that no one game is going to devastate a team’s chances in December.
But the Razorbacks built their schedule so that any potential wins over major powerhouses would add to their NCAA Tournament resume. Unfortunately, only victory resulted and even it was prefaced with one disappointing loss that, while it didn’t totally counteract the eventual victory, also isn’t going to make the difficult schedule a net-positive.
The win over Lipscomb saw the Hogs basically blow a 20-point lead and eventually come away with a three-point win. Not even coach Eric Musselman was satisfied with the outcome, victory or not. He knows his team has a lot of work to do in order to not just make the NCAA Tournament, but possibly do damage.
Arkansas has not missed the Dance under Musselman’s watch, not counting of course his first season, a year in which the Tournament was cancelled because of COVID-19. In fact, the Hogs have gone to three straight Sweet 16s. Each season since that first, though, has been worse in the regular period than the one before.
Think back two years ago. Arkansas slept-walked through mid-December and early January that saw the Razorbacks lose five of six games. They started 0-3 in SEC play before eventually righting things and finishing 13-5 in the conference.
Last year, December was good until the end when SEC play started and Arkansas started 1-5. They had to dig out of a hole just to make the NCAA Tournament.
This year feels, so far, a bit like a combination of those two seasons. If it ends up that way – if Arkansas struggles to start SEC play again and only reaches, say, .500, then the Hogs almost assuredly won’t be fighting for an Elite Eight. They’ll be lucky to even make the Dance.
The good news if you’re an Arkansas fan is that Musselman has figured it out before. He knows how to make good things happen. You just have to wonder, though, in 2023-24, does he have the pieces to do so again?