It’s been a rough 2024 for the Arkansas basketball team, so far, as the Hogs are now 0-2 since the new year began. After dropping their first two SEC contests, Head Coach Eric Musselman’s squad will try to get in the win column on Saturday with a trip to Florida.
The Gators (10-5) also find themselves 0-2 in conference, dropping games to Mississippi and No. 6 Kentucky, but enter as 6½-point favorites against Arkansas.
The Razorbacks (9-6) suffered their worst-ever loss inside Bud Walton Arena last Saturday, when No. 16 Auburn embarrassed the home team, 83-51. Arkansas then hit the road Wednesday, only to lose to Georgia, 76-66.
Musselman has been as frustrated as anyone trying to figure out a way to get his team back on track. He has rotated the lineup and altered strategies, but the team – mainly constructed of incoming transfers – has struggled to find a successful formula.
“We got to get a lot better to even survive in this league,” Musselman said this week. “We’ve got to get a lot better. We’ve got to be a lot more competitive.”
Defense has been Arkansas’ biggest Achilles’ heel this season, as the team is last in the SEC in defensive scoring, giving up 76.8 points per game. Florida hasn’t been much better, as the Gators are next to last, allowing 76.5 points a game.
Still, Musselman knows his team has its work cut out Saturday in the O’Connell Center, where the Razorbacks are just 3-14 against Florida.
“They’re big,” Musselman said. “They rebound, they have great guard play, they’re well-connected, they play extremely hard, they play very very fast. You know, they’re one of the top tier teams in the SEC, there’s no question.”
The two schools have met 41 times on the court, all since Arkansas joined the SEC in 1991-92, with the Gators holding a 26-15 all-time series lead.
Ironically, Musselman and second-year Florida Head Coach Todd Golden know each other well and have a unique history. Musselman offered Golden jobs on his staffs when he was a G League head coach in Reno and later as the head coach at Nevada.
“I almost went out there to work with him in Reno, but it just never worked out timing-wise,” Golden said. “I’ve known him since I was 21 years old. I’ve always had a lot of respect for him and obviously he’s done a great job at Arkansas and won at an insanely high level. This league is full of great coaches and he’s definitely toward the top of that list.”
Arkansas has won three straight in the series, including last season’s 84-65 victory in Bud Walton. The Razorbacks also won on their last visit to Gainesville in 2022, snapping a 14-game losing streak at the O’Connell Center, dating back to 1995.
“The parallels are we are both 0-2 in league and we’ve got to find a way to get it on and get going,” Golden said Thursday. “I know they’re going to be hungry as hell to get this win, and we’re in the same boat.”
The game will tip off at 3 p.m. (CT) on ESPN.