With the ESPN College GameDay crew visiting Bud Walton Arena for the first time ever on Saturday, the Arkansas basketball team has not quite resembled a marquis program of late.
The Razorbacks (10-9, 1-5 SEC), who began the season ranked No. 14 in the AP Top 25, have struggled most of the season. Now, the Hogs have lost five of their first six SEC games, since the New Year began, by an average margin of 20.6 points per defeat.
Things don’t get much easier, as No. 6 Kentucky (14-4, 4-2 SEC) rolls into Fayetteville for a 5 p.m. tip-off, in what could be a less than a raucous Bud Walton atmosphere.
In their lone conference victory – a 78-77 triumph at home over Texas A&M on Jan. 16 – the Hogs jumped out to a 20-point lead before eventually needing a Tramon Mark buzzer-beater to pull it out. But Head Coach Eric Musselman said its imperative to get off to another fast start against the Wildcats.
“Certainly getting off to a good start, we were able to do that against Texas A&M, and I thought it helped fuel our confidence,” Musselman said when he met with the media on Thursday. “Especially when you are playing a team like Kentucky, and they’re No. 1 in the country in points per game, they’re No. 3 in field goal percentage, No. 7 in three-point percentage, and eighth in assists – so there’s a lot of things, defensively.
“We’re playing the No. 1 offensive team in the country, a team that’s got a ton of pros. Super talented. I think Coach (John) Calipari is an incredible coach.”
Arkansas has struggled on the offensive boards this season, which has often led to the opposition getting good looks and easy baskets on the other end of the court. In SEC play, the Razorbacks have committed 64 turnovers to only 59 assists, and have been out-rebounded by an average margin of 11 per game. Musselman emphasized the importance of improving the transitional defense.
“Transition defense, super important, obviously, and defending the three, super important,” he said. “We’ve had too many sequences when you have guys in no-man’s land. They’re not going to the glass and they’re not getting back. And that equates to our record.”
He didn’t give any details as to what the lineup would look like on Saturday, but did stress the need for key players to step up their play on the court.
“I think, right now, we need all of our main rotation guys to play well,” Musselman said. “I mean, when you look at our stats, individually and as a team, we’ve got to improve in a lot of areas, on both sides of the basketball. We’ve got to improve, we’ve got to get better.”
The Razorbacks struggled mightily Wednesday night in a 77-51 loss at Ole Miss, playing without the services of leading-scorer Tramon Mark, and missing leading-rebounder Trevon Brazile in the second half.
Mark was dealing with a severe migraine headache, and Brazile began to have pain in his knee, likely associated with his off-season ACL surgery. Musselman was unsure if either player would be available against Kentucky.
“I assume Tramon should be getting better each day with the migraine – that’s usually the history of how migraines go, but they are also very unpredictable,” the coach said. “And with TB, he would like to play, for sure, But he’s got some soreness, and there are a couple different thought processes. Does he rest, does he see how it feels before tip? At best, a game-time decision.”
Musselman and Calipari have known each other for several years, dating back to their international coaching experiences. Since arriving at Arkansas, Musselman has defeated his counterpart three of the four times they have faced off, but the Wildcats did pull off an 88-79 win in Fayetteville last season.
Kentucky has an all-time 34-14 advantage in the series, which dates back to 1945 – a 67-42 Big Blue win in Lexington. Since becoming conference foes in 1992, the Wildcats holds a 30-14 series lead, although 10 of those battles were settled by four points or less, and five have needed overtime.
At least Arkansas has nostalgia on its side this time around. This is the 10th anniversary of Michael Qualls’ legendary 2014 put-back slam at the buzzer that defeated Kentucky, 87-85 in overtime, and sent the Bud Walton crowd into a frenzy.
Fans may attend the airing of ESPN College GameDay for free Saturday morning, with the doors opening to the public at 9 a.m. The arena will then be cleared after the show to prepare for the 5 p.m. tipoff.