This has been the worst non-conference start Arkansas basketball coach Eric Musselman has had to weather since his arrival in Fayetteville four years ago.
But for the veteran coach it’s just a matter of reevaluating some things, making adjustments and getting better as a team.
The Razorbacks find themselves at 6-4, following Saturday’s 79-70 loss to No. 19 Oklahoma in Tulsa. They have now lost four of their last seven games, but did prove their potential in an 80-75 victory over No. 7 Duke on Nov. 29.
“Where we are sitting at now, at 6-4, is not where we want to be in non-conference play – we’ve never been 6-4 in non-conference play,” Musselman said Monday night, during his radio show at Sassy’s Bar & Grille.
He described Monday’s intense practice as “detail-oriented” with hopes of taking a step back in the right direction.
“We did work only on ourselves (Monday), with a pretty long practice,” he said. “It was a practice probably unlike we have had since training camp.”
With many new faces on the roster this season, it has taking Arkansas a while to get everyone on the same page, especially defensively. The Razorbacks have allowed opponents to shoot 42 percent from the three-point line, and have been outshot beyond the arc – making 69 threes, and given up 77.
Musselman and his staff spent two hours Monday reviewing where the team was, statistically, after the first 10 games, in comparison to the last four years. Along with the uptick of opposing three-pointers made, Arkansas has also committed more fouls, and made fewer steals.
“We’re fouling too much and we’re not creating enough steals, so those two things in particularly, are hurting us defensively,” Musselman said. “We’re doing a better job blocking shots, but the bigs are being given more opportunities to block shots, because our guards are giving up so much dribble-penetration. We’ve got to do a better job from the guard standpoint of guarding our man, and keeping him in front of us. It’s a statistical analysis. So, we are working on all those things. Each guy has got to get better in different areas.”
Breaking down film after each games has helped identify man of the problems, so now it’s just a matter of correcting those problems with the right personnel.
“Whose been giving up three-point shots? We have a list of every three-ball that’s been made against us and who the primary defender was,” he said. “You analyze all of that, then you come up with some conclusions based on video, feel, all those types of things.”
He didn’t give any specifics, but indicated that there could be some changes made to the lineup and the disbursement of minutes.
“A lot of guys have had opportunities to play, and now we need to see if some other guys get an opportunity to play, and if there’s different results,” Musselman said. “Whether the results get better, or not as good, I don’t know. But we’re not going to keep doing the same thing over and over.
“A lot of that has to do with minutes changing, roles changing. And then just finding five guys that are really concerned with, ‘how do we win this game’ and ‘how do we represent the University of Arkansas basketball program.’ And worry about, ‘how do we get this win.’ The goal and objective is to find five guys who are doing everything possible they possibly can to try to get a win on that given night. This group that’s played the bulk of the minutes so far, has had plenty of opportunities.”
Musselman raved on the energy and toughness of freshman Layden Blocker, who has given the Hogs a spark at point guard.
“But he’s a freshman, still learning, and he’s fouled three-point shooters more than any player I have ever coached,” Musselman said. “But his effort is there, so we’ve just got to keep working with him.
“He’s still learning the nuances of playing point guard. He has a low volume of assists, but he’s moving the ball. So when we look at per-minute passes, he’s almost at the top of the list. So, now we need those passes to lead to assists. His effort is there and we are pleased with his development. We’ve just got to keep getting him better, and working with him.”
Arkansas returns to the court Saturday night, hosting Lipscomb in Little Rock’s Simmons Bank Arena at 5 p.m.
