Eric Musselman explains backstory behind shirtless celebration after upset win

Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas was the place to be on Tuesday night, as Arkansas put together a top-tier performance and recorded an 80-76 upset win over No. 1 ranked Auburn – handing the Tigers just their second loss of the season and only their first since Nov. 24, 2021.

Just seconds after the final horn sounded in the overtime contest, tons of Arkansas students and fans stormed the court to celebrate the big win for the Razorbacks. Among the people that were on the court shouting at the top of their lungs was Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman, who made his way out to thank the students following his postgame interview.

While it’s not much of a surprise for a head coach to celebrate a win over a No. 1 ranked team with their school’s students, it was kind of shocking that Musselman made the decision to do so – simply due to the fact that he recently underwent shoulder surgery and is still wearing a sling. What was even more surprising was that the Razorbacks’ head man took off his shirt during the ruckus.

In an interview with College Sports on SiriusXM, Musselman explained the backstory behind the now-infamous shirtless celebration.

“First of all, I had to get off the court right away,” Musselman said. “The shoulder surgeon, Doctor Cox, had told us before the game, ‘Hey, if we win, you’ve gotta get him off the floor as quick as possible.’ You know, I’m only three weeks into the surgery and the biggest fear is that you get jolted and the surgery fails. So, they got me to the back, I got to do the interview in the hallway.

“When I had gone up to see the student section during the day, I had gone up there three different times to see the students, thank them, pass out some snacks – they kept saying, ‘Hey, if we win, you’ve gotta take your shirt off.’ I was a little reluctant. Because of the shoulder thing, I’ve gained about seven pounds, so I was really reluctant to pull that shirt off.”

He may have second-guessed himself, but Musselman ultimately did what the students wanted.

“But Riley Hall, who’s one of our operations guys, he reminded me of the students and then I asked these two police officers if there was any way they could get me back out on the floor to celebrate with the students – and they obliged,” Musselman said. “We had a blast. It was a really, really cool environment.”

Now 19-5 overall with a 8-3 mark in SEC play, Arkansas – which has won nine straight games – returns to action Saturday on the road at Alabama. Tipoff is scheduled for noon ET on the SEC Network.