Eric Musselman disappointed, not relieved, after holding on vs. Lipscomb

A win isn’t always a triumph. After Arkansas‘ narrow 69-66 win over Lipscomb on Saturday, head coach Eric Musselman was blunt about his team’s performance.

“In the past we’ve done a really good job of milking the shot clock when we get up like that,” Musselman said. “A lot of people don’t understand it. Tonight’s a great example of why you do it. I let them play. Should have clock-managed better. Again, you think with a veteran team you’ll be able to get good shots on goal. That wasn’t the case tonight.”

Early in the second half, Arkansas boasted a 20-point lead. However, after allowing Libscomb to rattle off 17 unanswered points, the Razorbacks only held a one-point lead with four and a half minutes left in the game.

Although Arkansas pulled out the victory, there wasn’t much to celebrate in the locker room. The Razorbacks committed 14 turnovers compared to Lipscomb’s nine. Additionally, Arkansas lost the battle on the offensive boards, allowing the Bisons to score twice as many second-chance points.

It isn’t the first time this season Arkansas has under-performed against subpar competition. On Nov. 17, the Razorbacks suffered a 78-72 loss to UNC Greensboro. While Arkansas didn’t suffer a loss this time around, Musselman doesn’t feel any better about his team’s showing.

“I just know we got a lot of work,” Musselman said. “I would be not not telling the truth if I said I was relieved. I’m disappointed.”

Keyon Menifield makes debut for Arkansas

Keyon Menifield couldn’t prevent Musselman’s disappointment. The Washington transfer made his Arkansas debut on Saturday after he had his waiver approved by the NCAA. In the victory, Menifield recorded two points, three rebounds and two assists in 19 minutes.

Menifield was a Pac-12 All-Freshman team member last season at Washington. He averaged 10 points, three rebounds and three assists per game as a freshman in 2022-23. The Michigan native was ranked as the No. 40 point guard and No. 229 overall player in the country in the class of 2022, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

Menifield finished his high school basketball career at Phoenix Prep in Arizona, after previously playing at Beecher High School in Flint, Mich. He was the leading scorer in Nike’s EYBL 2022 Peach Jam, averaging 22.6 points on 46.7 percent shooting.

He will look to regain his footing, along with his fellow Razorbacks, on Thursday when Arkansas squares off against Abilene Christian at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.