Eric Musselman explains how tough schedule prepared Arkansas for March

Eight different SEC teams earned NCAA Tournament bids, leaving coaches around the conference exhaling after one of the most grueling slates in recent memory. But the tough schedule prepared Arkansas, among other teams, for the upcoming Big Dance.

Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman watched his squad earn an eight-seed and a first-round matchup with Illinois. It’s a matchup he believes his squad is well-prepared for after going through the SEC gauntlet.

“The talent level of players, the coaching level, the fanbases,” Musselman said, outlining why the schedule was so brutal. “This year was the biggest crowds that I’ve seen since I’ve been in the SEC, when we went on the road. Almost every building that we played in on the road was sold out with maybe the exception of South Carolina.

“So everything in this league, and then you look at our schedule overall in the SEC, it was as difficult as any conference schedule in all of college basketball. Then you add in the fact who we played at the end, really hard games, even the two games that we played in the SEC Tournament. We played two teams that are now in the NCAA Tournament. Our team’s been challenged all year and we’ll be challenged against a team like Illinois as well.”

The Razorbacks held their own, going 20-13 overall and 8-10 in conference play.

But it’s been a while since Arkansas has put together a noteworthy winning streak. The last time the Razorbacks won three straight was at the end of January and beginning of February.

Tough schedule prepared Arkansas

It wasn’t just a difficult schedule that made things tough on Arkansas. The Razorbacks also dealt with some significant injuries throughout the year.

Through it all, the Hogs kept battling.

“Like I said, I haven’t done it a long time but in the eight years I’ve done it it’s by far the most difficult schedule — not even close — to any other year that I’ve been doing this,” Musselman said.

“Then you add in the injuries, really proud of what our guys have, how they’ve stuck together. The games that we have lost, lot of close games. There has not been many games where we’ve been out of games. Over the course of 30 games every team in the country almost has one or two games where you don’t play very well and there’s double-digit margins. We had a few this year as well, but for the most part you look at the 30-game body of work, we were in every single game we played almost.”

Arkansas will continue its 2023 campaign on Thursday when it takes on Illinois in a game that tips off at 4:30 p.m. ET on TBS.