Eric Musselman explains why he’s used so many lineups

Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman was left searching for answers during the Razorbacks’ recent loss to South Carolina. Trying to find those answers, he tried out several different lineups and ended up playing 13 different players during the game.

After the game, Musselman was asked about why he was trying out so many different lineups and if it had anything to do with the scheme or effort. He explained that it’s a little bit of both.

“I think both,” Eric Musselman said. “You know, you can’t go in a game and give up an easy basket cut. You’ve got to share the ball. I mean, there’s a whole bunch of stuff. Then, above all else, just playing hard. Yeah.”

At that point, a reporter asked a follow-up question, wondering if there was any chance that lacking a consistent rotation was becoming an issue for the team.

“I mean, at some point, what do you want us to do? Not try different players? I mean,” Musselman finished with a laugh.

Arkansas is now just 10-8 on the season and 1-4 in SEC play. That includes four losses in their last five games with tough tests against Ole Miss and Kentucky coming up next. It’s not going to be easy for Eric Musselman and the rest of the Arkansas staff to quickly turn things around for the Razorbacks.

On3’s Joe Tipton broke down Arkansas’ season to this point, pointing to all the transfers that Arkansas took seeming to not work out.

“Arkansas was kind of a shocker,” Tipton said. “I didn’t anticipate them to lose this many games. We talked about the transfer portal and it did wonders for Tennessee and Dalton Knecht. But, then, a team like Arkansas, they live and breathe off the transfer portal. And they brought in several talented guys, and it’s just not paying out for them as much so far.”

Eric Musselman disappointed in effort by Arkansas

Following the loss to South Carolina, Eric Musselman shared his frustrations with the effort that Arkansas showed during the game.

“It’s obviously disappointing. I thought we battled against Texas A&M. We’ve now had two home games where we’re not exhibiting the energy that we need to,” Musselman said.

“So, obviously, toughness, rebounding, offensively sharing the ball. There’s a whole bunch of stuff. We played against a good team that played with more energy and more connectiveness and more toughness than we played with…Just we gotta play harder. I mean, that was a pretty simple message. I mean, the team’s gotta play harder, tougher. We all see it and, ultimately, it always falls on coaches. So, we have to do our part as well.”