Eric Musselman explains why this year is an uphill battle for Arkansas

After last night’s 84-69 loss to No. 4 Alabama, No. 15 Arkansas has now lost three of their last four games as they’ve entered SEC play. Even considering their circumstances, though, Eric Musselman says it’s still on them to find a way to overcome what’s going on around them.

Musselman shared those thoughts following the loss to the Crimson Tide last night. He said that losing Nick Smith Jr. and Trevon Brazile to injuries has hurt them a ton. Still, it’s not an excuse for them to not be winning games.

“I want to be perfectly clear. There’s no excuse. Again, I’ve been around the game way too long and injuries are part of the game. But we’re missing two guys that we had projected to play right around 40 minutes for us,” said Musselman. “We’ve got to do (something) and keep searching to try and figure it out.”

Smith Jr. came to Fayetteville as the No. 3 player in the 2022 class per On3’s Consensus Rankings. Over his five appearances this season, he has averaged 12.8 points per game. That included a pair of 20-plus point outings to his name against UNC Greensboro and Oklahoma. However, a knee injury has held him out for most of the season. Reports suggest it will continue to keep him out of Arkansas’ lineup at least until the end of January. He has been seeing a specialist in Los Angeles and, as of now, does plan on returning to the Razorback program at some point.

As for Brazile, he made a name for himself early after transferring to Arkansas from Missouri. He was a big part of the Razorback’s five-man class from the portal having already played in the SEC. It showed too as, in his nine games of action, he averaged 11.8 points and six rebounds on 48.1% shooting from the field while showing off some insane athleticism. Unfortunately for the program, though, Brazile suffered a torn ACL against UNCG.

With all this said, Musselman is right. Arkansas has more than enough talent, from its program, its recruiting class, and the portal, to make things happen without the services of Smith Jr. or Brazile. The only issue is they’re having to actively gel and switch roles around without them. That’s especially difficult to do amidst their conference season as the Razorbacks will now continue to work on the fly during a pair of road trips to Vanderbilt and Mizzou.