Eric Musselman identifies the main reasons for Arkansas' early struggles vs. UConn

Arkansas got off to a slow start Thursday night in the Sweet Sixteen against UConn. The Huskies went on a huge run to take a commanding first-half lead — and Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman knows why his team trailed by so much.

“Right now, the interior play and the rebounding’s too much to overcome and we’re not defending the three like we’re supposed to,” Musselman told CBS’ Lauren Shehadi during the first half.

Rebounding is a huge part of UConn’s game. The Huskies average almost 39 rebounds per game, including 7.5 boards per contest from Adama Sanogo. Andre Jackson also chips in 6.3 rebounds on average, and they had the early advantage on the glass against Arkansas with 22 total rebounds in the first half compared to nine rebounds for the Razorbacks.

Musselman knows just how important rebounding is to UConn, which is why he expected a battle down low.

“They’re relentless on the glass, for sure,” Musselman said. “I think that our teams had nights where we’re really, really good defensive rebounding because that’s obviously the key, is to try to keep them off the offensive glass. That’s one of the defensive themes that we’re trying to create with our team. So you’ve got to be physical.

“They’re a physical team. They send four to the glass almost every time. A lot of teams will send three to the glass and two back. But they, almost every possession they’re sending four to the glass.”

UConn had a 34-19 lead at the time of Musselman’s interview, but Arkansas had to be careful going forward. Davonte Davis got into foul trouble, picking up two fouls early. Musselman opted to keep playing him despite the foul trouble.

“We’ve put him back in,” Eric Musselman said. “He hasn’t picked up a third foul.”

Davis plays a key role for Arkansas on defense and his skills will be essential if the Razorbacks want to contain UConn. The Huskies are led by Sanogo in the post and sharpshooter Jordan Hawkins, meaning they can beat opposing teams in different ways. Those two are big parts of the high-powered offense that led the Huskies to a No. 4 seed in the tournament following a 25-8 overall record in the regular season.

UConn ended up taking a 46-29 lead into halftime as the Huskies shot 60.7% from the field. Hawkins led the way with 10 points as eight of the nine Huskies to see the floor scored.