Eric Musselman praises Razorbacks' response in opener coming off Texas scrimmage

Arkansas men’s basketball got off to a good start on Monday when they handled business against North Dakota State. The 76-58 win without five-star freshman – and projected top-five NBA draft pick – Nick Smith proved that the Razorbacks have great depth in their squad and showed head coach Eric Musselman an early sign of resiliency.

Before the games started to count, Eric Musselman called on patience from himself and the Razorbacks’ fanbase as he molded 11 newcomers and two returning players into a team. They hit a bump in the road with a preseason 90-60 loss on the road against Texas but showed that they could bounce back.

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

“I just think every game takes on its own identity,” said Musselman. “And it was no secret, I told everybody that it was going to be eye-opening when we went to Texas. To be honest, it’s partially why we scheduled the game, because this team needed to see what it’s like to play against a Power Five team that’s really, really physical and play a game on the road against a team that’s probably a Top 10 team in the country.”

Eric Musselman on Texas scrimmage

The other element which Eric Musselman believes will benefit Arkansas most from the preseason matchup with Texas is the maturity of the competition, being able to see how a fifth- or sixth-year player handled different situations against you.

“We’re a really young team, and I don’t know how many years (Timmy) Allen’s been in, I just know that I remember him when he was at Utah,” said Musselman. “It’s what we needed. I remember Marcus Carr playing at the University of Minnesota. I don’t know how old they are or whatever, I just know that our young team needed to see that. Our guys leave when they’ve still got a lot of eligibility left but that’s an older crew that we played, and I think that’s what we needed.

“It was a heck of a lot better that playing an exhibition game at home, we got to try to figure out what it’s like to travel on that road. And hey, we got our behinds – I mean – it was a bad loss. But we’ve had really good practices since then.”

Now 1-0 in games that count, Arkansas prepares to face Fordham at home ahead of another Summit League opponent in South Dakota State. The Razorbacks will then get their first Power Five challenge of the regular season with Louisville.