Eric Musselman reacts to Devo Davis ejection, praises Kentucky players

There were three technical fouls and two flagrant fouls called during Kentucky‘s 88-79 road victory over Arkansas Saturday. Somehow, there was only one ejection.

Razorbacks guard Devo Davis got the short end of the stick following his second technical foul which came within two minutes of the second half starting. Head coach Eric Musselman knew he was going to be without a huge piece of his team’s identity without him on the court.

“I’m not going to talk at all about the referees. That’s not what we do. That part of the question I’ll leave alone. Certainly, Devo is a guy from a leadership standpoint, from being a veteran, we were a better team when he was with us and not in the locker room,” Musselman said postgame. “We certainly missed him. He’s been a defensive stopper for us all season long.”

Davis ended up playing only 20 minutes in the contest compared to his average of 33. He scored eight points on two made three-pointers and hauled in two rebounds and was on track to cause even more havoc against the Wildcats before being tossed.

Without Davis, Kentucky seperated itself from the Razorbacks in the second half. Musselman went on to praise some of Kentucky’s top playmakers, including UK’s frontcourt including Jacob Toppin and Oscar Tshiebwe, who combined for 33 points and 17 rebounds. Antonio Reeves had a sensational performance, posting a new career-high of 37 points.

Reeves’ big game didn’t surprise Musselman, who expected the Illinois State transfer to be the Wildcats’ primary scoring option with Cason Wallace out with injury. Reeves is typically a three-point specialist but hurt the Hogs with his speed on dribble handoffs, coming off screens and iso plays all afternoon. With no Devo Davis to stop him, putting the ball in Reeves’ hands were academic at that point.

The Hogs will now take their loss to Kentucky into the SEC Tournament for a date against Auburn in the second round. That game is set for 7 p.m. ET live on the SEC Network and the winner will face No. 2 seed Texas A&M in the quarterfinals.

Check out the full SEC Tournament bracket here.