Eric Musselman responds to question on his frustration level this season
Arkansas faltered again this weekend with their eight loss of the season, including their fourth already in conference play, against South Carolina. It’s not the spot that the Razorbacks thought that they’d be in and certainly hasn’t been what Eric Musselman has come to expect from his teams.
Musselman was clearly frustrated during his postgame press conference following the 77-64 defeat to the Gamecocks inside Bud Walton Arena. In his final answer, Musselman admitted that it’s just not normal for him to have a team that’s lacking an edge and a connection like this one currently is.
“Yeah. I’m just used to having really competitive groups that are super connected,” said Musselman.
The loss to South Carolina dropped Arkansas to 10-8 overall and 1-4 in the SEC. It’s even more frustrating considering the ‘Hogs had just found some footing or had at least generated some positivity with a win over Texas A&M in their last game.
However, the Gamecocks came to Fayetteville and simply handled their business. They led from start to finish and by as much as 19 in the second half. South Carolina did so by shooting better than 50% from the field and from three. They also grabbed a dozen more rebounds and handed out 11 more assists.
F B.J. Mack led the effort with 18 points and nine rebounds as he shot 6-10, including 3-4 from deep. He was one of four Gamecocks, each of them being starters, to finish in double figures with Zachary Davis, Ta’Lon Cooper, and Collin Murray-Boyles combining for 34 points. Meechie Johnson, the team’s leading scorer, missed being the fifth by two points but he still made two of his three attempts from three and grabbed seven boards.
It’s not going to get any easier moving forward for Arkansas in the SEC. They go to play a quality team in Ole Miss on Wednesday before welcoming in another ranked opponent in No. 6 Kentucky this weekend. That’s why, while things look bleak at the moment, Musselman is continuing to commit to do what he can to help this team.
“We’ve got to try to help this group as much as we can moving forward,” said Musselman.
Musselman disappointed in effort by Arkansas
Arkansas’ win over Texas A&M was one that Eric Musselman was hoping to find a way to build on. Unfortunately for Arkansas, though, that’s not what happened.
The Razorbacks fell at home by 13 to South Carolina in their next game following the win over the Aggies. After the game, Musselman shared his disappointment in the effort that his team made.
“It’s obviously disappointing,” Musselman said. “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.”
“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, more connectiveness, and more toughness than we played with.”
At one point in the first half, Eric Musselman called two timeouts within about 30 seconds of each other. It was an attempt to send a message to the team that they needed to play harder.
“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.”