Eric Musselman sees Kentucky as National Title contender, takes jab at officiating in Rupp

Following his team’s loss to the Kentucky Wildcats, Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman said he feels like Kentucky is a national title contender and he didn’t mind taking a subtle jab at the officiating in Rupp Arena in the process.

The Wildcats are without a doubt, one of the most explosive teams in all of college basketball. They can put up points and put them up in a hurry. They just hung 111 points on Arkansas and it was the sixth time that they’ve cleared 100-points in the 2023-2024 season. They currently rank third in the nation in points per game (89.5).

Musselman and his crew made the decision to fight fire with fire.

“Yeah, we made the decision that we were going to run today. And you know, a couple of turnovers and a baseline out of bounds defense. Those are two areas that I thought changed the complexion of the game,” the Razorbacks head coach began.

He also wasn’t happy with the number of fouls called on his team.

“And then the 42 free throws attempted. Really hard to overcome,” Musselman said in his subtle jab to the officials.

Kentucky hit 34 of their 42 free throw attempts (81.0%), making a massive impact on the game from the charity stripe.

The Arkansas head coach was also pleased with his team’s efforts despite the obstacles they had to overcome.

“Not sure that I’ve been around a team that played this hard that went 27 of 28 from the foul line. Had 10 steals,” Musselman finished. “13 assists and come away with a loss. But you know, you’re talking about a Kentucky team that can win the national championship. And then playing in their building.”

It’s pretty rare that a team scores over 100 points in college basketball. But the Hogs poured in 102 points and still were handed a loss. Defending the three-point line had been an issue for Arkansas for most of the season. They’d improved in their last six games, holding their opponents to 21% shooting. However, Kentucky torched the nets against them, shooting 45% from beyond-the-arc.

Khalif Battle carried Arkansas in the high-scoring affair, erupting for 34 points. It was his third straight game pouring in 30 or more points. Kentucky had six players score in double figures, showing just how many weapons they have on the floor at a given moment. The Wildcats also held a 54-31 advantage in bench points.

Kentucky has won five of their last six games and three in a row. They’re currently in the mix for a coveted double-bye in the 2024 SEC Tournament. It’ll be fascinating to see how the Wildcats finish out the season. They’ll wrap up their regular season with Vanderbilt (March 6th) and Tennessee (March 9th), before gearing up for the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.