Nick Smith reacts to three-game losing streak entering postseason

Teams want to be playing their best basketball heading into March with the conference and NCAA Tournaments upon them. Arkansas did not accomplish that task, though, by dropping their final three and five of their last seven.

Following their last loss to Kentucky, Nick Smith Jr. realized how hard it would be mentally for the Razorbacks to overcome that at this point of the season. Even so, he knows there’s only one to get over that and that’s to work their way out.

“Losing three in a row is not very easy to take mentally for the team. (But) we’ve just got to come in ready to practice,” Smith Jr. said.

Even as a No. 10 seed, everyone around the SEC is going to recognize how much of a threat the ‘Hogs are. With that said, the team they’ve been down the stretch hasn’t been as much of a challenge. Of their final seven games, they lost by an average of 8.4 points in the five games they dropped with two coming on their home floor.

Arkansas gets a bit of a pass considering they’re still playing with lineups, especially with Smith Jr. returning to the lineup. Still, the season has reached its ‘now or never’ stage which, for the Razorbacks, means they’ll need to capitalize on their opportunities starting this evening in their opening game of the SEC Tournament against Auburn.

Musselman reveals how confident he is in Arkansas going on a run

Arkansas did not end their season on an ideal note as they dropped their final three games heading into the postseason. Still, this stretch hasn’t wavered any of Eric Musselman’s confidence in his team’s ability to go on another run in March.

Musselman shared his belief in his Razorbacks during his press conference on Wednesday. He said winning the first game is crucial for confidence when it comes to ripping off several in a row. However, he realized that they’ll face a test, at least from an age standpoint, in their second-round matchup against Auburn this evening in the SEC Tournament.

“I think we were able to make runs the last two years…I’ve talked about us winning that first game of the tournament. And the confidence that we thought we were going to win that tournament,” Musselman said. “No one knows at all how that would play out.”

“With this team, again with a lot of young guys? Just getting them to understand that this is a new season. It’s probably gonna come down to one possession in many of these games,” said Musselman. “Auburn’s very well-coached and they’ve got a lot of veterans. We’ve got to understand, from a preparation standpoint, that Auburn does have more experience in this setting than we do.”