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Ricky Council IV reveals Eric Musselman called Arkansas 'soft' before SEC Tournament win over Auburn

IMG_6598by:Nick Kosko•03/09/23•

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(Photo by Carly Mackler/Getty Images)

Ricky Council IV was honest about Eric Musselman’s pregame speech to Arkansas prior to the Razorbacks’ 76-73 win over Auburn.

Council revealed the head coach called his team soft but Arkansas responded on the court. After blowing a 15-point lead, the Razorbacks survived a late three-point attempt by Auburn’s Wendell Green to try and tie the game for overtime.

Council and his teammates spoke on SEC Network after the game.

“That’s been our problem all year,” Council said on the broadcast. “We’ll be up on a team, we get down and Coach always says we don’t fight back. He called us soft and we took that personally in this game. This is a real, real big game for us. We know if we can get past this team to get to the next round, we’re secure for the tournament.

“So that was our main goal. So we did it. I’m proud of this guy right here, the whole team (and now we’re) moving on to the next round.”

Council pointed to his teammate Anthony Black. Black finished with 19 points, six rebounds and six assists.

“I mean, as a team, we know we got a lot of talent, no matter if we’re down two or three players,” Black said. “So we try to just keep the next man up mentality and our teammates believe in me and him a lot and they give us a lot of freedom. So we’re just doing what the team wants us to do and do that to win …

“This is the most talented team I’ve ever played for. So I know if my guys are in position to score, I can just give them the ball and they gotta get it done. So when you play with a team with as much talent as this, it makes all that so much easier.”

Council finished with seven points and two rebounds but there were other contributors. Nick Smith Jr. finished with 14 points, three rebounds and two assists.

Meanwhile, Makhi Mitchell added 12 points and Jordan Walsh had 11. It is a quick turnaround for Arkansas with a game Friday.

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Arkansas takes on Texas A&M Friday at 7:00 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.