Battle sheds light on downfall of Arkansas basketball this year
The 2023-24 Arkansas basketball season finally came to halt Thursday with a second round exit in the SEC Tournament and it's safe to say that most fans weren't too upset.
For the first time since 2009-10, the Razorbacks posted an overall losing record (16-17) in a season that they were picked preseason by some national analysts to win the national championship.
One year removed from a Sweet Sixteen appearance with three 2023 draft selections, fifth-year head coach Eric Musselman went transfer-heavy for this year's roster. The Hogs added seven transfers and two freshmen to go along with five key returners and it never seemed to work consistently.
While the Hogs had a preseason exhibition win over Purdue and a Nov. 29 win over Duke at Bud Walton Arena, they also had embarrassing home losses to UNC Greensboro, Auburn, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and others. Arkansas lost by an average of 15 points in the six games they dropped in front of the home crowd.
The only shot at making the NCAA Tournament would've been a miracle run at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, this week. Arkansas defeated Vanderbilt in overtime Wednesday, but suffered an 80-66 loss to South Carolina Thursday to end the season.
"They play together," guard Khalif Battle said of the Gamecocks postgame. "That was the difference in the game. I think we're just as talented as anybody in the country, but they just play together. They were a team out there. They were a team."
Battle's quotes might not be intended to be a dig at his own teammates, but it shows that the opponent at least played as a unit more than the Razorbacks did.
"Talented team, a team that's ranked, a team that's got a chance to play in Sweet 16s or Elite Eights or Final Fours," Musselman said. "That's how good they are. That's how connected they are. That's how well-coached they are."
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Not playing connected seemed to be the case quite often, so much so that Musselman felt the need to specifically point out connectivity when it went well this season, but ironically he also pointed out lack of connectivity in the Jan. 20 loss to South Carolina at home.
"Used to having really competitive groups that are super connected and so we’ve got to try to help this group as much as we can moving forward," Musselman said Jan. 20.
Blame will almost always go on the guy running the show, which is Musselman in this case. But it was good to hear Battle show his head coach some public support after the emotional loss to the Gamecocks.
"I know Coach gets a lot of negative attention, but the whole coaching staff works really hard," Battle said. "At the end of the day, it's on the players. These guys, they spend overtime working on the game plan, watching film, doing a lot of detail-oriented stuff. It's on the players, the season."
Battle ended his season on a historically good individual run with the Razorbacks. The graduate transfer from Temple averaged 29.6 points per game across the final six contests, which included a 42-point performance against Missouri on Feb. 24.
A 6-foot-5, 185-pound native of Hillside, New Jersey, Battle has another year of eligibility remaining if he chooses to use it. While he's previously stated "I'm a Razorback," Battle didn't seem fully committed to another year Thursday, although it was a tough question to answer after the loss to the Gamecocks.
"I don't know," Battle said. "Right now, like, my mind is getting ready for next year. I don't know. That's it."
Battle and Musselman seem to be near the same wavelength, as the Head Hog had a similar answer to close out his postgame press conference Thursday.
"I'm probably more motivated right now at this moment than I ever have been," Musselman said. "So, yeah, I can't wait to work."
Musselman is likely already at work, as the transfer portal will open Monday for college basketball players. Known as "The Importer," Musselman and his staff will likely be making contact with plenty of players soon.