FAYETTEVILLE – For a head coach few would describe as even-keeled, Eric Musselman is trying his best to keep his players in that mindset despite a perfect 8-0 start in his first year at Arkansas.
The Razorbacks haven't achieved this feat under a first year head coach since Eugene Lambert led them to 10-0 in 1942, so yeah, it's a pretty big deal.
"I'd rather be 8-0 than 0-8, I know that," Musselman said Thursday leading up to game nine. "But I think it's great for our players because I think it helps with buy-in to stuff that we're doing. I think that's the most important thing is that our guys that put in a lot of work over the summer that they feel like we're building and getting better each game."
Arkansas is 8-0 but they still only received 17 AP Top-25 votes this week. Even Musselman said he doesn't really know where this team is in terms of how good they really are.
A big issue causing uncertainty is Arkansas's strength of schedule. Eight games in and they've on played one game against a team (Georgia Tech) ranked in the top 75 in KenPom rankings.
Though the Hogs haven't been consistent or even very good on offense (ranked 181st in points per game), they've relied on their top-5 defense (52.6 ppg) to pull them through to each win.
The defense has been a big surprise this season, especially due to Arkansas's lack of size. Many of the national media types who vote in AP polls are probably skeptical about whether or not Arkansas can keep this up as they head into tougher matchups.
"I think we've had some really good moments and then we've had some really teachable moments where maybe I haven't been in the greatest mood or feel like we've got some holes we've got to continue to address," Musselman said.
While Arkansas's defense has been solid there are still a few areas for growth Musselman talks about repeatedly.
"We’ve got to rebound better. We’ve got to take care of the ball better. [Another] thing is shooting, which is kind of out of our opponents' control to some degree, and it's kind of up to us to make shots."
With just one game a week for the next three weeks, the team will be in training camp mode to get those things tuned up.
One player Musselman credits for doing everything well and leading the team is senior grad transfer Jimmy Whitt. While it's not an easy stat to track, Whitt looks like he's in the top 25 for fewest turnovers this season with just 10 and his 5.5 rebounds per game leads the team.
"Number one, he’s even-keeled on a daily basis. He doesn’t get too high and he doesn’t get too low, which is good for me to have a point guard like that–that is not like me," Musselman said. "He’s mature. He’s a great defender that we can put anywhere, on the point guard or the 4-man. Every night he gets assigned the top defender that he could possibly guard based on his size."
As far as shooting goes, Whitt takes all his shots inside the arc and he attacks teams at random with his now infamous mid-range jumper. He's made 50 of 93 (53.8%) of his shots this season and he's the team's third leading scorer with 14.6 ppg.
"He’s kind of become a go-to player, but a go-to player that we never call his play," Musselman said of Whitt. "He kind of gets his shot on his own without it being where we have to manufacture it with a play call."
A win over Western Kentucky (97th in KenPom) this weekend would legitimize Arkansas even further in the eyes of the national media. Arkansas heads on the road for just the second time this season this Saturday. It'll be a revenge game for the Hogs who fell to the Hilltoppers last season by one point at home. Tip-off is slated for 6:30 p.m. on CBS Sports.
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