Musselman, Hogs couldn't pass up chance to schedule series vs. Oklahoma

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Despite a desire not to play teams coached by his friends, Eric Musselman eventually realized a matchup with Oklahoma checked too many boxes not to schedule.

The Arkansas coach said he didn’t like facing Texas Southern’s Johnny Jones and South Dakota’s Todd Lee - both of whom he’d worked with in the past - during his first season with the Razorbacks, so he was understandably hesitant when Lon Kruger reached out about a neutral site game.

Musselman was an assistant on Kruger’s staff with the Atlanta Hawks from 2000-02 and his wife has grown close with the Oklahoma coach because of their work with Coaches vs. Cancer, but he and Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek decided it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

“When we study where Oklahoma is as far as a strength of schedule standpoint, we thought that it was a great game for us,” Musselman said. “And then Hunter was really excited about it as well. I think from an administration standpoint they thought it really made a lot of sense.”

The result was a pair of non-conference games scheduled for the BOK Center in Tulsa on Dec. 12, 2020, and Dec. 11, 2021, with the possibility of extending the series another two years in 2022 and 2023.

Arkansas and Oklahoma are separated by less than 250 miles and Tulsa is almost an exact halfway point between the two campuses. Although Musselman’s experience in the city is limited to playing the Tulsa Fastbreakers during his days in the Continental Basketball Association, he knows its proximity will make it an easy trip for fans.

“We would hope to have a great turnout there,” Musselman said. “Obviously Oklahoma will have a tremendous turnout. I think it’s really good for both programs, I really do. I know that our fans travel really well… Tulsa should be easy for our fans to get to.”

That is one of a “multitude of reasons” Musselman said it will be a great series for both schools.

At the top of that list is the fact it will boost the Razorbacks’ resume when postseason play rolls around. Last season, their non-conference slate’s strength of schedule was ranked 12th nationally, which boosted their NET and is why they were still considered a bubble team despite a poor SEC record.

The Sooners have made the NCAA Tournament six times during Kruger’s nine-year tenure, including a Final Four trip in 2016. They were No. 46 in the NET when the season ended, which was three spots behind Arkansas at No. 43. That means a neutral-site matchup would have been a Quadrant 1 game for both teams because both were top 50.

Tulsa is also a key recruiting ground for the Razorbacks. Current forward Reggie Chaney grew up there and Arkansas legends Lee Mayberry and Clint McDaniel played their high school ball there.

Having a presence in the city is important, Musselman said, which is why the also scheduled a home-and-home with Tulsa last year that includes a trip to the Golden Hurricane’s home floor next season. He believes it could have a similar impact as the Razorbacks’ annual game in North Little Rock.

“I’ve only been a part of one of them and I think that game last year helped us a lot in recruiting, I really do,” Musselman said. “Certainly, we’ve got two games in Tulsa next year, so obviously it’s important for us as a program.”

Scheduling this as a neutral site game fits what Musselman is looking for in a non-conference schedule, as he hopes it’ll provide a tough environment that mimics what they’ll see in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments.

“We would expect that this game in Tulsa will have an incredibly great crowd for both teams,” Musselman said. “It’s going to be an environment that it should be very fun to play in for the players. Then you go play some road games that are hard, as well, that are true road games.”

In addition to the Musselman-Kruger connection, this game will also be a chance for Arkansas assistant Chris Crutchfield to face the team he worked with for eight seasons before coming to Fayetteville.

However, he didn’t find out about the announcement until Tuesday, a day before it went public. Instead, Musselman said the staffer he consulted the most about it was director of basketball operations Anthony Ruta, who he’s worked with since they were at Nevada and he entrusts with bringing his scheduling philosophy to life.

“I think he’s as good as any schedule guy in the entire country,” Musselman said. “I was more concerned, quite frankly, with what Coach Ruta thought of the game based on his research and time that he spends in trying to put forth the best non-conference to give us a chance for postseason play.”

Ruta is in charge of not only adding big-name opponents to the schedule, but also filling it out with quality mid-major opponents who are expected to compete for conference titles and be another NET boost.

“There are not many people that will sit down and go through an entire conference and put together a depth chart to decide who you want to call,” Musselman said. “I’ve never been around anybody that looks at the numbers and knows who’s returning and who’s sitting out on other rosters like he does.”

Musselman declined to reveal any other games on the schedule, but a few opponents are already known. Old Dominion is scheduled for Dec. 19 and will be the annual game in North Little Rock, plus the Razorbacks will likely participate in the big 12/SEC Challenge with a road game.

Arkansas will also play in the MGM Resorts Main Event in Las Vegas on Nov. 20 and 22. San Francisco is reportedly its first opponent at the event and then it would face either Louisville or Colorado State.

“We feel like it’s shaping up really good,” Musselman said. “We’ve still got some work to do on it and Anthony Ruta’s making calls daily to try to figure out how we’ll complete the non-conference schedule.”

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