The No. 15 Arkansas Razorbacks are off to a 1-2 start in conference play with a pair of road losses at LSU and Auburn, and that seems to have sparked a fire within the team.
Head coach Eric Musselman and the Hogs have started with a losing record through the first three games of SEC play in each of the past three seasons. Though the team turned things around and made the Elite Eight two seasons in a row, Musselman said that doesn't mean it will happen this time around.
"First of all, just because it’s happened that way the last two years doesn’t mean that that’s going to happen this year," Musselman said. "You look at our road games towards the end of the year, you’ve got to go at Tennessee and you’ve got to go at Alabama. But I will say this, and I learned it a long time ago from my father, your schedule often dictates wins and losses at times, as well."
Unlike the previous two seasons, this year's team is without two of its best players in Trevon Brazile (torn ACL) and Nick Smith Jr. (knee). At some point, the team is going to have to figure out how to work around those absences, specifically on the offensive end. Arkansas has scored less than 60 points twice this season, both times coming against LSU and Auburn.
Musselman said it's not just his team struggling, though, as the SEC is loaded with talented defensive teams.
"You look at the Auburn numbers not just against the University of Arkansas, but you look at Auburn’s defensive numbers across the board and where they rank nationally…that’s our league, a lot of really good defense," Musselman said.
After his team shot 33.9% from the field, 12.5% from three and 59.4% from the free throw line at Auburn on Saturday, Musselman said that some of his players needed to get in the gym on their own more, as that has been a big part of the team's culture during his tenure.
Senior forward Kamani Johnson said he's noticed the team answer that challenge since Saturday.
"Our whole team was in the gym this morning," Johnson said. "We’re holding ourselves accountable. I think after that loss on the road, things kind of really settled in that, like, you’re not going to be able to win in the SEC a lot if you’re not working on your game. So, I mean, everybody has been in the gym. It’s probably my second or third time being in the gym before practice, so we’re working. Trust me, we’re working."
Musselman made a good point — Auburn has won 27 straight games at home, and they also have the 27th best adjusted defensive efficiency in the nation, according to KenPom. Winning in Neville Arena isn't a simple task, even for a team with the talent Arkansas has.
Also not a simple task for Musselman is trying to figure out how to get his team to turn things around, just as he has the past two seasons. Last year, placing an unexpected player in the starting lineup seemed to help drastically.
"The biggest key is, are you still trying to improve your team?," Musselman said. "So that’s where we are, really, is how do we keep getting better? How do we keep tinkering?
If we don’t continue to search and get better, and it was around this time last year when we put Trey Wade in the starting lineup. Not an easy decision maybe to pull out an offensive player like we did last year and put Trey Wade in, who we thought would give us some defense and toughness. We’re gonna keep trying to figure it out as best we can."
Arkansas' toughest test of the season will be this Wednesday against No. 4 Alabama, who already has signature road wins at Houston and at Mississippi State.
The Hogs and Crimson Tide will tipoff at 6 p.m. CT inside Bud Walton Arena. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
