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Musselman provides update on Toney, still tinkering with contingencies

Au'Diese Toney has been a key player for Arkansas this season.
Au'Diese Toney has been a key player for Arkansas this season. (Arkansas Athletics)

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FAYETTEVILLE — After missing the regular-season finale against Tennessee, Au’Diese Toney’s status for the SEC Tournament this week is still up in the air.

Speaking to the media Tuesday afternoon, head coach Eric Musselman gave an update on the Razorbacks’ starting wing's ankle that didn’t sound particularly encouraging, but he did acknowledge that Toney will be with the team in Tampa, Fla.

“Right now he has not practiced at all,” Musselman said. “He’s still in a boot. He’s still a ways off. He will travel with us, but he’s been nothing but in a boot.”

The injury, which he suffered late in the LSU game last week, prevented him from playing at all in Arkansas’ 78-74 loss at Tennessee on Saturday.

Since then, he has yet to take the floor for practice, he has done some rehab work to stay in shape so he’s ready to play whenever he’s healthy enough to do so.

“They were able to get him to do some cardio yesterday on the bike,” Musselman said. “Pool work, running wise right now, that’s not part of the equation, but he was on a bike. Because if and when he’s ready to play, at that point we want him to still be in the right physical condition.”

Prior to Saturday, the Razorbacks had used the same starting lineup in 14 consecutive games — a stretch in which they went 13-1 and climbed back into the top 15 of the AP Poll.

Toney was a vital part of that success. Not only has he averaged 10.4 points and 5.3 rebounds this season, but the 6-foot-6 senior has been a versatile shutdown defender for Arkansas.

In his absence, sixth-man Davonte Davis moved back into the starting lineup, but Musselman said following the game — one in which the Razorbacks trailed by as many as 24 before rallying and coming up just short of a miraculous comeback — that he would definitely change the starting lineup moving forward if Toney can’t play.

He declined to go into too much details with reporters, for obvious reasons, but did reveal that they’ve been tinkering with three different units as a contingency plan.

“We’ve taken seven guys at one end and we’re putting different rotations with them,” Musselman said. “Whoever starts, we’re going to have that seven guys that you know who that is. Those guys at some point, if Au’Diese can’t play, they’ve all got to know different positions.

“Quite frankly, yesterday we had some guys playing some positions that they have not played in the past, so we might have a team that’s a little bit smaller than what we’ve played, and we might have a team that’s a lot bigger than even with Au’Diese in there as well that we’ll tinker with.”

In addition to Davis and starters JD Notae, Stanley Umude, Trey Wade and Jaylin WIliams, the other guys who have played significant minutes for Arkansas during SEC play are guard Chris Lykes and forward Kamani Johnson.

Asked to play bigger roles against the Volunteers, both players had arguably their best game with the Razorbacks, Musselman said during the postgame interview.

Lykes, a 5-foot-7 transfer from Miami, Fla., had 15 points, 3 assists and 3 steals before fouling out. In a game they lost by four, the Razorbacks were plus-10 in his 25 minutes on the floor.

Johnson, a 6-foot-7 transfer from Little Rock, matched his season high with 8 rebounds, 5 of which came on the offensive end, and chipped in 6 points, 2 steals and 1 block. He also drew eight fouls in his season-high 24 minutes.

“Their body language yesterday was phenomenal in practice and they’re re-energized, like any player is when he plays well,” Musselman said. “Kamani has done a good job with the minutes he’s been given throughout the course of the year.

“Chris has had some peaks and valleys, and certainly I thought his Tennessee game was his best all-around game — offensively, defensively — and we need Chris to play with great confidence, because he is a really dynamic player.”

As the No. 4 seed, Arkansas received a double-bye in the SEC Tournament and will not play until Friday. It has three potential opponents, as 5 seed LSU will face the winner of Wednesday’s 12-13 matchup between Missouri and Ole Miss on Thursday for the right to play the Razorbacks.

Tip off for the quarterfinal matchup will be 25 minutes after the conclusion of top-seed Auburn’s first game, which starts at 11 a.m. CT. That means Arkansas will likely play around 1:30 p.m. CT Friday.

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