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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas will play inside Bud Walton Arena as a ranked team for the first time in nearly six years Tuesday night.
Riding a six-game SEC winning streak, the Razorbacks debuted in the AP Poll at No. 24 on Monday, just a day ahead of their matchup with Florida in Fayetteville. The last time Arkansas played at home while inside the top 25, it lost to LSU 81-78 as the 18th-ranked team on March 7, 2015.
Although they’ll be looking for a different result against the Gators, head coach Eric Musselman said the Razorbacks aren’t too wrapped up about cracking the AP Poll or worried about where they’re ranked.
“Our whole focus should be focused on the Florida Gators and a really talented team that’s coming in, a well-coached team in Florida,” Musselman said. “I think it’s great for our fans, great for our alumni, great for our boosters, great for former players, it’s a great accomplishment for our current guys, but having said that, it’s kind of irrelevant.”
Despite Northwest Arkansas and surrounding areas being covered in several inches of snow and experiencing frigid temperatures, Musselman said he still expects to play Tuesday night.
It will be the first game in nearly two weeks for Florida (10-5, 6-4 SEC), which has missed its last three games because of COVID-19 issues. The 13-day break included two games postponed because of issues within its own program, while the latest postponement was caused by issues within Texas A&M’s program.
Citing No. 3 Michigan’s win at No. 21 Wisconsin in its first game back from a 23-day virus-induced layoff, Musselman said he believes long breaks like that benefit teams because they come back fresh and energized, both physically and mentally.
“Anybody that’s used to playing pickup ball, if you play Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, by the time you get to Saturday and Sunday, you’re not as excited to go to the park,” Musselman said. “Well, if you only play on the weekends - you only play Saturday and Sunday - man, you’re pretty jacked up to play.”
Musselman said he expects that to be the case for Florida, especially considering the respect he has for head coach Mike White.
One player who probably doesn’t need any extra motivation to play the Razorbacks is guard Tyree Appleby. The redshirt junior is an Arkansas native who played his high school ball at Jacksonville before signing with Cleveland State.
Appleby had two very good seasons with the Vikings before deciding to enter the transfer portal following a sophomore year in which he averaged 17.2 points and 5.6 assists to earn second-team All-Horizon League honors.
The Razorbacks reached out to him, but Musselman said the conversations didn’t make it very far because he already had a connection with Florida. His older brother, Raheem, was an all-conference player for White at Louisiana Tech.
After sitting out last season because of NCAA transfer rules, Appleby is a significant contributor for the Gators, averaging 10.3 points, 3.5 assists and 3.1 rebounds while starting their last eight games.
“He’s having a really good year for them,” Musselman said. “He can shoot the ball. He’s good in transition. He played really, really well for Cleveland State. He’s a really, really good piece to this really talented Florida roster.”
Interestingly, Appleby won’t be the only Jacksonville High product on the floor Tuesday night. Three years after he graduated, Davonte Davis wrapped up his career Titans before signing with the in-state Razorbacks.
A four-star recruit, Davis has seen his playing time increase since the start of conference play, as Musselman said he’s earned the extra playing time. He appeared in six of Arkansas’ first eight games and averaged only 10.7 minutes. Since then, he averaged 23.2 minutes and made six starts, including three straight.
“He comes in every day and he keeps getting better,” Musselman said. “He has a hungry attitude and comes in at night and works. … He continues to be what I consider a great defender, a great rebounder for his position, a great loose ball getter.”
Much like Arkansas, Appleby isn’t the only transfer playing a key role in Florida’s success this season. Anthony Duruji out of Louisiana Tech has started eight games, but the biggest impact has been from Colin Castleton.
The 6-foot-11 big man didn’t play much in two years at Michigan, but the former top-100 recruit has blossomed with the Gators. He’s averaging 13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds, plus his 2.6 assists per game rank second in the SEC.
Not including Preseason SEC Player of the Year Keyontae Johnson, who hasn’t played since his health scare back in December, Florida’s leading scorer is Tre Mann. Musselman said the sophomore guard can score at all three levels, distributes the ball well, as good size (6-5, 190) and is good in transition.
Mann is excellent beyond the arc, shooting 40.9 percent on 4.4 three-point attempts per game, but he isn’t even the best shooter on his team. Junior guard Noah Locke knocked down an impressive 42.0 percent of his 5.9 attempts.
The Razorbacks have struggled with their perimeter defense the last two games, allowing Kentucky and Missouri - two of the worst three-point shooting teams in the country - to shoot a combined 46.6 percent (27 of 58) from deep.
However, Musselman said he takes 100 percent responsibility for that because it was the game plan to let some of the Wildcats and Tigers to shoot, as they had terrible percentages coming in and they didn’t want to get beat in the paint.
“I don't look at that as a bad thing,” Musselman said. “I look at that as a good thing, because that meant (Xavier) Pinson wasn't shooting the basketball and Dru Smith wasn't shooting. The more career nights we can have from role players, the better off we are than letting stars go off.”
On the other end of the floor, Arkansas will have to figure out how to score against a defense that ranks among the top 50 nationally, according to KenPom’s adjusted efficiency ratings.
“We've got to be able to recognize their changing defenses because they'll play some different defenses throughout the course of a 40-minute game,” Musselman said. “So it's important for our guys to understand spacing and where to be when they do make changes.”
Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on ESPN2.
