PREVIEW: Hogs aiming to put ugly loss behind them at Alabama
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FAYETTEVILLE — Flying back home after an embarrassing loss to LSU, Eric Musselman had a decision to make.
The second-year Arkansas coach tried channeling all of his coaching mentors - the likes of Chuck Daly, Doc Rivers and others - and ultimately decided to take an old-school approach similar to what his father, Bill Musselman, might have done following such a performance.
The Razorbacks had a lengthy film session Thursday in which Musselman and his staff dissected what went wrong and then they hit the practice floor for the longest practice of his tenure in Fayetteville.
It may not have been the best preparation for Saturday’s game at Alabama, but it was a move Musselman felt would have the most long-term benefits and serve as a wake-up call of sorts.
“We had weighted vests in many of our defensive drills and our transition drills with the understanding we play an early game on Saturday,” Musselman said. “I put forth the thought that we were going to have a really difficult practice after the way we performed against LSU, and if it affects us Saturday, it affects us Saturday, but over the course of the season, they're going to remember yesterday's practice.”
While Arkansas will be looking for a bounce-back performance, the Crimson Tide will put their perfect SEC record on the line when they welcome the Razorbacks to Coleman Coliseum.
Having already beaten No. 10 Tennessee on the road, Alabama cruised to a 20-point win over Kentucky at Rupp Arena earlier this week to improve to 10-3 overall and 5-0 in conference play.
The major story from that game, though, was the Crimson Tide losing a pair of starters to injuries.
Senior forward Herbert Jones (12.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg) hurt his finger and was originally expected to be out “a little while,” but Alabama coach Nate Oats revealed Friday that they “dodged a bullet” and he could return on an “as needed basis” Saturday.
Alabama will definitely be without Yale graduate transfer Jordan Bruner (7.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg), as the forward will miss 4-6 weeks after having meniscus surgery Wednesday, but it could get back point guard Jahvon Quinerly.
The transfer from Villanova has missed the last three games because of an undisclosed medical condition, but he’s been a limited participant at practice recently and Oats is “hopeful” he’ll play.
The Razorbacks have already been bitten by the injury bug and will be without Justin Smith (ankle), KK Robinson (foot) and Abayomi Iyiola (torn ACL). Musselman also disclosed that JD Notae missed Thursday’s practice because of a shoulder injury suffered at LSU, but he said he’s hopeful the guard will be fine to play Saturday.
“We have a plethora of them, as well,” Musselman said, when asked about Alabama’s injury situation. “I think everybody across the board is dealing with injuries for whatever reason this year.”
Even if those three players don’t play, the Crimson Tide will still have their two leading scorers in Jaden Shackelford and John Petty Jr.
Shackelford is averaging a team-high 13.5 points, but Petty is just behind him at 13.3 points per game. Another veteran, Petty was a preseason All-SEC selection and Musselman said he can also defend well because of his length.
“John Petty is a guy that has been there for a while, a guy that tested the (NBA Draft) waters that (former Alabama coach) Avery Johnson had recruited,” Musselman said. “Petty is as good a shooter as there is.”
Under Oats, Alabama runs an offense that emphasizes shooting three-pointers and layups. In fact, it is one of the most prolific three-point shooting teams in the country.
The Crimson Tide’s 381 total attempts from beyond the arc rank ninth nationally and are the most among major-conference teams, just ahead of in-state rival Auburn.
“They’re deep. they have a style, they have an identity, and they’re bought in,” Musselman said. “So I think that all those reasons equal success for them, thus far.”
Unfortunately for the Razorbacks, they are much less equipped to stop that style of play this season than a year ago.
Last season, they led the nation in three-point defense, limiting opponents to just 27.2 percent on those shots. Despite playing a relatively weak non-conference schedule, that has risen to 30.4 percent this year, which ranks 70th in Division I.
Making matters worse, Arkansas is still getting blown by on dribble drives. That’s an area in which it struggled last year, but made up for with elite perimeter defense.
The Razorbacks haven’t changed the format of practice or drills since then, so Musselman said it’s an area of concern moving forward.
“I think that when you see a player close out, and his man has the ball, and if you have a high hand up, that’s what we did last year almost on every catch,” Musselman said. “I’ve got to continue to do a better job in getting, especially our younger guys, to follow the game plan on both sides of the ball.”
Playing on the road for the fourth time in six games doesn’t make things any easier for Arkansas, which is getting ready to face its fourth top-30 NET opponent in SEC play.
However, the Razorbacks did manage to rally from an early 12-0 deficit to beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa last year and - thanks to COVID-19 attendance restrictions - there doesn’t seem to be as big of a home court advantage this season.
In fact, road teams are actually 15-14 through the first few of weeks of SEC play, continuing a trend that Musselman said he’s noticed in other sports, including at the professional level.
“Having said that, do I feel more comfortable playing in Bud Walton than on the road still, even with the pandemic and limited amount of crowd? Absolutely,” Musselman said. “I feel more comfortable (and) you’re in your daily routine.
“It’s interesting that the numbers are saying that across the board, that there’s less of a home court advantage, but wherever we play Alabama, they’re 5-0 and 10-3 on the season, so wherever we would play them would be very difficult.”
Through the first five games, conference play has been a rollercoaster for the Razorbacks.
Musselman said he doesn’t believe in momentum from one game to the next and it’s easy to see why. Just like how Arkansas’ 30-point win over Georgia didn’t impact Wednesday’s ugly loss, he said he doesn’t think the loss at LSU will linger.
He said the team used Thursday to clean up and review that game and Friday was all about preparing for Alabama.
“Historically, we’ve been pretty good bouncing back from games,” Musselman said. “How we do this game, I have no idea, but we knew whether we won at LSU or not, Bama’s its own story.”
Tip off against the Crimson Tide is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on the SEC Network.