The No. 20 Arkansas Razorbacks (4-1) will look to advance to the finals of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament with a win against the Memphis Tigers (4-0) at Paradise Island in the Bahamas on Thursday in the Hogs' second of three games.
Arkansas defeated Stanford by a score of 77-74 in double overtime on Wednesday evening, while Memphis had a slightly easier time in a 71-67 win over Michigan.
Led by sixth-year head coach Penny Hardaway, the Tigers finished the 2022-23 season with a 26-9 (13-5 AAC) record. Memphis has an unblemished record to this point with wins over Jackson State, Missouri, Alabama State and Michigan.
"Coach Hardaway does a great job," Musselman said. "They play really, really hard. They've got some size up front and then they've got really good length at the wings. Obviously Hardaway played really good for them shooting the basketball.
"David Jones is a handful, because he can play multiple positions. Jaykwon Walton is a multi-skilled player. Mills. They've got a lot of guys that are kind of position-less players, Memphis does."
Arkansas will also be going up against a familiar face in former Alabama guard Jahvon Quinerly. The senior guard for Memphis scored 16 points and added seven rebounds the last time he faced Arkansas with Alabama on Feb. 25.
Preparing for Memphis on such a short turnaround will be tough. The Tigers rank top-50 nationally in scoring offense, 3-point percentage, rebounds, blocks and steals.
"For the staff, really late (night)," Musselman said. "We'll go eat. We've got our prep ready. But right now, rest and for these (players) getting ready is going to be important."
Arkansas and Memphis met 14 times from 1992-2003, but they haven't met a single time since. The last meeting came on Jan. 2, 2003, when Arkansas suffered a 72-67 defeat in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks have an 11-10 advantage in the all-time series.
Musselman is only one win shy of 100 as Razorback head coach. He is 99-43 in his fifth season at Arkansas and 209-77 in his ninth year as a collegiate head coach.
Here's stats, efficiency ratings, projected lineups and more ahead of Wednesday's game, which is set to tipoff at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU:
