Eric Musselman Not Getting Drawn into Rankings Discussion

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas coach Eric Musselman was told just before the start of the game with Kentucky a win meant no game in the SEC Tournament until the third day on Friday.

"We want more," he said after beating Kentucky, 75-73, in front of another Bud Walton Arena crowd over 20,000. "We want to continue to win."

Once again, this coaching staff put together a game plan that worked about as well as they could have hoped.

The Razorbacks didn't try to stop Oscar Tshiebwe, the Wildcats' big man in the middle that might just be the best player in the country this season. He got his 30 points.

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As Musselman said, they just didn't want to get beat by three-pointers and the other players these Hogs matched up much better with defensively.

The result was a win that pushed this team to 23-6 overall, 12-4 in the SEC. In mid-January, a lot of folks had given up on this season already.

But since Jan. 8, they've lost one game — by a point on the road at Alabama — winning 13 of the last 14 games.

Musselman still isn't getting dragged into talking about a lack of respect in the rankings (and it's a good guess that will change Monday).

Or if they are good enough to get into the conversation speculating on who is good enough to play for a national championship.

"We're good enough that we've gotta keep getting better," he said. "That's all I know."

Since that wasn't the response the questioner wanted, he decided to re-phrase the question. Musselman wasn't taking the bait.

"I just want to keep getting better," he said. "I want our players to understand we have a lot of areas we can keep improving on. I've never been happier and prouder. It's a fun group. We're having a blast. We're grinding in practice. But we're having fun, too."

That's the answer you'd expect from a coach that's hit slow-pitch softball questions out of the park for a few years.

He knows none of that matters right now.

The Hogs are the surprise team right now. Back in January, it was way too early to start digging the hole for a team that has proven it gets better along the way.

Musselman probably didn't really want this team playing its best in early January. Like several coaches have told me over the years, all that matters is playing your best in March.

Now they are on an upward trajectory.

But the guess is they aren't going to coast through these final two regular-season games at home against LSU on Wednesday night, then finishing on the road at Tennessee on Saturday.

"We gotta get ready for LSU, too," he said. "That's part of the package."

Is Shoulder Sling Doomed Yet?

After going through torn rotator cuff surgery that caused Musselman to miss the first matchup with LSU back in January, he may have it on again Wednesday night.

It was expected Saturday's game would be the last time he'd have to wear it. He's been cleared, at least by part of the people having input.

"From a medical standpoint, yes," he said. "We've been winning a lot of games with that sling. I hate it. But I have two bosses."

One of them is athletics director Hunter Yurachek, who was at the back during the press conference Saturday. The other is his wife, Danyelle.

"On two separate occasions I've been told to leave it on," he said. "I don't wanna. I hate it. I pray every night and I'm thankful we've won like we have, but it has not been fun coaching with it."

He didn't really answer the question. The likely guess is somebody doesn't want to change anything on a winning streak. That's one of those silly baseball deals that carries over to other sports at times.

"I'll probably get called into the principal's office and Hunter will have a meeting with me on it," he said.

In case you were wondering, Yurachek was in the back of the room and slipped out the back door about that time.

He was smiling.

• Graphix look back at Hogs' football

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