Arkansas coach Eric Musselman likes how his team responded after it dropped a 92-63 decision to Tennessee at home on Feb. 14.
The Razorbacks stepped up their effort while losing 71-67 at Mississippi State last Saturday before posting a 78-71 victory at Texas A&M on Tuesday.
“Our competitiveness, our toughness, will to win, I thought it was at a high level against Mississippi State, and I thought we carried that over to another 40 minutes (versus the Aggies),” Musselman said.
Arkansas (13-13, 4-9 Southeastern Conference) will look to put forth another strong performance on Saturday when it hosts Missouri (8-18, 0-13) in Fayetteville, Ark.
“Sometimes when you’re struggling, it’s hard to have the energy and the enthusiasm, but I think the staff and players have done a great job of continuing to try to get better,” Musselman said.
The Razorbacks are paced by guards Tramon Mark (17.2 points per game) and Khalif Battle (10.6). Forwards Trevon Brazile (knee soreness) and Jalen Graham (groin strain) are getting healthier ahead of the stretch run.
“I would say both guys are nearing a return,” Musselman said. “Whether that’s Saturday or Tuesday or the following Saturday — sometime within the next three games — we would expect to have both of them back.”
Musselman said guard Keyon Menifield (groin strain) also is nearing a return.
The injury-depleted Tigers have lost 13 in a row and 16 of their last 17 games. They suffered near-misses at Ole Miss (79-76) last Saturday and against No. 5 Tennessee (72-67) on Tuesday.
Missouri held the Volunteers to 26 first-half points with a strong defensive effort.
“It was just about getting our defense together and if we’re not scoring, we can’t let them score,” Tigers forward Noah Carter said.
Leading Missouri scorer Sean East II (16.4 points per game) totaled 49 points in those losses after missing two games with a knee contusion.
The Tigers lost swingman John Tonje for the season with a foot injury. Guard Caleb Grill has been shelved with a hand injury while forward Trent Pierce remains sidelined by an inner-ear issue.
–Field Level Media