Razorbacks Eye the Big Dance

https://bustingbrackets.com/2023/02/23/arkansas-vs-alabama-2022-23-college-basketball-game-preview-tv-schedule/

Coming into the 2022-2023 season Coach Musselman and his Razorbacks basketball team had title ambitions because of the highly touted recruiting class that consisted of the three McDonalds All-Americans, one of which was top three recruit and projected top-five NBA Draft pick Nick Smith Jr. Muss also managed to bring in an uber-athletic Trevon Brazile from Missouri and twin big men Makhel and Makhi Mitchell from Rhode Island in the transfer portal. These additions gave Coach Muss easily his most anticipated season in his young career as Head Hog.

However, after starting the conference season with an abysmal 1-5 record following injuries to Trevon Brazile and Nick Smith Jr., Coach Muss was forced to rebuild his game plan to fit who was healthy. Senior guard Devo Davis and Freshman guard Anthony Black would step up to begin crawling back to five straight SEC wins, putting their hopes of a deep March Madness run back into fans' minds everywhere. 
After their winning streak, the Hogs went 2-2, bringing their SEC record to 5-5, but something big was coming. The anticipated return of Nick Smith Jr came against Mississippi State. Still, the Hogs would drop this game, and the next to Texas A&M., Smith looked terrible in both games. The jumper was off, and Smith seemed like the pace of SEC basketball was too much for him. However, in a Tuesday night game against Georgia, Smith and the Razorbacks' offense exploded. 

Smith scored 26 points on 64% shooting from the field. The team finally looked in sync and like they knew how to play together again. The win has Arkansas fans buzzing and looking forward to the February 25th matchup in Tuscaloosa with the controversial Crimson Tide.

Despite the season not being over yet, most bracketologists (college basketball experts who predict how the selection committee will seed the 64 teams invited to the March Madness Tournament) have Arkansas as a 7 to 9 seed and with no more potential "bad losses" the Razorbacks look to be a lock to make the big dance. This is a huge relief to some fans who thought this team would miss the tournament in January. Do not tell Eric Musselman this, though. As a seasoned coach at the college and NBA levels, he understands how crucial it is for teams to finish the regular season with good momentum and on a high note. 

With all of this being said, it is no secret that neither of the coaches, teams, or fans like each other, so I would expect a heavyweight fight as Arkansas looks to go into Tuscaloosa and knock off Nate Oats' second-ranked Crimson Tide.


Nick Smith Jr. in his 26-point explosion against Georgia.
Photo from: https://www.bestofarkansassports.com/arkansas-basketball-nick-smith-jr-insights-vs-georgia/grp_3363/

Location: College City, AR 72476, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

March is Madness

March Madness. It is said to be one of the most  electrifying  times in sports every year. Buzzer beaters, upsets, and Cinderella runs is what one can expect from the NCAA Tournament and conference tournaments every year.  The goal of every team in the nation starting in November is to make the tournament because once you make the field of 64 teams anything is possible and everyone has a chance to cut down the nets April 3rd.  There are two ways to make the tournament: at large bid or an auto bid. Auto bids come from every conference in the Division I ranks. Here is how your team can get an automatic place in the tournament — win the conference tournament. Seems simple enough, but for the smaller conferences such as the Patriot League typically only  receive  one representative; so in these "mid-major" conferences that conference championship means everything, and thus some of the most thrilling, gritty games will be in those conferences. This year Colgate won the Patriot Lea
Read more

A Fruitful Conversation About Home

Image
    Wynne, Arkansas, may not be known for many things these days. Most people don’t even know the little town forty minutes from Memphis, and Jonesboro exists. However, the home of the YellowJackets has quite a history in Eastern Arkansas.       Wynne is the county seat of Cross County, Arkansas, and this makes it very important to the economic development of Eastern Arkansas. Way back in the day, Cross County and Saint Francis County, the county directly south of Cross, were the biggest producers of peaches in the United States.       Although some other industries in the county also played a factor in the economic development of Cross County and Wynne—mainly railroads in the World War II era. However, agriculture has always been a considerable employer in my hometown. However, most of Cross County today is dominated by rice, soybeans, and sweet potatoes. Following the Civil War, peaches and many other fruits and vegetables were planted across the state to stop the overharvesting
Read more