Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman and his Razorbacks have been struggling recently and have no momentum heading into the most intense part of the college basketball season.
Heading into the 2022-23 season, Musselman was able to reel in three freshman five-star recruits, Nick Smith Jr., Anthony Black, and Jordan Walsh.
Nick Smith Jr., who was ranked No. 1 nationally in the 2022 class, is averaging 13.8 points per game.
Smith Jr. was sidelined for a chunk of the season due to a knee injury that he suffered in mid-December, but he is back now and healthy.
Anthony Black, who was ranked No. 17 nationally, is averaging 12.8 points per game and Jordan Walsh is providing a spark off the bench, averaging 7.1 points per game.
With a freshman class like this, you would expect pure domination. However, the Hogs have fallen short of that expectation.
Arkansas is cold at the wrong time; can Musselman bring back the Hogs?
At the beginning of the season, Arkansas started off winning 12 out of 13 games before losing to LSU on Dec. 18.
The game against LSU was Arkansas’ first SEC game of the year and the loss put them at 0-1.
The Hogs finished SEC play 8-10 and 9th overall.
Arkansas finished the regular season 19-12, which is not bad at all, but that is not what’s sounding the alarm.
The alarm began ringing once the Hogs finished the regular season on a three-game losing streak.
The tusks are face down for the Hogs as they are not on a hot streak when they need to be.
The losing streak is sponsored by the Alabama Crimson Tide, Tennessee Volunteers, and Kentucky Wildcats.
The bad three-game stretch began on Feb. 25 when the Hogs lost in Alabama 86-83.
A loss by three in a tough college environment in Tuscaloosa, Ala. was something the Razorbacks should be proud of, but the 18-point loss in Knoxville, Tenn. three days later is not.
Junior Davonte Davis led Arkansas in points against Tennessee with 13, but it was not enough to overpower Tennessee forward Oliver Nkamhoua’s 16.
After the loss in Knoxville, Arkansas traveled back to Fayetteville where it faced the red-hot Kentucky Wildcats.
A game that was consumed by 52 foul calls found the Wildcats defeating Arkansas 88-79.
Smith Jr., led the Razorbacks in points against the Cats with 25, however, Kentucky guard Antonio Reeves stole the show and dropped a career-high 37 points.
That is how the curtain closed on the 2022-23 regular season campaign for Arkansas.
The Razorbacks were given a first-round bye and the No. 10 seed in the SEC tournament, meaning they have to play the No. 7-seeded Auburn Tigers.
The second-round matchup between Arkansas and Auburn is taking place on Thursday, March 9 and all college basketball fans are in for a treat as Arkansas lost to Auburn by 13 back on Jan. 7 in Auburn.
Do you know what that means? Could we see a March revenge tour for the Hogs?
Right now, the Razorbacks are averaging 74.8 points per game while giving up 67.2 points on average.
Arkansas junior Ricky Council IV is leading Arkansas in points per game right now as he is averaging 16.5 every time he steps onto the court.
I guess the main question here is will Arkansas be able to figure its game out at this point in the season?
The Razorbacks have an opportunity to make a run in the SEC tournament which will light that momentum we were talking about needing heading into the big dance.
Will it be easy? Absolutely not, but is it possible? Definitely.