There’s no denying that this season has been a major disappointment for Arkansas.
The 12th-seeded Razorbacks were a Top 25 team early in the season but have skidded to a 15-16 record. They will have to win five games in five days to take the Southeastern Conference tournament title and an NCAA berth, starting with Wednesday night’s game against No. 13 seed Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn.
That’s part of coach Eric Musselman is blending preparation for this game with preparation for next season. Musselman said Monday that he’s already making plans to hit the transfer portal when it officially opens for business March 18.
“We’re looking at it. We’ve made phone calls,” he said. “The most important thing is to prepare for Vanderbilt. That takes the front seat, and then the back seat would be recruiting and working the portal as names pop up in there.”
Arkansas finished the regular season Saturday with a 92-88 overtime loss at Alabama despite 22 points from Khalif Battle. In his prior four games, Battle rolled up 141 points, the most by any SEC player over the past 20 seasons.
Meanwhile, Vanderbilt (9-22) is coming off a 79-78 home win Saturday over Florida, as Tyrin Lawrence converted a layup with 14 seconds left and Ven-Allen Lubin stole the ball from Walter Clayton Jr. to seal the result.
Lubin was instrumental in other ways, too, posting game-high totals of 25 points and 11 rebounds as the Commodores won despite getting just eight points from their leading scorer, point guard Ezra Manjon.
“I thought that was an awesome game and that our guys competed,” Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse said. “I thought we kept fighting and grinding against a really good offensive team, and kept them from getting going.”
The Commodores made just 35.5 percent of their field-goal tries but were able to grab 20 offensive rebounds and force 16 turnovers, allowing them to take 18 more shots than the Gators.
Vanderbilt earned an 85-82 win at Arkansas on Feb. 27 behind 22 points from Manjon. Battle tallied a game-high 36 in the losing cause.
–Field Level Media
