FAYETTEVILLE -- University of Arkansas guard Mason Jones, asked about LSU's size advantage on the interior for tonight's game, said the Razorbacks' advance scouting and game planning under Coach Eric Musselman has paid off time after time.
"We've seen this before," Jones said. "But it's SEC play, so you know every game is a grind.
Lucky 13
• Eric Musselman has a 12-1 record in his first 13 games as the Hogs’ head coach. Here’s a look at the 13-game marks for all first-year Arkansas coaches
Coach Season Thru 13 games Win pct.
Eric Musselman 2019-20 12-1 .923
Francis Schmidt 1923-24 11-2 .846
Glen Rose 1933-34 11-2 .846
Eugene Lambert 1942-43 11-2 .846
John Pelphrey 2007-08 10-3 .769
Mike Anderson 2011-12 10-3 .769
Glen Rose 1952-53 8-5 .615
Nolan Richardson 1985-86 8-5 .615
Charles Bassett 1929-30 7-6 .538
Eddie Sutton 1974-75 7-6 .538
Stan Heath 2002-03 5-8 .385
Presley Askew 1949-50 4-9 .308
Dudy Waller 1966-67 4-9 .308
Lanny Van Eman 1970-71 4-9 .308
"Just the fact that Coach Muss and the coaching staff prepares us for every game and gives us an in-depth scout on every player is incredible."
Arkansas (12-1) has raced out to its best start since 2008-09 while opening 12-1 for the 15th time in school history.
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LSU (9-4) opened SEC play with a 78-64 road win at Tennessee on Saturday.
Jones said knowing player tendencies has led to critical decisions for the Hogs.
"That's why we always walk on the court 3-4 steps ahead of every team, because we prepare harder than we ever did before," Jones said. "We're doing their plays three, four times and we're diving into each player, knowing what they like and don't like and knowing we can take advantage of that is incredible."
Series stats
Arkansas leads the all-time series 36-31, including a 32-26 edge since the Razorbacks joined the SEC for the 1991-92 season.
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In Baton Rouge, La., the Tigers lead 17-12.
Stat guru
Arkansas guard Mason Jones has shown his versatility this season by playing everywhere from point guard to the 4 spot and guarding virtually every position on the floor.
Jones leads the Razorbacks in scoring (19.5), rebounding (6.2), assists (2.75) and steals (1.9).
His lead in scoring is by eight points over Isaiah Joe (234-226). His 74 rebounds are three more than Jimmy Whitt. His 33 assists are one more than Whitt and Jalen Harris, and his 23 steals are one more than Joe and Adrio Bailey.
Check-in time
Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said in reviewing video of the Razorbacks' 69-59 victory over Texas A&M, he noticed when the Aggies made substitutions, players weren't always at the scorer's table ready to check in.
"Coach [Buzz] Williams does a great job of kind of mucking the game up, making it slow, making it ugly," Musselman said on his radio show Monday night. "We're going to have look at his substitutions, because guys were still on the bench, and it was allowing us not to inbound the ball quickly after free throws or made baskets.
"I'm not so sure those substitutions were completely the way they were supposed to be. I thought the guy was supposed to be sitting at the scorer's table."
Arkansas' final regular-season game is at Texas A&M on March 7.
"When we play them at their place, we're going to take a close look at the substitutions and make sure those guys are already at the table, because I thought it gave them an extra two or three seconds when I went back and watched the game tape," Musselman said. "I didn't really notice while the game was going on. But you live and learn."
'Pete' party
The Razorbacks celebrated a 90-89 victory over No. 19 LSU during their last trip to Baton Rouge, La., last Feb. 2.
Daniel Gafford led the Razorbacks with 23 points on 11 of 15 shooting and added 8 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.
Mason Jones hit the game-winning shot from about 10 feet with 22 seconds remaining. The Tigers missed three shots on the other end during a closing flurry.
The Razorbacks had lost five of their previous seven games before upsetting LSU, which went on to claim the SEC regular season title.
"Last year was a good win," Jones said. "Probably one of the best wins that we had as a young team last year. But that was last year.
"We look forward to tomorrow's game and are just intrigued how they are going to play and how Skylar Mays and Javonte Smart are going to try and kill us and just start to lead the way from there."
Arkansas separated from a 56-48 game with a 10-0 run -- on a Jones three-pointer, two free throw by Adrio Bailey, a Bailey three-pointer and a Reggie Chaney dunk -- to lead 66-48 with 13:45 remaining before the Tigers staged a furious rally.
Isaiah Joe scored 18 points for the Razorbacks, while Keyshawn Embery-Simpson added 16 points, Jalen Harris had 11 and Jones 10.
Yo, Adrio
Arkansas forward Adrio Bailey, a senior from Clarence, La., who played at Lakeview High School, will make his final appearance in his home state when the Razorbacks play at LSU.
"I think it means a lot," Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said. "For student-athletes, I think any time you go play back home, so to speak, you always get a little bit more fired up.
"There's always more family members, friends, and then there's the pride factor. I don't think that ever goes away. It's the same thing with a Major League Baseball player when he plays in his hometown or his home state and same thing with an NFL player. Certainly I've seen it with NBA guys.
"There's a little bit more ticket requests and stuff like that. But bottom line is for anybody, you've got to put all that stuff aside when you're starting to get ready for a game from a mental standpoint."
Bailey injured his knee against Texas A&M and limped to the bench, but he returned to the game a few minutes later.
"I think he's fine," Musselman said. 'Obviously, we're aware of him banging knees and want him not to take as many reps. But we feel like he should be ready to go."
New wrinkles
Eric Musselman said the Razorbacks are constantly making adjustments in practice.
"Our team is evolving," Musselman said on his radio show. "We continue to add stuff every day in practice, whether it's a wrinkle on a last-second play that we run. That middle pick and roll with Mason [Jones] handling it and Isaiah [Joe] setting the screen, we've added several new wrinkles out of that.
"We just have to keep doing that, because you've got to respect the defense and respect other coaches in the league, that they're going to see what you're doing and they're going to try to take things away.
"If you stay status quo and you don't constantly adjust and tinker, teams are going to take things away from you. So we're going to continue to try to get better as the season progresses."
Muss wins
Eric Musselman has the best 13-game record among all first-year Arkansas coaches at 12-1. He had been tied with Francis Schmidt, the school's first basketball coach, who had an 11-1 start -- with the lone loss coming against Jonesboro YMCA -- in the program's debut season of 1923-24.
Sports on 01/08/2020