Saturday turned into a horrible matchup for the University of Arkansas.
On Jan. 4, the Hogs beat Texas A&M 69-59 in Fayetteville.
Their record was a gaudy 13-1 and included road victories at Indiana and Georgia Tech.
A short bench? So what.
A short team? No problem.
Or so it seemed.
The Razorbacks finished 6-11 and now face the fact that there is no NCAA Tournament this month.
It probably will be the only time Eric Musselman doesn’t make it while he’s here.
His preparation for every opponent is amazing. He and his staff did everything this season but make three-pointers and grab steals.
In the end, the Hogs didn’t have enough players who could play in the SEC, but the losses were close because of the prep work.
Enthusiasm from the Razorback Nation carried to the very end of this season, and it will continue next season when Musselman adds four freshmen who can compete in the SEC. And he’s more than likely going to find another big man in the transfer portal.
On Saturday, the Hogs arrived in College Station with designs on becoming part of March Madness, and securing a No. 9 seed in the SEC Tournament and not playing until Thursday.
They left with a 77-69 loss, the No. 11 seed in the SEC Tournament and the prospect of winning five games in five days in Nashville, Tenn., as their only chance to reach the Big Dance.
No SEC team has achieved that feat, and UA’s short bench makes it mission impossible.
The TV announcers couldn’t say enough about Aggies senior Josh Nebo, and he did hurt the Hogs inside. He was too big and strong, making 9 of 15 field goals and scoring 20 points almost easily.
The announcers declared him the player of the game.
He was good, but probably the third best player on the floor.
Razorback Mason Jones, one of the finalists for the Jerry West award and a strong candidate for SEC player of the year, scored 30 points. He was the best player on the floor.
Jones, Isaiah Joe (22 points) and Jimmy Whitt (10) combined for 62 points. The rest of the team scored seven.
The second best player on the floor was Aggies senior Wendell Mitchell, who came in averaging 9.7 points per game.
He lit the Hogs up for 25 points, including 5 of 10 three-pointers.
When the Razorbacks doubled on Nebo, Mitchell made them pay. He also had five rebounds and three assists.
It didn’t help the Hogs that the refs sent the Aggies to the free-throw line 31 times, 16 more than the Razorbacks. Texas A&M made 19.
But the biggest difference goes back to the short bench. The Aggies had 20 bench points to six for the Razorbacks.
That’s huge.
So now the Hogs are the No. 11 seed and play the late game Wednesday, which is one of the two play-in games. It is what Musselman said they had to avoid.
The Hogs couldn’t. The vaunted Arkansas defense just couldn’t stop the Aggies inside or out. The Aggies made 13 of 22 field goals in the second half and 5 of 9 three-pointers.
The Razorbacks did have 24 points off turnovers — their bread and butter — but they gave up 19.
This was a season that started off with a bang and ended with a thud, but notice was paid. No one wants to play the Razorbacks.
They are too prepared, and next season Musselman will be armed and dangerous with more SEC players.
It was a season of several highs and too many lows, but it was an exciting season. It helped wash away the memory of another dismal football season.
It was just the first chapter in a book of success that Musselman is writing.