FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coach Eric Musselman at his postgame press conference Sunday said he assumed his No. 13 Razorbacks would be in the top 10 of The Associated Press Top 25 on Monday.
Arkansas improved to 6-0 on the season with a 76-60 victory over Penn at Bud Walton Arena, capping a 3-0 week that included two wins at the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City. Musselman, however, was less than ecstatic about his team’s performance.
He briefly touched on the highlights – Stanley Umude scoring 19 points and grabbing seven rebounds off the bench, and Au’Diese Toney’s play prior to his second-half ejection – then a handful of the third-year Arkansas coach’s remarks centered on his disappointment in a number of areas of the game.
“I want to keep getting better, so I’m not going to sleep well tonight,” Musselman said pointedly. “I just saw too many holes.”
Perhaps the most pressing issue on Musselman’s mind following the win was the Razorbacks’ defensive showing – or lack thereof – against Quakers guard Clark Slajchert. The 6-1 guard finished with a team-high 25 points behind a 9-of-15 shooting effort in his ninth career game.
Sunday marked the second consecutive game and fourth time in the last five outings in which a player poured in 20 or more points against the Razorbacks. Slajchert entered the game at Arkansas with eight made field goals and 22 total points in Penn’s previous four games.
It is the most points the Razorbacks have allowed to a player in a game since Vanderbilt guard Saben Lee had 30 in the SEC Tournament in what turned out to be the final game of the 2019-20 season. Slajchert stepped up for the Quakers in the absence of star guard Jordan Dingle.
“Defensively at the guard spot, I expect us to lock people up,” Musselman said. “I don’t expect guys to go for career nights. That’s not who we have been in the past in the backcourt defensively.
“I had no idea that 0 was that good, although I knew he averaged about 18 (points) per 40 minutes, so I knew he could score the ball.”
Musselman wasn’t a fan, either, of Arkansas’ 15 turnovers.
Five players finished with two or more. Jaylin Williams, who also had a team-high six assists, led the way with four miscues in 28 minutes. And three of the team’s turnovers came from reserve forwards Kamani Johnson and Trey Wade, who combined to play 11 minutes.
According to KenPom data, the Razorbacks’ 20.2% turnover rate Sunday was their second-highest mark in six games. Arkansas committed a turnover on 21.9% of its possessions in the season opener against Mercer.
Valuing possession has been a hallmark of Musselman’s teams at the college level and is a non-negotiable for those on his roster. In six-plus seasons as a college coach, his team has finished in the top 25 nationally in offensive turnover percentage four times.
“Turnovers are a huge problem, a huge issue,” he said. “Not happy at all. Penn is not a team that turns people over. … Taking care of the basketball, we have to get a lot better at. I wish we could practice right now, but we can’t.”
After a mini 5-0 run by Umude in the second half, Arkansas led Penn by 22. It was, at the time, the Razorbacks’ largest lead of the game. The Quakers, by the 4:11 mark of the second half, had trimmed Arkansas’ edge to 66-56.
The Razorbacks failing to keep their foot on the throttle irked Musselman.
“I’m on edge today about getting better,” he said. “Happy that we won and happy that we’re undefeated. But tonight, you’ve got to play your minutes so people like Jaxson (Robinson) can get in the game and we can evaluate.
“But when you mess around with the game and you don’t close people out, you know, unfortunately not everybody gets an opportunity to go out there and prove themselves.”
Umude’s showing, his best of the season, was a definite bright spot, as was the collective 10 assists from guards JD Notae and Davonte Davis. The Razorbacks posted their best defensive efficiency rating of the season (81.0), according to KenPom.
But, for Musselman and Arkansas, there is plenty to work on between now and Wednesday’s home game against Central Arkansas.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the number of consecutive games Arkansas has allowed an opposing player to score 20 or more points. It has been corrected.