AUSTIN, Texas — Arkansas coach Eric Musselman anticipated weeks ago that the Razorbacks would have some eye-opening experiences this preseason and early in the regular season.
They had their first one Saturday at Moody Center against No. 12 Texas.
Arkansas, the preseason No. 10 team in the Associated Press Top 25, lost 90-60 to the Longhorns in a highly anticipated exhibition between the long-time rivals. Texas went ahead 5-0 early and led the entire game.
“We have 11 new guys, so obviously we're going to be a work in progress. How far that work in progress gets, I don't know,” Musselman said. “But this is a great game for us. It's not that we played great.
“We played as bad as any 40 minutes of basketball since I've been involved in college basketball.”
Through the opening 18-plus minutes, the exhibition was competitive. The Razorbacks had not led, but the Longhorns’ largest lead was seven points.
Arkansas trailed 22-21 when Nick Smith completed an old-fashioned three-point play on the first possession following the under-8-minute media timeout.
But a late 7-0 run capped by a left-wing three-pointer from Texas guard Tyrese Hunter ballooned the lead to 40-30 at halftime. The Longhorns hit 5 of 9 three-point looks prior to the break.
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“It’s hard to get a lot of separation in 17 minutes,” Musselman said. “We subbed more than we will, obviously, in a regular-season game, but (Texas) Coach (Chris) Beard’s team had great toughness tonight.
“I thought they climbed all over the offensive boards at the beginning of the game. I think they set the tone.”
Things then got much worse for the Razorbacks as they opened the second half poorly. They knocked down just 2 of their first 12 shots from the floor, and Texas made 10 of its first 12 second-half looks.
Following a layup by Smith with 16:03 remaining, the Longhorns reeled off 20 consecutive points to extend their lead to 69-35. Texas made 3 three-pointers during that stretch, including one to make it a 30-point game.
“This is happening in practice,” Musselman said. “When one team gets up, the momentum just keeps going. That’s something we’ve got to work through, even in practice.
“That’s really uncharacteristic of how we’ve been, not to have competitive stamina when somebody comes at you and goes on a scoring run.”
Against Texas’ length and on-ball pressure, Arkansas struggled with turnovers and on the defensive backboard. The Razorbacks committed 23 turnovers, including 12 in the first half, and the Longhorns turned the miscues into 26 points.
Texas also grabbed 13 offensive rebounds. Six of the Longhorns’ first nine rebounds came off their own misses. They made 10 of 16 three-point attempts in the win, including 5 of 7 in the second half.
Musselman noted that he wants the Razorbacks to limit their turnovers to 9 or less, allow 5 or fewer three-pointers and 9 or less opponent offensive rebounds.
“All of the goals that we’ve talked about for the last three years, none of them were met,” Musselman said. “Hence the 30-point loss.”
For Arkansas, freshman wing Jordan Walsh led the way with 14 points, including 12 in the second half, on 6 of 8 from the floor. Smith finished with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting in 28 minutes, and the Razorbacks were outscored by 34 with him on the floor.
Smith accounted for Arkansas’ lone made three-pointer until the 6:03 mark of the second half. Smith and Walsh made three of the Razorbacks’ four shots from beyond the arc, and freshman guard Joseph Pinion added the other.
Transfer forward Makhi Mitchell added 8 points and 4 rebounds off the bench, and Pinion had 7 points on 2-of-5 shooting. Mitchell did not score in the second half as he missed both field goal attempts. He finished 3 of 9 from the field.
Texas, which scored 50 points in the second half, placed five players in double figures. The Longhorns also held Arkansas to 40% shooting in each half.
"I would say we played some really good streaks of basketball," Beard said. "You know, basketball is a game of runs. I thought we did a really good job defensively to hold them to 30 points both halves.
"I was really proud of that."
Texas freshman guard Arterio Morris scored a game-high 19 points and made 4 threes, and fellow freshman Dillon Mitchell chipped in 10 points. The duo combined to make 11 of 15 shots.
Timmy Allen, an All-Big 12 performer a season ago, added 12 points and 4 assists, and New Mexico State transfer guard Jabari Rice had 11 points.
“They’re a really good ball team,” Musselman said of the Longhorns. “They’re an excellent team, and they’re really well-coached. We’ve played Coach Beard’s team before, so it’s a lot of the same themes.
“It’s a pretty simple formula, but it’s hard to solve if you don’t do what you need to do against them.”
Arkansas is scheduled to officially open the season on Monday, Nov. 7 against North Dakota State at Bud Walton Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on SEC Network-Plus.