Reputation Costs Arkansas Needed Win at Baylor

Refs preconceived notions of Walsh, Musselman influenced game

WACO, Texas – Some losses are hard to explain.

Arkansas shot 51 percent from the field. Baylor only 34%.

The Razorback defense held Baylor to only 46 points from the floor.

Rebounds were dead even, the Hogs knocked down seven more shots than Baylor and Arkansas was within two shots of equaling the Bears from behind the arc.

There were Hog calls drowning Baylor fans out in their own arena.

So, how did Arkansas find a way to lose, 67-64 Saturday afternoon?

The only explanation is reputation.

Preconceived notions contributed heavily to 21 points from the free throw line for Baylor. The Bears shot 24 free throws compared to only 11 for Arkansas.

The established reputations of Eric Musselman and Jordan Walsh have become a problem for Arkansas. 

For Musselman, it's probably well deserved, but for Walsh, it's becoming borderline mental abuse. He has to play a completely different game than everyone else is allowed to play just to stick around for more than 15 minutes.

Attention Baylor fans: be prepared for a lack of sportsmanship from the Arkansas basketball team, especially from head coach Eric Musselman. Let's keep the game respectful and competitive. https://t.co/XPFHOGsJa8

— Ronald Head (@RonaldHead1989) January 28, 2023

It's hard not to picture officials getting together before the game and placing targets on the back of both men. The announce team even discussed how referees meet at halftime and make a conscious choice to intentionally call a lot of fouls coming out of the half.

It only makes sense that a meeting would happen before the game to talk about what to expect and look for from individual coaches and players. The same type of meeting that may have gotten Jaylin Williams a few charge calls that should have been blocking got Musselman a technical and once again fouled Walsh out of the game.

When it comes to Musselman, the message is clear and it's one that very likely cost Arkansas a much-needed win on the road.

The referees weren't going to let Musselman rip them six ways from Sunday and act like he's going to come after them if his assistants don't hold him back. The actual offense wasn't shown on television and there's no video on Twitter as of this writing.

From what could be seen on television, Musselman was actually more toned down than usual. To make matters worse, Musselman appeared to have a legitimate point in regard to the foul called on Makhel Mitchell.

It worked though. The tech immediately poured cold water on the feisty Razorback coach.

As for Walsh, he has had at least four fouls in 10 games, including seven of his past 11. It's an issue that has taken a player who was expected to play at least 30 minutes in every game this season and reduced that number to only five games. 

Over the course of the Baylor game on Saturday and the Missouri game last week, Walsh racked up 10 fouls in 32 minutes of play.

At some point, the discussion has to turn from "Here's a guy who gets into foul trouble a lot" to "Here's a kid who gets targeted by other officiating teams and called for the slightest of fouls while everyone else gets to play a more physical game."

Someone from Arkansas has to get into the crew's ears before the game to get them to stop intentionally trying to ruin this young man's college experience. 

As for Musselman, this probably won't be the last technical foul of the year as referees try to rein him in. He will need to adjust because his reputation isn't going to change this season. He's gotten under the skin of too many officiating crews.

This team will probably be in close games the rest of the way. He won't be able to risk giving away free points again if he wants to get his team rolling.

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