Razorback Fans Need to Develop Some Patience Every Year

Eric Musselman seems to get Hogs rolling in mid-January, which is happening again this year

Andy Hodges | Jan 30, 2022

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — For the third year in a row, Arkansas has things rolling around mid-to-late January.

Earlier this year, the Razorbacks struggled with starts each half, then it was rebounding and defense.

Saturday, they out-rebounded West Virginia, 44-26, That was kind of their thing.

"If we didn’t rebound, we weren’t going to win," Eric Musselman said after a 77-68 win Saturday afternoon.

Those 44 rebounds included out-rebounding West the Mountaineers 33-19 on the defensive glass. The Hogs outscored West Virginia 36-26 in the paint.

Okay, that was hard to predict.

Eric Musselman-WVU — Michael Morrison / allHOGS Images

Jaylin Williams-WVU — Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports

Davonte Davis-WVU — Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports

A lot of that was due to Jaylin Williams' blue-collar approach to grabbing every rebound possible and doing whatever he has to do to win.

Against WVU, the sophomore from Fort Smith Northside had an eye-popping 15 rebounds to go along with 12 points.

"Phenomenal,” was how Musselman described it later. “Fourteen defensive rebounds against a really physical program that's known for its rebounding. He was phenomenal on the glass tonight."

Trey Wade-WVU — Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports

His shooting wasn't that great (3-of-13), but nobody was dwelling on that.

"He probably took a career high in field goals attempted, too," Musselman said. "But he was awesome on the defensive backboards."

It's taken until the middle of January for this team to actually start doing what Musselman preaches — defense and rebounding. Au'Diese Toney, who had disappeared for a couple of games, came roaring back against WVU with 19 points and seven rebounds.

"We've been prioritizing (defense)," Williams said. "Everybody has been locking in on defense trying to get stops ... trying to get kills on defense."

AuDiese Toney-WVU — Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports

It all came together on Saturday.

"We dominated the backboards," Musselman said. "From a physical standpoint we did an incredible job on the glass as well as being pretty physical defensively."

Now the trick is keeping that focused going forward.

After starting 0-3 in SEC play, a lot of Hog fans had jumped off the Muss Bus. They were back Saturday.

It was hard to find anybody who thought the NIT was possible.

Now, at 16-5, they were back Saturday. Finding a ticket to the game with West Virginia was downright difficult and it was a little pricey on the secondary markets.

After a mid-week road trip to face a struggling Georgia team this week, the Hogs will host Mississippi State and No. 1 Auburn followed by a road trip to Alabama.

We'll have a better idea about this team then.

But fans might want to have a little patience.

Bob Huggins-WVU — Michael Morrison / allHOGS Images

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Published Jan 30, 2022

ANDY HODGES

Sports columnist, writer, former radio host and television host who has been expressing an opinion on sports in the media for over four decades. He has been at numerous media stops in Arkansas, Texas and Mississippi.