FAYETTEVILLE -- The University of Arkansas men's basketball team got an early wake-up call before traveling to the Bahamas to play in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament. <\/p>\n
Not the wake-up call for the team's charter flight on Monday, but one at Walton Arena last Friday night when North Carolina-Greensboro beat the No. 14 Razorbacks 78-72. <\/p>\n
It was the first time Razorbacks Coach Eric Musselman suffered a loss in 59 nonconference home games at Nevada and Arkansas, which dropped to No. 20 in The Associated Press poll released Monday. <\/p>\n
The Razorbacks (3-1) will try to erase the disappointment of the UNCG loss when they play Stanford (3-1) at 6:30 p.m. Central today at Imperial Arena in Nassau, Bahamas. <\/p>\n
It's the first of three games in the tournament for each of the eight participating teams. Arkansas will play either Memphis or Michigan on Thursday and either No. 14 North Carolina, Villanova, Texas Tech or Northern Iowa on Friday. <\/p>\n
\"We've got to win some games,\" Razorbacks senior guard Davonte Davis said. \"We're coming here to win. <\/p>\n
\"We know [UNCG] was a bad loss, but we've got to put it behind us and focus on the next game.\" <\/p>\n
Junior guard Tramon Mark led Arkansas against UNCG with 21 points. <\/p>\n
\"We went over it. We watched film. We took a deep breath,\" Mark said. \"Just examined all the things we did wrong, some of the things we did good. <\/p>\n
\"But we came out with the 'L' so we have to take that ... and just move on from it. <\/p>\n
\"We're still getting better and we're going to continue to get better as a team, and that's what we're doing right now.\" <\/p>\n
Stanford Coach Jerod Haase, whose team came to the Bahamas off a 95-70 victory over Eastern Washington, said he understands the Razorbacks' mindset after they were upset a home. <\/p>\n
\"The expectation is that we're going to be playing against a team that's highly motivated,\" Haase said. \"They're going to want to get back out there as soon as possible and play a great game. But hopefully our motivation level is also very high.\" <\/p>\n
Beating Arkansas would be a statement victory for the Cardinal. <\/p>\n
\"I think right now the expectation is for our guys to really embrace the opportunity and compete,\" Haase said. \"And from what I've seen in practice, I think that's what we'll get.\" <\/p>\n
Stanford 7-1 junior center Maxime Raynaud is averaging 19.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Senior point guard Jared Bynum, a transfer from Providence, is averaging 9.5 points and 8.5 assists. <\/p>\n
The Cardinal's most-heralded player is 6-7 freshman guard Andrej Stojakovic, a McDonald's All-American who is averaging 13.3 points. He's the son of Peja Stojakovic, who played 14 seasons in the NBA. <\/p>\n
Musselman went against Peja Stojakovic as an NBA head coach and assistant numerous times. <\/p>\n
\"Peja was incredible, and his son is an incredible offensive player when you look at how he can basket cut. He can dribble-drive. He can shoot the three,\" Musselman said. \"Playing with a lot of confidence in a really short sample size.\" <\/p>\n
Andrej Stojakovic has hit 21 of 46 shots, including 9 of 21 three-pointers. <\/p>\n
\"It's one thing for a freshman to have great numbers in games 13 through 18, but he's come out the first four games and been a proven scorer,\" Musselman said. \"He's seized the opportunity when other guys have been out.\" <\/p>\n
Stanford senior forward Brandon Angel and Spencer Jones are questionable for tonight's game because of injuries. They're averaging 18.8 points and 7.7, respectively. <\/p>\n
\"It's a mending process and we're trying to help them along as much as we can,\" Haase said. \"But we're also not totally in control of that.\" <\/p>\n
Musselman has a 98-43 record in his fifth season at Arkansas and led the Razorbacks to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight in 2021 and 2022 and the Sweet 16 last year. <\/p>\n
\"He's done a tremendous job building the program, putting rosters together and getting his teams to really compete at a high level,\" Haase said. \"That's obvious with the success he's had. <\/p>\n
\"When you have a lot of talent and a well-coached team, that's a tough matchup.\" <\/p>\n
After returning home from the Bahamas, the Razorbacks play No. 9 Duke on Nov. 29 at Walton Arena. <\/p>\n
\"I would say this four-game segment -- regardless of who we play in Game 2 and Game 3 here -- is probably the toughest four-game segment of anybody in the country,\" Musselman said. \"I haven't looked at everybody's schedule, but I can pretty much guarantee that nobody has a more difficult four-game schedule that we're staring at right now.\" <\/p>\n
Musselman said the Razorbacks want to put together a winning streak at the Battle 4 Atlantis. <\/p>\n
\"But I'm never going to lose the philosophy of every single day trying to figure out A, how to just put ourselves in a position to make an NCAA Tournament?\" Musselman said. \"And then B, how are we in the right mindset physically, mentally going into March? <\/p>\n
\"But first you've got to get there, and the only way to get into the NCAA Tournament is to win games. So high priority to play well these three games, because we do know that there is a national television audience that's going to watch these games as well and evaluate teams' performances.\" <\/p>\n
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Hogs aiming to get back to business in Bahamas - Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" FAYETTEVILLE -- The University of Arkansas men's basketball team got an early wake-up call before traveling to the Bahamas to play in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament. Not the wake-up call for the team's charter flight on Monday, but one at Walton Arena last Friday night when North Carolina-Greensboro beat the No. 14 Razorbacks 78-72 Continue reading