Eric Musselman laments offensive drought at end of spirited first half vs. Auburn
By Keith Farner
Published:
Arkansas built a 10-point lead in the first half against No. 1 Auburn, but then sputtered down the stretch and didn’t score a field goal in the final 8:29 as Auburn locked down its defense.
Because of that, Arkansas led just 28-25 at halftime as the defensive battle saw Auburn shoot 26 percent from the field, and Arkansas was 31 percent.
In a halftime interview with Alyssa Lang on ESPN2, Arkansas coach Eric Musselman voiced his frustration that the Razorbacks couldn’t finish with loose balls.
“We got to share the ball more on offense and loose balls, and then loose balls, we got to dive on the floor and get the loose ball,” Musselman said. “Just too much offensive rebounding.”
The Razorbacks hit a drought of 0-for-7 and 2-for-9 down the stretch, and during that stretch, Auburn went on a 10-1 run to end the half, including a late runner from Wendell Green Jr.
As for defense, Musselman said Arkansas played great defense, but must finish it with a defensive rebound.
Along with loose balls, Auburn took advantage of second-chance points.
Arkansas built a big lead behind a hostile environment thanks to a 16-2 run over 5:58 earlier in the first half, as Auburn struggled to find its rhythm on offense, and committed 4 turnovers and shot just 1-for-10 during that sequence.
Yup! @icyywen ↗️ @DevanCambridge pic.twitter.com/X8eCms44Pp
— Auburn Basketball 🦚 (@AuburnMBB) February 9, 2022
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
