Still paywall but a good read.
Cliffs Notes:
Muss beat Chris Beard at his own game; Mac McClung wore Devo like a glove; Muss has turned Justin into a star; he’s not just a captive of the transfer portal anymore, and anyone who says they knew that game at BWA in December was a Sweet 16 preview is a pathological liar.
That’s an awesome article. Writer from Louisville so he gets our proud tradition. Some other excerpts.
Arkansas hadn’t advanced to the Sweet 16 since 1996, an almost unfathomable quarter century drought for one of the glamour teams of the mid 1990s and the second most devoted fan base in the SEC. it’s appropriate that they had to go through Techs vaunted “no middle” defense… cause the Hogs have been trying to get out of the middle seemingly forever. They were rarely bad under Stan Heath, John Pelphrey and Mile Anderson, going to 10 NCAA tournaments and 3 NITs in the past 22 years while averaging 19 wins/season. Yet they could never recapture the glory days of Nolan Richardson either. In KenPoms program ranking covering 1997 - 2020 Arkansas checked in at #48. For a power conference team with its resources, that’s smack dab in middle earth.
I heard Brian asking Justin a question in the postgame newser so I knew he was writing.
Also interesting hearing Indiana writers asking Justin about the difference between UA and IU. He didn’t throw Archie Miller under the bus (the IU AD did that for him) but he made it clear he prefers his current coach.
Couple more quotes. Writer mentions the coaching carousel and says, “He surely has heard his name get tossed around for openings at MN and Indiana owing much to how often he has changed jobs. Nothing can be ruled out in the coaching carousel but Musselman has everything he needs to win at a high level in Fayetteville. And that’s exactly what he’s doing. It’s time he gets his due for being one of the best minds in the college game. A relived giddy state of Arkansas will surely vouch for that.
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