Razorback head basketball coach Eric Musselman fires up Hogs fans after their NCAA selection party at the Broyles Athletic Center Sunday afternoon inside the SEC Club in Fayetteville, AR.

FAYETTEVILLE - The song “Shuffle Off to Buffalo” suits these Arkansas Razorbacks just fine.

Because for them, it was announced early Sunday evening,  shuffling off to Buffalo means dealing as the No. 4 seed against the 13th-seeded Vermont Catamounts in Thursday’s first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Arkansas and Vermont tip off at 8:20 CDT Thursday on TNT.

In Buffalo Saturday at the West Regional (listed West despite puzzling geography)  the Arkansas vs. Vermont winner meets Thursday’s winner in Buffalo between fifth-seed Connecticut and 12th-seeded New Mexico State.

Though Arkansas’ last game was an 82-64 loss to Texas A&M in last Saturday’s SEC Tournament semifinal, Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman anticipated a solid fourth seed after his 25-8 Razorbacks overcame an 0-3 SEC start to finish 13-5 fourth in a difficult lead including victories over the three SEC teams ahead of them, champion Auburn, and Kentucky at Walton Arena and splitting home and home with SEC Tournament champion Tennessee.

“It’s been a great season,” Musselman told Sunday’s watch party of season ticket holders.  “Our guys have played so hard throughout a long college basketball season and now we get a second life in us and get ready to represent you next week.  So I appreciate everybody’s support.  We hope to see some of you in Buffalo.”

A basketball junkie on a staff of basketball junkies, including director of operations Anthony Ruta who starts researching possible NCAA first-round opponents before Sunday’s official announcement, Musselman came prepared to talk some about Vermont, the 28-5 America East champion and America East Tournament champion.

“Vermont, is a really, really good offensive team,” Musselman told Sunday’s gathering.  “They control tempo.  One of the slower paced teams in the nation. Really good shooting team.  And then from a rebounding standpoint they are one of the best defensive  rebounding teams in the entire country. So we have our work cut out for us.  We’re going to have tremendous respect for Vermont.  As a team we’ll start prepping.  Right now the coaches will go back and we’ll start sending film to the guys and watch a little bit of Vermont as we get ready to get on the floor tomorrow and dive right into it.”

Later to media, Musselman said as the coach at Nevada he has personal experience vs. Vermont.

“We played against them at Nevada in the CBI Tournament,” Musselman said. “Their coach (John Becker) does a phenomenal job.”

He explained how.

“They space the floor,”  Musselman said. “They have great shooting. Their center (Ryan Davis, averaging 17.2 points ) is one of their premier scorers. They have  an off guard (Ben Shungu averaging 16.1 points)  that can really score the ball. So defending the three will be very, very important for us.  Preparations will be paramount because our guys So it will be important  to get as much prep work as we can in a short amount of time.”

Players were to start watching film Sunday night and hit the practice court Monday. 

Musselman said he arrived Ruta advised since Sunday morning about Vermont.

“(Joe) Lunardi better watch out,” Musselman said of the ESPN bracketologist.  “Coach Ruta, had Vermont and Chattanooga. Those were the two he kept calling me this morning and telling me. … I don’t know how he knows all that, especially since the Iowa game was still going and Houston was still playing. But he’s been pretty good about this from the past.”

Speaking of past, Musselman is painfully aware Arkansas’ most recent past is not good,  Saturday’s swoon against the Aggies in Tampa obliterates memories of Arkansas’ Friday SEC Tournament  victory over LSU.

“I’m still trying to get over Tampa,” Musselman told media Sunday. “But I think to see your name called and then find out and find out who you’re playing and where you’re playing, for the student-athletes is a lifetime memory for them. And now the preparation begins.”

Arkansas’ two All-SEC players, senior guard JD Notae and sophomore center Jaylin Williams, both integral parts of last year’s 25-7 Razorbacks advancing all the way to the NCAA Elite Eight, were asked about shaking off yet learning from last Saturday’s debacle.

“We just watched film on it, did a little cleanup of what we did wrong to be better,” Notae said. “But we’ve put that behind us and we’re focused on Vermont.”

Williams said the loss grabbed their attention.

“We’ve got to get better,”Williams said.  “We’ve got stuff we’ve got to correct. We have to learn from every loss, grow from every win. We’ve got to grow from everything. We just have to come as a better team this next game.”

Notae and Williams said they are thrilled to play in a second consecutive NCAA Tournament and thrilled that in their last year Razorbacks graduate transfer starters Au’Diese Toney, via the University of Pittsburgh, and Stanley Umude via the University of South Dakota, get to dance their first Big Dance.

 “I’m very excited for them,” Notae, a junior transfer via the University of Jacksonville redshirting at Arkansas in 2019-20 before lettering last year as All-SEC Sixth Man become unanimous first-team All-SEC starting guard this season.  “Because I know last year I was in their spot not having been to an NCAA Tournament. I know those guys are excited, to to be a part of something like this. I know they’re really happy to be here.”

While happy with the favorable seed, Musselman noted the far closer to home court advantage that Vermont has Thursday and that UConn would have if the Hogs and Connecticut clash Saturday.

“It’s interesting we play in Buffalo and Vermont is a 7-hour drive or whatever,” Musselman said.  “UConn, that’s a 6-hour, 15-minute drive. Kind of like a road game for us against Vermont, quite frankly.  Not much of an advantage there at all.”

• Razorback sophomore forward Jaylin Williams from Ft. Smith, AR takes questions from reporters after their NCAA selection party at the Broyles Athletic Center Sunday afternoon inside the SEC Club in Fayetteville, AR.

• Razorback senior guard JD Notae from Covington, GA takes questions from reporters after their NCAA selection party at the Broyles Athletic Center Sunday afternoon inside the SEC Club in Fayetteville, AR.