By Otis Kirk

FAYETTEVILLE -- No. 25 Arkansas will try to snap a three-game skid and win a true road game for the first time on Wednesday night when they take on Missouri.

In an oddity of sorts Missouri is the only SEC win for the Hogs and came on Jan. 4 74-68 in Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas (12-5, 1-4) will play the Tigers for the second time in two weeks. Eric Musselman talked about playing a team for the second time in such a short period.

"I think both teams will make adjustments," Musselman said. "I don't think there's any doubt about that. I mean, you can't go into a game with the same game plan. I mean, we were down by 17 points in that game. So the way that we went into that game cannot be the way that we start this game. So I think both teams will make adjustments. Players on both rosters will have the film and study different things from an offensive and defensive standpoint and come away with something different."

Musselman was asked if the quick turnaround against a team the Hogs beat could turn out to be a good thing?

"I don’t know I mean because both teams prep," Musselman said. "All the coaching staffs in this league are really good. So everybody’s preparing and sometimes when you play a team -- I know it’s happened to us before, where … we might play on a Wednesday and somebody else plays on a Tuesday and then they get an extra day. I do think there’s an advantage for that. Then I’m sure the season will tilt in our favor at some point in that manner. But Vanderbilt did have an extra day prepping than we did. I think everything evens out in the course of a season so there’s no excuse I think from a preparation (standpoint).

"Missouri’s got the same game film that we do. They’re an explosive offensive team when you look at their numbers and they’re a team that creates a lot of steals. So I think some of the same themes that we had going into last game we need to do. But we cannot get behind by 17 like we did at Bud Walton. We need to play better basketball earlier in the game, then we certainly have to play better basketball finishing games than we have against Alabama at home. Got to finish a lot better than we did at Vanderbilt as well."

Arkansas lost to LSU prior to defeating Missouri. Since the win over the Tigers the Hogs have lost to Auburn, Alabama and Vanderbilt. Musselman talked about how he's handling the three-game losing streak.

"Yeah, you've just got to try to coach your team, every possession, in practice, and every minute," Musselman said. "You've got to continue to tinker. I mean, you can't keep doing the same thing as a player or as a coaching staff. I think that's been something that's been very successful in the past is continuing to try to figure out who we are. Again, we spent a whole summer going in one direction, and then unfortunate for everybody is the injuries.

"So we're an offseason and first eight, 10 games, you know, we've lost all that for what this roster is right now. So we're still trying to figure all that out. We're a sport where we have five players on the floor, and not having two dominant players that we spent a lot of time on has affected the team, but our job as players and coaching staff is to continue to try to figure out what puts us in the best position to win the game."

Arkansas started the season ranked No. 9 with high expectations. But then forward Trevon Brazile, a transfer from Missouri, went down with a season-ending injury. Nick Smith Jr. has been limited to five games due to knee issues. The injuries and inexperience with only two returning players from 2021-22 season has taken its toll since SEC play started.

"No I mean I think we’re going through a lot of new experiences, meaning sold-out buildings," Musselman said. "We have six freshman that obviously have not experienced college basketball, and some other guys that probably haven’t played in these type of atmospheres. Then you add in the fact that the team has had success the last two years, then you add in the fact that every day that this team has been together they’ve been ranked. So there is a little bit of an excitement when Arkansas plays on the road right now. And you know it’s new for a lot of guys, for sure."

Morrilton's Joseph Pinion scored 13 points in the win over Missouri. However he has seen his minutes be sporadic since then despite the Hogs struggling, at times, to make shots. Musselman talked about what Pinion has to do for more playing time.

"Well he’s gotta defend at a high level," Musselman said. "I mean, we went back and watched that film and some of the guys that we just mentioned that had good games, I mean, we’ve got to do a good job on them. Joseph is still learning a lot of things from a conceptual standpoint, just as many of our guys are.

"The thing that’s most impressive about Joseph is every game he goes in with a self-belief that he’s going to impact the game and he doesn’t take a long time to come in and get a flow or a rhythm offensively. How the game unfolds, we don’t know. Every game has its own themes and we have a Plan A, Plan B, Plan C on how things could go, but you’ve got to read the game and make adjustments as they happen."

Senior Kobe Brown leads the Tigers with 15.6 points per game. Arkansas held him to 11 points in the first meeting limiting him to only seven shots from the field. Sean East II stepped up with 13 points and Nick Honor chipped in 12 though.

"I think when we are able to do a good job on certain players, we're obviously putting our better defenders on those guys," Musselman said. "The other guys that maybe are not assigned to somebody have to do a good job. I mean, Honor was 3-7 against us. He did make two threes, but he's a really good player that has experience starting in the Power Five. He's an older, veteran type guy. But he played 38 minutes and had four fouls and 12 points. That's a really solid game.

"Then there's no doubt East was the guy I felt played really, really well for them. You look at East and Honor and Kobe, all three of those guys in double-digits. So, all three of those guys played pretty good basketball. They're all three really good players. I think somebody always steps up in a game and has an impact. Obviously, Honor and East were two guys that did that."

Musselman knows Brown will come out and try to make a statement playing at home against the Hogs.

"Kobe Brown is an all-league player," Musselman said. "He's trying to make a statement every game. He can make threes. He can beat people off the dribble-drive. We already know he's going to be ready to play, as is their whole team. They're a competitive team and they play hard."

Missouri (13-4, 2-3) is unranked entering the game. The Tigers enter the game having lost two games in a row. The tip will be at 8 p.m. and televised on the SEC Network.