Nate Allen
FAYETTEVILLE - During his Tuesday night postgame interview in Columbia, Mo. Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman looked for Saturday’s Arkansas vs. Tennessee crowd at Walton Arena equalling the fervor of the announced 20,327 exhorting the Razorbacks’ 80-76 overtime victory Feb. 8 over then No. 1 Auburn.
Returned Wednesday to Fayetteville from the 76-57 victory over Missouri, Musselman upped the ante to Saturday’s crowd vs. Tennessee exceeding the nationally renowned fervor of the packed house willing the Hogs to victory over Auburn.
Tennessee doesn’t rank No. 1, but against Musselman’s No. 23 ranked, 20-6 overall/9-4 in the SEC Razorbacks Coach Rick Barnes’ Vols, 19-6, 10-3 in the SEC, do come to Walton for Saturday’s 3 p.m. ESPN televised SEC game ranked 16th fresh off Tuesday night not just defeating but thrashing nationally No. 4 Kentucky, 76-63 in Knoxville, Tenn.
“I think the atmosphere on Saturday is going to be absolutely incredible,” Musselman said on Tuesday postgame radio. “I think we’ll have the same atmosphere that we had for the Auburn game. We truly think our fans understand two ranked teams. They understand how well Tennessee’s playing. It will be a great environment.”
A white-out, with Razorbacks dressed mostly in the white of the Razorbacks red and white colors for the Auburn game, is replaced by a red-out for Saturday’s game against Tennessee, Musselman announced during his Wednesday Zoom press conference.
Even the Razorbacks, traditionally garbed in white for home games and red on the road, will wear red, Musselman said.
“Everybody is going to be dressed in red, including our players,” Musselman said. “They’ll have red uniforms as well, we’ve already cleared that with the league and Tennessee. I think the crowd is going to supersede what we saw against Auburn. That’s what I think. And I really do believe that.”
Exceeding intensity after No. 1 may seem a too tall order.
“ I understand that the No. 1 team in the country at the time was coming i,’ Musselman said. “But right now we have two ranked teams. (Arkansas was unranked when it upended Auburn). They just beat Kentucky. I think everybody that came to the Auburn game left excited. I hope they were saying like, ‘How can I experience that again?’ Well guess what everybody, you can experience it again. Just show up to Bud Walton for the Tennessee game on Saturday, and let’s have some fun and let’s rock Bud Walton again.”
That sounds great to Jaylin Williams, the Razorbacks sophomore center from Fort Smith Northside coming off three consecutive double-doubles, 13 points/11 rebounds vs. Auburn, 22 points and 10 rebounds in the 68-67 loss at Alabama and 13 points and 10 rebounds at Missouri meshing with the 12 points/11 rebounds double-double by via Wichita State graduate transfer forward Trey Wade.
“I hope everybody comes and shows the same support they did against Auburn,” Williams said. “Really they are just another teammate for us. They help us on the court. Sometimes they rattle the opposing team. So they help us a lot. I hope it’s the same way.”
Wade contributes so much intangibly as a defender, screener, and ball-mover but had been razzed lately by Musselman for “not getting into the box score” after consecutive scoreless/one rebound games against Auburn and Alabama.
“We’d been joking with him all week about how he doesn’t rebound,” Williams said. “So one of his focuses coming into the (Missouri) game was for him to get offensive and defensive rebounds. He put himself into the game early/ I’m pretty sure he had the first four points and made an impact in the game from the jump. So he just came in and did it.”
Add Wade’s tangibles to the intangibles and “It’s incredible for us, because he’s such a great player, like without the scoring,” ‘Williams said. “ “He’s a great talker. He’s a great teammate. He’s a great ball mover. He’s a great hustler. All the small things like that, he’s great at doing those. And when he is scoring and rebounding and defending at a high level, it’s just so much better for the team.”
Wade’s increased playing time after starting the season behind with injuries and adjusting as a transfer has naturally elevated him into a team leader.
“When his minutes increased and he became a starter, it allowed him to have a bigger voice and a bigger imprint on the team,” Musselman said. “It’s very difficult to be a team leader if you have a bit role. But I think when his role changed, his voice changed. His credibility in the locker room changed with an expanded role. Certainly Jaylin Williams has been a leader since the beginning of this team assembling together. I do think that along with Jaylin, (senior guard and team leading scorer) JD Notae has been a great leader for us.”