Eric Musselman, Arkansas players evaluate the team's growth away from home

In games not played at Bud Walton Arena this season, Arkansas men’s basketball has struggled, going 7-10 in away or neutral court games. But against Illinois in the Round of 64 of the NCAA Tournament, Eric Musselman’s squad closed out a competitive game on neutral ground.

For Musselman and a few of the players, it’s evidence of the growth from this Arkansas team, which featured a lot of youth and dealt with plenty of injuries. And the No. 8 seed Razorbacks have a chance to really prove themselves right with a Round of 32 bout against No. 1 seed Kansas.

“This is a team that is still growing, and I said even before the tournament that I feel like this is a team that continues to improve,” Musselman said. “I mean, we talk about improvement daily. We work on things daily to try to get better. There has been other teams that have plateaued. Maybe a couple of our teams at Nevada we were old veteran guys, and maybe at some point we were just trying to save legs. But this is a team that’s of continuous improvement.”

Junior guard Ricky Council recalled urging his teammates late in game to keep the intensity up, knowing that letting games slip late has been all too common for Arkansas.

“It’s been a common theme all year, losing games, and for me I was looking at the scoreboard, knowing how much time was up and how much time was left and emphasizing that to the teammates on the floor. We were just really smart tonight,” Council said.

Fellow junior guard Davonte Davis chimed in, adding his own perspective into what went differently for Arkansas against Illinois.

“And the third thing is there is wanting to win. We all wanted to win. We wanted it really bad, and me and Coach, the other guys that’s been in this position before has been teaching and preaching, like this is going to feel good if we pull it off,” Davis said. “I’m glad the guys that haven’t experienced it got this experience, and we’re going to get ready for the next game for sure.

Arkansas will need strong contributions from the likes of Council, who scored 18 against the Illini, and Davis, who added 16, to get past Kansas and into the Sweet 16. The Jayhawks poured it on No. 16 seed Howard in the Round of 64 and look thoroughly capable of defending their national championship — whether or not head coach Bill Self is on the sideline.