Eric Musselman reveals postgame moment spent with mother

Arkansas coach Eric Musselman has a strong bond with his mother, Kris, but she had never seen him coach the Razorbacks in-person. That is, until Thursday night — and she chose a good game to see.

Arkansas, the No. 4 seed, upset No. 1 seed Gonzaga 74-68 at the Chase Center in San Francisco. Kris, who lives in California, was in the crowd, and Musselman revealed a special moment with her after the huge victory.

“I went and gave her a hug,” Musselman told reporters. “She gave me a buckeye from Ohio that my dad used to hold. She gave it to me pregame, so I’m sure she’s going to give the credit to herself for that lucky buckeye she’s held for 60 years or whatever.”

The victory was easily the biggest of Musselman’s tenure at Arkansas after leaving Nevada in 2019 — and the biggest of the NCAA Tournament so far. Now, he has to get the Razorbacks ready for a second straight Elite Eight, where they’ll have another tough task at hand. Arkansas will face Mike Krzyzewski and No. 2 seed Duke on Saturday for a chance to go to New Orleans for the Final Four. That game tips off at 8:49 p.m. ET on CBS.

Eric Musselman opens up about coaching in front of his mom

Over the years, Eric Musselman has gotten several hand-written notes from his mom, featuring tactical suggestions and words of encouragement as he travels around the country as Arkansas’ head coach. As the Razorbacks prepared for a Sweet 16 game in San Francisco, she got the chance to watch him live.

During a press conference, Eric Musselman discussed his now-famous tactical notes from his mom. However, while he loves talking basketball, he hopes to find the right time and place for her to offer input.

“Hopefully not at halftime,” Musselman joked. “No, but it will be really cool to coach a game in front of my mom. She was able to come to, obviously, games in Sacramento and here living in San Diego, but it has not been the case to get to Fayetteville, and so I’m looking forward to it.

“She’s flying in today, and it will be awesome to be able to coach in front of her, and my son is flying up with her from San Diego. That’s a really cool personal thing, although it’s way more about the players and student-athletes and their experience playing in the Sweet 16.”