Eric Musselman

The game was full circle for the Razorbacks basketball coach, and added more questions to the Zags' March narrative.

The Zags pushed out to a 27–19 lead a few minutes later, but with Holmgren on the bench with two fouls they scored just two points the rest of the half and trailed 32–29 at intermission. “I actually thought we were able to get to our spots that we wanted and get the shots we wanted,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “I know what some of the teams are like in that league, and the physicality and the speed that we can play with is just different. Musselman is one win away from fully reawakening the echoes of the Forty Minutes of Hell glory days of the 1990s, as his circuitous career comes full circle in the Bay Area. This was a night when the Zags simply couldn’t put together the kind of crushing runs they’ve used to dispatch opponents in going 28–3 heading into this game. The Zags jumped up 16–10, then missed two straight shots and the Hogs went on a 7–0 run. He set Gonzaga’s breakneck tempo and was the primary distributor to the big men—and Toney suffocated him. Then he bounced through the G League and a couple of college assistant gigs before getting the head job at Nevada in 2015. Beforehand, she’d presented Eric with a lucky buckeye that his late father and longtime college and pro coach, Bill, had kept in his possession. His Hogs shocked the NCAA tournament overall No. 1 seed, Gonzaga, laying a relentless defensive effort on the Zags in a 74–68 triumph that marks Arkansas’s first-ever victory over a No. 1 seed. I guess the world has a funny way of working itself out.” A couple of years later he bounced to the Sacramento Kings and was fired there after a 33–49 season.

Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman was going crazy on the sideline as his team took down Gonzaga on Thursday night.

The Razorbacks had a great game plan all night long as they were able to stifle some of the Bulldogs’ top weapons. This is the first time they’ve gone to back-to-back Elite Eights since 1994 and 1995. With only one second left on the clock, Musselman was fired up as he knew his team was advancing to the Elite Eight.

March Madness upset season is well underway, as Eric Musselman's Arkansas knocked out the top-seeded Gonzaga in the Sweet 16.

It was a defensive masterclass from Musselman’s team, who continues to surprise their opponents in their March Madness run. Arkansas won this team on the back of their incredible team defense, holding the fiery Gonzaga offense to a mere 68 points. The Arkansas coach was obviously fired up after their March Madness run continued.

Jaylin Williams just needed to get the ball inbounds to all but guarantee a victory. Naturally, Gonzaga's defense bit hard on movement by 3 Arkansas guards ...

Getting to the Final Four for the first time since 1995. “We wanted them to feel bodies. “We wanted to keep driving at him. For the strong contingent of Hogs fans that made the journey west to support their team, the prospect of a much shorter trip to New Orleans is sounding pretty good after Thursday’s convincing victory. We wanted our guards to keep driving at him. “I talked to Au’Diese when I got in the locker room,” Williams said after the game. How do you beat Gonzaga? Holding the Bulldogs to 68 points is a great way to start. “This is what we came here to do. Pinning fouls on the Gonzaga big man was a big part of the Hogs’ strategy. “This is what we dreamed about,” JD Notae said. Well, then, he did his best KJ Jefferson impression, getting the ball to Toney in stride. I just waited for a guy to clear and I threw it to him and he did his thing.”

Hogs beat No. 1 Gonzaga with NBA-style game-planning from coaching staff with lots of professional experience doing that.

Just enjoy the ride and stop with the Eddie Sutton and Nolan Richardson comparisons. • Want to join in on the discussion? By all appearances he's okay with coaching the Hogs, he's got a daughter in school for a few more years. Musselman has Arkansas winning unlike anything seen around here for nearly 30 years. Offensively, JD Notae resumed driving to the basket either for layups or to dish the ball to a teammate that was wide open for a shot that usually found the bottom of the net. They shut down the other big man, Chet Holmgren, fouling him out of the game in the second half at a crucial time.