SEC Basketball: Improving bottom teams of conference for 2019-20

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ATLANTA, GA – MARCH 22: Head coach Eric Musselman of the Nevada Wolf Pack reacts against the Loyola Ramblers in the first half during the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament South Regional at Philips Arena on March 22, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

The Razorbacks bring in Eric Musselman to lead the program

Another SEC team that made the NIT but made a surprising coaching change is the Arkansas Razorbacks. After eight seasons and five trips to either the NIT or NCAA Tournament, Arkansas decided to move on from Mike Anderson, ending 25 years of affiliation with the school.

The powers that be at Arkansas wasted little time in finding a replacement for Anderson, tabbing Nevada’s Eric Musselman as their next head man. While there were no major defections with the coaching change, there will be one major hole to fill for Musselman in his first season. Forward Daniel Gafford declared for the NBA Draft and with the chance that Gafford could be a lottery pick, he won’t be returning to Arkansas.

The Razorbacks are hoping that Musselman can spin the same magic in Fayetteville that he did in Reno because despite losing Gafford, they do return seven of their top eight scorers from a team that won 18 games. As of now, there are only two newcomers arriving on campus for the 2019-20 season, Justice Hill is a diminutive point guard Little Rock and Jenteal Cylla is a 6’7 forward transferring in from UNC-Wilmington who is eligible immediately after averaging 13.7 points and 4.6 rebounds last season.

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