What does Arkansas basketball have to look forward to after SEC Tournament loss?

NASHVILLE − Arkansas basketball spent the latter part of the last week attempting to polish its NCAA tournament resume.

First came a hold-your-breath, 76-73 victory against Auburn in its SEC Tournament opener on Thursday at Bridgestone Arena.

Next was a disappointing 67-61 loss Friday. That one came against second-seeded Texas A&M. That one stung. For the fifth time this season, and second against the Aggies (24-8), the 10th-seeded Razorbacks blew a double-digit lead (13). They were outrebounded 43-26 in the process.

"That's kind of what we've been doing all year," said Arkansas' Anthony Black, who had nine points and four blocks. "The last time we played them, did the same thing. We have to stop doing that."

Makhi Mitchell, who had 15 points, six rebounds and four blocks, summed up the loss in one word.

"Sucks," he said.

"This stings," added coach Eric Musselman.

That March sadness doesn't have much time to linger with March Madness fast approaching. Arkansas (20-13), which has advanced to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament the last two years, almost certainly will make its third consecutive appearance for the first time in 18 years.

Musselman made no excuses for the familiar blown lead, except to say: "We're young. That's not the first time it's happened."

On Friday, wounds of the loss still fresh, Musselman had not yet looked ahead to Selection Sunday or the tournament.

"I haven't thought about that yet," Musselman said. "We are a young team and every game has its own theme and style. So does every team each year. Historically we've been really good in the second half of the season. We have not been very good in the second half of games.

"We'll dissect this game (Friday) and (Saturday). The players will be off (Saturday). We'll wait and see who we play and where we play. At that point we'll start in preparation."

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Musselman was still too busy Friday thinking about what had just happened more than what the future might hold. He watched his team blow a 13-point lead. He watched them turn the ball over. He watched them foul seven times to Texas A&M's none to start the second half.

All of that added up to an earlier-than-they-wanted trip home.

"If you get down 7-0 in the foul count at any level, whether it's CYO, college, the NBA, it affects your aggressiveness defensively, especially a team that shoots foul shots percentage-wise as well as Texas A&M has all season long," Musselman said. "They're a great free-throw shooting team and a great free-throw attempting.

"Certainly that affected (the outcome) 'cause we did not want to put them on the foul line. That did have an effect on us.

"You have to let this game sink in before we turn the page (on Friday's game)."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What's next for Arkansas basketball after SEC Tournament loss?