Arkansas knocked No. 1 seed Kansas out of the NCAA Tournament and their head coach, Eric Musselman, celebrated by taking his shirt off after the win.
You know that the party is really starting when somebody rips their shirt off.
Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman kicked off his team’s celebration in style by ripping off his shirt after the Razorbacks stunned top-seeded Kansas 72-71 to advance to the Sweet 16.
The Jayhawks became the second top seed to be eliminated in March Madness after Purdue became just the second No. 1 seed to fall to a 16 on Friday night. The shirtless celebration from Musselman is not a new tradition, however, as he has done this before.
Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman has a history of shirtless celebrations
The idea of the shirtless celebration was initiated for Musselman back in the 2018 NCAA Tournament when he was the head coach at Nevada. After the Wolf Pack upset No. 2 seed Cincinnati 75-73 to reach the Sweet 16, Musselman decided to take off his shirt as he headed to the locker room to join his team.
That tradition has carried over to Arkansas, notably last season when Musselman went shirtless on court after the Razorbacks upset then-No. 1 Auburn. Musselman pulled off arguably his biggest stunner today, however, as the Razorbacks eliminated a Kansas team that had a whopping 15 Quad 1 wins during the regular season.
The absence of head coach Bill Self, who missed both of Kansas’ NCAA Tournament games while recovering from a recent hospital stay, was clearly an issue for the Jayhawks. The young Razorbacks deserve a ton of credit, however, for rising to the moment and ending Kansas’ bid to become the first repeat national champion since the 2007 Florida Gators.
We’ll see if Musselman gets to take his shirt off after another win in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night. The Razorbacks are set to play the winner of Sunday’s 4-5 matchup between UCONN and Saint Mary’s in Las Vegas.
