FAYETTEVILLE -- David Patrick found out at 10 a.m. Tuesday he was being temporarily promoted from assistant coach for the University of Arkansas basketball team to head coach.
Considering the Razorbacks had a game against Abilene Christian in six hours, there wasn't much time for Patrick to let the news sink in that Razorbacks Coach Eric Musselman wouldn't be in Walton Arena because he had to quarantine himself at home after a staff member tested positive for covid-19.
"What a day," Patrick said after Arkansas beat the Wildcats 85-72. "It's 2020, so you've got to be ready for anything."
The Razorbacks (8-0) were ready to play from the start as they jumped ahead 11-1.
After Arkansas led by as many as 22 points in the first half at 43-21, Abilene Christian (7-2) wasn't able to pull closer than nine points the rest of the game.
"I thought David did an excellent job," said Wildcats Coach Joe Golding, who didn't realize Musselman wouldn't be at the game until shortly before tipoff. "You never know when you have situations like that, but I thought they played very loose, they were confident. They were very well prepared.
"David's a great coach. He's one of the best coaches in the country. I'm happy for David. He's in a great spot there with Coach Musselman. Obviously that's why Coach Musselman hired him, for situations like this where David can step in. He's a bright star in our business.
"He's going to be a head coach again one day at a really good spot, and he's going to have a lot of success."
Patrick, who became friends with Musselman when both were LSU assistants, was the head coach at California-Riverside the previous two seasons.
"I think I'm blessed to have been a head coach before," Patrick said. "So I wasn't a rookie, so to speak. But to be able to be the head coach here at Arkansas was a blessing. Just for the day, obviously.
"I think our guys played for Coach Muss. I think they played hard for all of us, the staff that wasn't here, and for myself."
Musselman, who watched the game from home, said during an interview with the SEC Network that he was working out at a health club Tuesday morning when he got a call that he would need to quarantine himself as part of contract tracing because a staff member had tested positive for covid-19.
Assistant coach Clay Moser and Anthony Ruta, director of basketball operations, also missed the game.
"I had to get out of [the health club] as quickly as possible," Musselman told the SEC Network during the first half. "The first thing I wanted to do was call the players, and I called each and every player individually. Every guy on our team.
"I just told them, 'Hey, I love you. I'm not going to be here. We told you at the beginning we have to be flexible. We have to be nimble. We can't worry about anything that we can't control. And I'm not going to be coaching today.' And then each guy, I might have given a little message about what we needed from them."
Then Musselman called Patrick.
"I just told him, 'Hey, don't worry about anything that I would do substitution-wise. I want you to coach the team. This is your team today. Don't worry about me. We've prepared them,' " Musselman said. "I mean we had great, great preparation leading up to this game. So I think the players know exactly what we want to do offensively and defensively."
Freshman guard Moses Moody led the Razorbacks with 21 points.
"I think Coach Patrick did a great job just stepping into that position and orchestrating everything," Moody said. "He's been a head coach before, so it wasn't anything new for him being back on the sideline.
"That is something that Coach Musselman always talks about -- when one man goes down, another steps up. The coaching staff is a team, and we had to protect our undefeated season so far without Coach."
Moody hit 6 of 10 shots, including 3 of 5 three-pointers and 6 of 8 free throws.
"We've played against NBA players in my time as a head coach, and I think he's a pro," Golding said of Moody. "He could be a lottery pick. If he continues to get better on the defensive end, his skill set offensively is an NBA talent. I think he's a first-round NBA player."
Arkansas junior guards JD Notae and Desi Sills scored 19 and 18 points, respectively, despite both being in foul trouble. Sills scored 16 points in the first half and Notae scored 17 in the second half.
Arkansas senior forward Justin Smith struggled offensively with 4 points on 1-of-6 shooting, but he had a team-high 10 rebounds.
Senior guard Jalen Tate added 8 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists for the Razorbacks before leaving the game with a right ankle injury with 10:46 left.
"I think if we had to, we could have put him back in," Patrick said. "If that thing had gotten any closer, I might have tried to sub him back in."
Junior forward Clay Gayman led the Wildcats with 18 points. Senior guard Coryon Mason added 12 points and senior center Kolton Kohl had 11.
Abilene Christian, which came into the game averaging 11.0 steals and 23.9 forced turnovers, had to settle for 3 and 13 against Arkansas.
"I thought the first half, we could just never get settled in defensively," Golding said. "Their length and size just bothered us.
"We couldn't really force any turnovers. They just threw it over the top of us. Their ball movement was really, really good."
Abilene Christian's only previous loss was at No. 15 Texas Tech 51-44.
"I think Arkansas is a top 25 team in the country," Golding said. "I think they have a really, really good team, and I think they're going to have a great year."
Moody wasn't bragging about the Razorbacks having 10 fewer turnovers than Abilene Christian has been forcing against other opponents.
"It was definitely an emphasis, but 13 is too many," Moody said. "We planned on having less than nine, so we didn't reach that goal. So we're not necessarily going to call it a win in that aspect."
The main win the Razorbacks got on Tuesday came on the scoreboard in their final game before getting a short Christmas break with practices resuming Saturday.
"These games are challenging going into Christmas," Patrick said. "It's more challenging when you don't have your head coach here.
"But I think I've been prepared and we were ready today."