College Basketball Bubble Watch: Arkansas fighting for a position early

These five college basketball teams find themselves on the early projected bubble in week two.

With holiday tournaments getting fired up across college basketball, Week 2 of the regular season can have a major impact on a number of teams down the line on Selection Sunday.

Marquee tournaments like the Battle 4 Atlantis and PK80 have a chance to pit elite teams against each other in matchups worthy of late March. Prospective bubble teams can also benefit, as just about every Power Five school is in some sort of early season tournament with the chance to pick some marquee nonconference victories.

While it’s still very early in the season, storylines for the potential NCAA Tournament bubble are already beginning to take shape. The SEC looks to have its deepest group in years which could lead to competition for bubble spots, the Big East has a great shot at getting seven teams in the field, and the Pac-12 is still searching for someone beyond the top four to emerge.

Here are five potential bubble teams to keep an eye on in week two with tournament action packing the schedule.

Arkansas Razorbacks

The SEC is going to be a battle with four teams ranked in the top 25 already plus some decent depth, meaning fringe NCAA Tournament squads will want to get some separation in the nonconference slate. One such team that can do some major work this week is Arkansas, which will take on a loaded field at the inaugural PK80.

Mike Anderson’s Razorbacks recovered from a poor 2015-16 campaign to make the NCAA Tournament at 26-10 a year ago and beat Seton Hall in the First Round. While Arkansas lost some key pieces like leading scorer Dusty Hannahs and Moses Kingsley, Anderson returned a lot of experience while adding four-star forward Daniel Gafford.

The Razorbacks are projected to be on the bubble for much of the season once again and have taken care of business during a 3-0 start, headlined by an 83-75 win over a decent Fresno State team. Gafford broke out with 25 points against the Bulldogs, while Jaylen Barford is piling up over 20 points per contest in the early going.

Arkansas is quietly up to No. 38 in Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted efficiency ratings  and will have a chance to add some marquee wins in Portland over the weekend. The Razorbacks open the PK80 on Thursday afternoon against an Oklahoma team that could also be fighting for a spot by the end of the year, with the winner almost certainly facing North Carolina in the next round.

Even with a loss, the Razorbacks would have a chance to improve their resume over the course of the tournament with a potential later game against UConn or Oregon. Earning a win over a power conference would be a huge boost with a difficult SEC slate ahead.