On January 25th, Arkansas lost to Oklahoma, 65-62, and the Razorbacks fell to 12-8 and 1-6 in SEC play. John Calipari's first season as head coach in Fayetteville was tanking, quickly.
Today, the Razorbacks beat South Carolina 72-68 in the first round of the SEC Tournament, winning their 20th game of the season and essentially guaranteeing a spot in the NCAA Tournament. It got very precarious in the second half, as South Carolina cut the lead to one and Arkansas went about 11 minutes without a bucket, but the power of the pig prevailed and now Arkansas moves on.
An uneven start to conference play is now a distant memory as the Razorbacks will hear their name called on Selection Sunday. Where exactly Arknasas will end up, and who they will play, is still up in the air, but fans won't need to hold their breath anymore; this team is in.
Arkansas will now face off against Ole Miss on Thursday in the second round, a team they lost to 73-66 in January.
Projected NCAA Tournament seed for Arkansas
Before beating South Carolina, ESPN had the Razorbacks slotted as an 11-seed in the NCAA Tournament. I think the committee will give the team a little more love, especially after reaching 20 wins. Win or lose on Thursday, I see this team settling in as a 10-seed in the tourney. If Arkansas starts rattling off wins (it would play top-seeded Auburn in the quarterfinals with a win on Thursday) then we can start talking about them as a higher seed, but I'm feeling confident about them falling on the 10-line right now.
Wins against Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Lipscomb (a tourney team) are the most impressive parts of Arkansas' resume, and playing in the SEC is the best thing that could have happened to them this year.
Consistency has not been the calling card of this team, but a 4-1 finish to the regular season and a win in the SEC Tournament could show that things are clicking at the most important part of the year.