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With just one regular season game remaining, the postseason picture is pretty clear for the Hogs. Arkansas can get the 3 seed in the SEC Tournament if they beat Georgia and South Carolina loses at Ole Miss, but otherwise they will be the 4 seed. That would match them up in their first SEC Tournament game against either the 5 seed (Currently held by Alabama) or the winner of the 12/13 seed matchup (Mississippi State/LSU). None of those spots are locked in but are the most likely matchups.
If Arkansas picks up just one more win against either Georgia or any of those teams in the SEC Tournament Mike Anderson should be feeling pretty good come selection Sunday. Go 0-2 and it could be dicey. Let’s take a look at where Arkansas sits right now in some major brackets.
ESPN: 10 seed vs Dayton in Tulsa
CBS Sports: 10 seed vs Miami in Sacramento
USA Today: 9 seed vs Wisconsin in Tulsa
SB Nation: 9 seed vs Michigan in Greenville
Fox Sports: 9 seed vs Marquette in Salt Lake City
That’s two predictions in Tulsa now! The Flyers are currently 2-0 against SEC competition, they have close wins over Alabama (on the road) and Vanderbilt. With Archie Miller and Scoochie Smith steering the ship, Dayton has a lot of NCAA Tournament experience and will be a tough out in the tournament. Traveling to Sacramento wouldn’t be ideal, but having to play Miami making a coast-to-coast trip would make it better. The Hurricanes have played and beaten plenty of ranked teams this season and play with a lot more maturity than a team with five freshman and many of them getting major minutes.
The last two predictions have Big 10 teams trending in dramatically different directions. Michigan has won five of their last seven, including a win over Wisconsin who has lost five of their last six after a 21-3 start and were challenging for the conference title. Both teams currently hold similar resumes, and play very differently. Michigan is much more guard oriented and shoots the ball well, but is last in the Big 10 in rebounding. Wisconsin is a much better inside team but doesn’t shoot nearly as well from outside. So you can decide who you would rather play based off what team you feel Arkansas matches up against better.
Games to watch this weekend:
South Carolina at Ole Miss (Saturday at 7:30 p.m.) - Arkansas can jump up to the 3 seed if they get the win over Georgia and Ole Miss beats South Carolina. That would likely mean a matchup in the quarterfinals against the Rebels or Auburn instead.
Minnesota at Wisconsin (Sunday at 5 p.m.) - Wisconsin is slipping and if they lose enough the Hogs could take advantage and pass up the Badgers, all while helping the RPI with a Minnesota win.
Creighton at Marquette (Saturday at 1:30 p.m.) - Creighton is sitting at a six or a seven seed depending on who you ask. They have struggled since the injury to Senior Maurice Watson Jr. they could be a favorable matchup for the Hogs and are going up against a Marquette team desperate for a win.