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Two weeks and four games are left in the regular season. Arkansas’ win over Texas A&M doesn’t guarantee anything, but it’s put the Hogs in good shape. As we hit the end of February, this is how the Hogs’ resume looks.
Record: 19-8 (8-6)
RPI: 25
SOS: 59
Non-Conference SOS: 99
Record vs. RPI Top-25: 3-4
Record is looking good, so is the RPI. Thankfully the strength of the SEC is really holding the rest of the conference up though because Arkansas’ non-conference opponents have really bottomed out. Oklahoma (lost 5 straight and 8 of last 10), Minnesota (lost 8 straight and 3-12 in Big 12), and UConn (3-7 in last 10) have taken nose dives in conference play. That means Arkansas’ three best wins are against Tennessee, Missouri, and Texas A&M if you go by RPI. Going solely by those numbers, the best non-conference wins are now the Sooners, Bucknell, and Fresno State.
That won’t hurt the Hogs a huge amount though, especially if they close out this tough stretch of games reasonably well. Here’s where some experts have put Arkansas so far. All are updated after the Texas A&M win.
ESPN - 10 Seed vs. Butler
Traveling to Detroit to play Butler and potentially Purdue in the second round would definitely be a pair of road games. The Bulldogs are definitely a battle tested team as well. They went 2-1 in the other PK80 bracket and have beaten Ohio State and Villanova this year.
Yahoo - 8 Seed (No Matchup)
Yahoo just lists the seeds, but has the Hogs sitting comfortably in an 8-seed. The potential games would be against Texas, Saint Mary’s, Creighton, or Virginia Tech. Out of those four Saint Mary’s or Creighton would be the best matchups for Arkansas
CBS - 8 Seed vs. Virginia Tech
Getting Virginia Tech in Wichita would be a favorable draw for Hogs. The Hokies have shown they’re capable, beating Virginia and North Carolina this year, but have also lost to Saint Louis. A potential second round against Kansas would make for a wild atmosphere as well.
SI - 10 Seed vs. Houston
This bracket is a weird one. A rematch in the first round and a potential second round game against Auburn? Well when you see the other three 7-seeds are all SEC teams it was really the only place to put Arkansas. Things are bound to change in the next two weeks so this likely won’t take place.
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