The Christmas break hasn’t done Arkansas basketball any favors.
The Razorbacks, who fell out of Joe Lunardi’s projected NCAA Tournament bracket after a loss to Oklahoma earlier in December, have won two straight games since that defeat at the hands of the Sooners. But they weren’t impressive enough for Arkansas to find its way back into Lunardi’s projections as of Tuesday’s latest update.
Arkansas did not make the Dance, nor the “First Four Out” or “Next Four Out” portions of Bracketology. The team’s two wins since school let out for winter break were unspired. And Saturday’s opponent, North Carolina-Wilmington, won’t exactly sharpen the ol’ resume a ton, either, although the Seahawks did beat Kentucky earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Lunardi projects nine SEC teams in NCAA Tournament if the season were to end now. Meaning, the Razorbacks can ill-afford another resume-crippling loss to a lower-tier-conference school.
Working under the assumption Arkansas beats UNCW on Saturday, let’s look at the path – at least, the NCAA Tournament-bound path – the Razorbacks will have to fight through to make the Big Dance.
These are the nine teams SEC teams Lunardi projected as in with his post-Christmas update.