The good news is Arkansas played South Carolina as well as almost any other team in the SEC has over the last month.
The bad news is the game still wasn’t close.
The top-ranked Gamecocks had no trouble with Arkansas on Thursday night at Bud Walton Arena, taking a 98-61 victory of the Hogs ahead of both teams’ regular-season finales Saturday. A 27-10 fourth quarter for South Carolina exacerbated the final score.
South Carolina handled its business in the interior, per usual, outscoring Arkansas in the paint 56-22 and outrebounding the Razorbacks 52-21 while shooting 61% from the field.
Arkansas’ plan was to counter with a barrage from the outside. Coach Mike Neighbors’ team buried eight 3-pointers, but they came on 41 attempts. Overall, the Hogs shot just 33%, struggling with the Gamecocks’ height the whole game.
South Carolina has yet to lose this season and have won by single-digits just three times and only once in league play. Arkansas almost certainly needs to beat Ole Miss on Saturday to have even a small chance at the NCAA Tournament, barring a deep run in the SEC Tournament.