The algorithms at ESPN didn’t much care for the Razorbacks this season. The Mothership’s Basketball Power Index had predicted to go below .500 in SEC play. Instead, the Hogs finished top-three in the league and made a deeper run in the NCAA Tournament than any other team in the conference.
The humans at ESPN, at least, have taken notice.
ESPN college basketball writer Jeff Borzello released his too-early Top 25 rankings for the 2022-23 season late Monday night. At the top? [autotag]Arkansas basketball[/autotag].
That’s even working under the assumption sophomore forward [autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag] doesn’t return and instead chooses pro basketball. He announced his intention to enter the NBA Draft on Monday, but chose not to hire an agent, leaving open a possibility of heading back to Fayetteville.
Arkansas will enter the season with the No. 2 recruiting class in the country, led by potential No. 1 overall pick [autotag]Nick Smith[/autotag] at guard and two other McDonald’s All-Americans in wings [autotag]Jordan Walsh[/autotag] and [autotag]Derrian Ford[/autotag].