The road has been unkind to the Arkansas basketball team this season.
In fact, the easiest way to show why the Razorbacks are sitting on the NCAA Tournament bubble as opposed to sitting pretty up around that Top-10 ranking they held in the early part of the season is because of their difficulties on the road. Arkansas is just 2-7 when playing at a visiting court this year.
The Vols (21-8, 10-6 SEC) are just two games ahead of Arkansas in the SEC standings (19-10, 8-8), but are significant favorites, anyway. Tennessee is 13-2 when playing at home.
Exacerbating Arkansas’ low odds of winning is that the Razorbacks haven’t been at their best against the best. The Hogs are just 3-7 against Quad 1 teams this year as defined by the NCAA’s NET ranking.
But that NET ranking still thinks highly of Eric Musselman’s team. They’re ranked No. 14, which is third-best in the SEC, just behind Alabama and, no surprise, Tennessee.
Arkansas is likely to make the NCAA Tournament regardless of Tuesday’s outcome against the Volunteers. But an Arkansas upset, as it were, would make that likelihood more of a reality.
Tip from Thompson-Boling Arena is 8 p.m. CT.
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