Tag: Bracketlogy

Bottom line: Arkansas women must beat Missouri in SEC Tourney to have shot at NCAAs

Arkansas must beat Missouri on Thursday to have a shot at the NCAA Tournament. Even that may not be enough.

As much hand-wringing and clutching of pearls that has taken place over the Arkansas men’s basketball team this season, Eric Musselman’s team still stands in a solid position to make the NCAA Tournament.

The Arkansas women are a different story.

A 4-1 start in SEC play turned sour as the Razorbacks went 3-8 the rest of the way and they finished eighth in conference play. That slotting earned them a first-round date with Missouri, the 9-seed, in the first round of the SEC Tournament, which begins with the Hogs and Tigers on Thursday at 11 a.m.

Arkansas had no trouble with Mizzou during the regular season, winning 77-55. That victory came way back on January 8, however, during the Razorbacks’ hot start to kick off league play.

Whether beating the Tigers again would be enough to earn a berth in the Big Dance is the main question. As of Tuesday, ESPN women’s bracketlogist Charlie Creme had Arkansas on his “First Four Out” line, suggesting a win keeps the conversation open, but a loss from the teams ahead may be required, too.

Fairly or not, it’s probably the only chance the Hogs will get. If they were to beat Missouri on Thursday, a game against the defending national champions and the nation’s No. 1 team, South Carolina, awaits on Friday.

The game against Missouri can be seen on SEC Network at 11 a.m. CT from Greenville, South Carolina.

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Arkansas “should be in” NCAA Tournament, per ESPN Bubble Watch

Arkansas “should” feel good about its NCAA Tournament odds, one ESPN writer believes.

The old phrase “numbers never lie” is one of the greatest fallacies in the argumentative game.

Arkansas basketball has discovered that this season.

Despite a whole slew of data that suggests the Razorbacks are one of the best 20 teams in college basketball, Arkansas finds itself on the NCAA Tournament with just one regular-season game left. The Hogs are likely not on the wrong side of the bubble, perhaps, but there nonetheless and a loss to Kentucky on Saturday would be the team’s third straight heading into the SEC Tournament. Not exactly finishing strong.

Those metrics are just so quality, though, that most prognosticators agree it would be tough to keep Arkansas out of the Big Dance.

ESPN Bubble Watch writer John Gasaway updated his piece on Wednesday around lunch. In the SEC, he listed Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and Texas A&M as “in” for the Tournament. In the first position under the heading “Should be in” were those Razorbacks.

“The metrics agree: Arkansas is one of the 15 or 20 strongest teams in the country, but at 19-11, the Razorbacks haven’t produced a body of work to match,” Gasaway wrote. “Teams meeting this description tend to be seeded in the neighborhood of the No. 8 line. That’s exactly where you’ll find Eric Musselman’s group in the mock brackets.”

A win over Kentucky at Bud Walton Arena on senior day would all but ensure the Razorbacks are no worse than that. Combine a victory against the Wildcats with a fairly deep run through the conference tournament, and the number next to Arkansas’ name on Selection Sunday will be lower, still.

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