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Arkansas Basketball Gets Hot at the Right Time

By Cory Thone

Feb 27, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks guard Anthlon Bell (5) goes for a loose ball during the second half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena. Arkansas won 75 to 65. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 27, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks guard Anthlon Bell (5) goes for a loose ball during the second half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena. Arkansas won 75 to 65. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Arkansas basketball team has turned the heat up in the final stretch of the season. The Hogs are on a 4 game win streak, and their final regular season game is at home with a weekend crowd against South Carolina. The Razorbacks have gone from a 3 game losing streak to a potential 5 game win streak to head into the SEC tournament.

There’s really no explaining this basketball season. The Arkansas Razorbacks were picked to finish 11th in the SEC in preseason polls, and as of right now they could possibly finish as high as #6 or #7, and no lower than #10. So, the Arkansas basketball team has technically exceeded expectations this year.

That fact doesn’t take away the painful losses, though. And I’m not just talking about the Mississippi games that were a live retelling of “Heart of Darkness”, only instead of a boat it was a team plane, and Houston Nutt was somewhere in the Delta instead of a jungle.

Despite the low expectations for this team, they were dangerously close to being really good. 10 of the Hogs 14 losses were by 10 points or less, and 3 of those were in overtime. If Arkansas holds on to a couple leads early in the season, then they’re possibly fighting for their 20th win right now against South Carolina.

But those wins didn’t happen, and close doesn’t count. That’s why Mike Anderson has lost the support of a decent sized percentage of Arkansas basketball fans. The complaints and criticisms that these fans have aren’t without merit.

  • It’s year 5 and we almost had a losing overall record.
  • Recruiting is a big issue.
  • We have an abysmal road record

These Hog fans are 100% correct. However, the counter to those arguments also have merit.

  • We just had a 27 win season, lost 2 high profile players, 3 career 1000 point scorers, and 2 bench players.
  • The next class coming in is full of potential, and Mike has players committed through 2019.
  • Everyone in the SEC has struggled big time on the road this year.

These are also #TrueFacts about the basketball team. It’s easy to see why the debates on message boards and social media are simultaneously valid and annoying. They pop up in every thread. The biggest problem with the coaching debate in basketball is that both sides have a valid point.

That’s why the sudden surge in performance by the Razorbacks down the stretch has been so interesting to watch. Obviously, the “Three Headed Monster” of Hannahs, Bell, and Kingsley has been a force all season long. But the development of Whitt into a slasher, and seeing Trey Thompson start to throw his weight around in the paint have shown to fans and the media how good Mike is at coaching and teaching players.

In fact, the only person on the floor that hasn’t legitimately exceeded my expectations for them as individual players this season has been Anton Beard, and he was forced to miss half the season with legal issues. This team was supposed to be awful, and instead they play decent basketball and could end up even sneaking out a win in the SEC tournament!

But I won’t sit here and pretend that I’m 100% satisfied right now. But as many “what ifs?” as I have about the season, I can assure you that Mike Anderson has more. But playing the what if game isn’t going to help the Hogs right now. They have a chance to guarantee a winning record with a win over South Carolina. (Yay?)

The Arkansas basketball team getting hot down the stretch can be directly attributed to Anderson. This team looked like garbage 2 weeks ago, and now he has them beating bubble teams on the road and blowing out LSU. The team rallied not just around each other, but around their coach, during the worst stretch of the season for them. They heard the criticism, and they used it as motivation.

More razorbacks: SEC Basketball Power Rankings

Win or lose on Saturday, the criticism will still be there. But it won’t be as loud if the Hogs win and take a 5 game win streak into the SEC tournament. Getting hot down the stretch could even get Arkansas basketball into postseason play in the NIT. Maybe. It’s going to take at least 1 win in the SEC tournament to do it.

But one thing is for sure with this team: You can never count them out.

Woo Pig.

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