Arkansas Razorbacks Basketball Is Exceeding Expectations
Yes, you read that headline right, this year’s Arkansas Razorbacks basketball team is our exceeding expectations.
Many have shown concern and discontent for Mike Anderson and the Arkansas Razorbacks basketball team this season. After back to back losses to Vanderbilt and Missouri, it’s to be expected but things have turned around in a big way.
Before we talk about where they are now, let’s take a look at where they were before the season started. Ask yourself what YOUR honest expectations were heading into this year.
If you’re like me, you probably had them about 5th or 6th. There was a lot we didn’t know about this team before the season started. How would the JuCo transfers work out? Could the players from last year mesh well with the new faces?
Even in the beginning of the season, it looked like our fears of incompatibility would become the reality. If your answer was about like mine, we agreed with the media’s preseason picks as well. The official media poll had Arkansas picked to finish 5th in the SEC, while some other outlets had them picked to finish 6th.
Where Are They Now?
Arkansas Razorbacks Basketball
That sounded about right, right? Well now that we looked at the expectations, let’s look at the reality. As of today, the Arkansas Razorbacks men’s basketball team is ranked 3rd in the SEC. 3rd.
Florida comes in at number one and Kentucky, the preseason favorite to win the SEC, is at second. The Razorbacks are in a position to maintain this finish as long as they continue to take care of business but let that sink in for a minute.
There are three games left in this season while Arkansas sits at 21-7 overall, 10-5 and third in the SEC. Can you say that you expected this or better? If not, then rejoice fellow Hog fans because they are far exceeding our expectations for this season.
It Is Arkansas After All
Like I said in the beginning of this piece, after those two terrible losses, Arkansas was in a coma. There was no denying that at the time but against all odds, the Razorbacks overcame adversity and rose above and beyond what we thought they could do and even beat 21st ranked South Carolina.
In a way, this squad is the Rawleigh Williams of basketball teams. They suffered a near life ending injury or in their case near NCAA Tournament hopes ending losses and not only came back to play but came back better than they were before their traumatic losses. This is the joy of being an Arkansas fan, I suppose.
The Hogs have three matches left including a battle with Florida. Before they go to Gator country, however, they have to do exactly what they did to get here in the first place and take it one step at a time. That starts with handling their business at Auburn on Saturday but if they can hold on, can anyone say they aren’t more than happy with how this season turned out? I know I can’t. Woo pig.