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Arkansas Still 3rd SEC Men’s Basketball Rankings

By Chris Jackson

Feb 25, 2017; Auburn, AL, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Mike Anderson and his coaching staff react to a call during the second half against the Auburn Tigers at Auburn Arena. The Razorbacks beat the Tigers 79-68. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 25, 2017; Auburn, AL, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Mike Anderson and his coaching staff react to a call during the second half against the Auburn Tigers at Auburn Arena. The Razorbacks beat the Tigers 79-68. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports /
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In the current SEC men’s basketball standings, Arkansas is sitting at a comfortable third.

It’s been a wild year for this Arkansas Razorbacks basketball team. The Hogs went from a coma to a superhero in a matter of a couple weeks. Currently, the Razorbacks are sitting at a nice 3rd place.

Before the season started, Arkansas was picked to finish at either 5th or 6th depending on which media outlet you looked at. I wrote this article just last week about where I had them finishing in my preseason predictions.

Arkansas had a hard road to get here, but as they sit at 3rd in the league right now, how solid is their standing? Is it likely they will be finishing the year at 3rd?

It’s important to note that South Carolina is nipping at the number three spot under Arkansas. Both teams are 11-5 in the SEC with Arkansas winning the head to head matchup.

The Gamecocks have only won one out of their last four games. They took losses to Arkansas, Vandy, and Florida before beating Tennessee 82-55 in their last game. Meanwhile, Arkansas is on a 5 game win streak with South Carolina taking one of those spots in the streak.

The Road Ahead

Arkansas Razorbacks Basketball
Arkansas Razorbacks Basketball /

Arkansas Razorbacks Basketball

If Arkansas wins out, third place is theirs. Ahead of them is Florida and Georgia. Meanwhile, in front of the Gamecocks is Mississippi State and Ole Miss. If Arkansas loses one, so must South Carolina if they want to maintain their spot.

For Arkansas, their road ahead looks like more of a challenge than South Carolina’s. It’s more likely that the Hogs split the two with a loss to Florida, and the Gamecocks win out placing Arkansas at fourth in the SEC Tournament.

There are two complicated parts to predicting this. One is Arkansas. I am by no means saying I expect them to win out but I wouldn’t bet my life savings on them losing either.

If we’ve learned anything in the past two weeks it’s that Arkansas CAN beat good teams and overcome the odds. According to Ben Alamar at ESPN, Arkansas only had a 6 percent chance to win their last four games but against the odds, they did.

The other part of that complicates this is South Carolina. Although they have already beaten each of their last two opponents earlier in the season, they have clearly digressed from that level of play. They could very well drop one, giving Arkansas a freebie at Florida.

Either way, it goes, Arkansas is in a pretty sweet spot, especially given how their season has gone. But there’s no team that deserves it more than the Hogs. Arkansas has overcome adversity to fight back and claim at least a top-four spot in the league and a 95 percent chance of getting to the NCAA Tournament. Woo pig.

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