Arkansas Basketball: 3 paths for the Hogs to make the NCAA Tournament

The Arkansas Basketball team appears to have turned a corner during conference play, having defeated the Missouri Tigers, upset No. 12 LSU on the road and got a big win over South Carolina all in consecutive games.

The Hogs had lost to three straight conference opponents and lost four of their previous five games before course correcting against Mizzou.

So what does Arkansas’ prospects look like for a path to the NCAA March Madness tournament? ESPN currently projects the Razorbacks to be one of the First Four Out when selection Sunday comes around.

It’s looking grim, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible for the Hogs to go dancing. Here are three distinct paths to see the Hogs make another run in the tournament.

Path No. 1: The Arkansas Basketball team wins the SEC Tournament

The most clear-cut and simple path to the March Madness Tournament is to win the conference tournament at the end of the season.

This is obviously easier said than done in a stacked conference with teams that are ranked or have been ranked this season: Auburn, LSU, Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee.

If the Razorbacks win the SEC Tournament, they get an automatic bid to compete in the March Madness tournament.

However, Arkansas has not won the SEC Tournament since the 1999-2000 season. If the Hogs won the tournament, it would be historic and likely meant the team defeated multiple ranked SEC opponents in the tournament.

The SEC Tournament begins March 9 and runs through March 13 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.