Arkansas Basketball team ranked in Top 25 for first time in nine weeks

After a long and challenging mid-season stretch, the Arkansas Basketball team is back inside the AP Top 25 College Basketball Rankings, ending a nine-week drought. 

Despite losing to Alabama by one point Feb. 12, the voters still reward the Arkansas Razorbacks for knocking off the top team in college basketball, Auburn.

It’s a big deal for the Hogs to get back in to the conversation of being considered one of the premiere teams in the country, especially since they hit a terrible rough patch between December and January in which they lost 5 of 6 games.

The Hogs are now ranked No. 23 by the Associated Press, placing them ahead of UConn (No. 24) and Alabama (No. 25).

It’s likely Arkansas would be ranked even higher if they would have defeated the Crimson Tide, but that Bama team is a very tough match-up.

Arkansas Basketball a team no one wants to face come tournament time

JD Notae has been in a two-man race for the title of leading scorer in the SEC with Vanderbilt’s Scottie Pippen, Jr. Depending on the day of the week, Notae is sometimes in the lead and sometimes Pippen, Jr. is in the lead— both currently average more than 18.5 ppg.

The emergence of Jaylin Williams has been another key ingredient that makes the Razorbacks an excellent team. He’s literally getting better every week and has turned into the team’s defacto leader, especially on defense.

Next up for Arkansas is a late-night game at Missouri Feb. 15. The game will tip off at 8 p.m. CST on the SEC Network. The Razorbacks smoked the Tigers in their previous meeting this season, winning 87-43 and kick-starting a nine-game winning streak.