Things starting to get interesting....

[CATFAN81]

The other nite watching UK lose to the Gamecocks ESPN's Jay Bilas who I personally like even though he is a Dukie, said that the SEC would only get 4 teams in the dance.

Well he might want to rethink that with Carolina's win over us the other nite and LSU's win over Miss. State last night.

The Gamecocks are 14-8, 6-5 in the conference and their RPI should rise this weekend to about 55-60.

LSU is 14-8, 7-4 in the conference, thier RPI was already about 59 with a Strength of schedule of 26. They got the big road win they needed last night.

The Miss. State loss looms large for them dropping to 6-5 in the SEC and and 18-7 overall. They are playing their way down to the bubble while USC and LSU are on the upswing.

The Bulldogs come into Rupp Arena Saturday night in what will be a huge games for both teams. The CATS still have to go to Gainseville and Tuscaloosa and have a Dangerous Auburn team at home.

A loss by the Bulldogs will put them squarely on the bubble. :eek:

[nooneLT]

i think miss st will start winning again because frazier is coming back this weekend. most analysts know this and that's probably why they're still considered a "lock"

other than that, can't wait for the 26th! we have an opportunity to be outright SEC champs if we win out :D

[Chivas]

i think arkansas has a chance (very slim chance) of making the ncaa, we have a very easy end schedule

[Jay_Lupo]

The Hogs really hurt themselves last night. Like LSU, we were looking for that signature victory that would vastly improve our NCAA resume. We didn't get it. There's no shame in losing to Alabama--THE BEST TEAM IN THE LEAGUE--at their place, where they've absolutely annhilated any SEC team to come there, except for Arkansas. But we needed a win like this. We really don't have an opportunity to get one either the rest of they way, unless MSU turns it around. Right now, I'd say the SEC gets five, with LSU being the fifth. But there's still a ton of basketball left and and things could change dramatically. Plus, you've got the SEC tournament, which I'm predicting will be absolutely wild this season. Alabama, Kentucky, Florida and MSU (barring a complete collapse) are in, and LSU, USC, ARK, Vandy lie on the bubble. Arkansas and Vandy play saturday, and if the Hogs loose in Nashville, they can kiss the NCAA good-bye regardless of what happens, unless they miraculously win the SEC tournament--which they did do a few years back. Bottom line, SEC has got 4 bubble teams, and two of them just picked up huge wins that they need to improve their stock, Arkansas wasn't one of them.

[Chivas]

crappy football seaseon, crappy basketball season - this is a terrible year for arkansas sports :(

[Djshockley3]

Yeah,lol.Hopefully baseball season will be good to yall.I wouldn't say crappy I would say average.

[Jay_Lupo]

Well, football was one thing, basketball is another. Both teams finished or are going to finish just about where I figured they would. In football, our miserable defense was just too much to overcome. Our offense actually did pretty well. They did really well considering we returned 1 starter. Our defense is why we lost close games last year against Texas and South Carolina.

As for Basketball, this has not been and will not be a terrible season for the Hogs regardless of what happens. I'm not positive about our record last season, but I know it was something like 12-15 3-13 or 4-12 in the SEC. We've already won 17 games this year, and 5 within the conference. Barring a severe--and I'm talking severe--meltdown in the final 4 regular season games, Arkansas will win a minimum of 19 games and 7 in the conference. We've had shots to win at the buzzer against Alabama and kentucky, the SEC's two best teams. We've played Alabama closer on their home floor than anybody this year. We took the No. 1 team in the nation down to the wire.

There's been big improvement in Stan Heath's squad this year. Arkansas returns 97% of its scoring next season, with the only loss being Michael Jones, who's been out for 4 games anyway and barely played in the first 15. Jonathon Modica is starting to play like himself again. Ronnie Brewer is has turned into the most complete player in the conference. Not the best, but the most complete. Olu Famutimi has shown flashes of brilliance this season. Darrien Townes, I mean, need I say more.

I'll stop talking now b/c I know most of you could care less about Arkansas, but this has not been a terrible season. Sure, it's been terrible if you thought we were 25-4 (13-3). But if that's what you thought, then your expectation were unrealistic.

Football is one thing, but basketball is completely different. Arkansas could still make noise this year, and you can bet your butt that the Hogs will be absolutely lethal next year.

[Djshockley3]

Yeah,arkansas did good in football considering what they had.I think yalls basketball team is good just some slipups.

[nooneLT]

arkansas has a very young team and they'll be really good in the next two years. brewer needs to step it up and be the leader of that team imo

[Jay_Lupo]

Yeah, Brewer played his worst game of the year last night against Bama. He scored 11 points (5 below avg.), 2 rebounds (3 below avg.), 1 steal (2 below avg.) and had 4 turnovers, which I'm willing to bet is a career-high. Oh yeah, he shot 4-13 from the floor, and made two baskets in the final two minutes.

Brewer needed to step it up and he didn't

[RW13]

I would love for us to make the tourney, and to win at least 1 game, that would be a major success for our program right now, considering what stage we're at (i.e. caliber players).....

[rabidcock]

I would love for us to make the tourney, and to win at least 1 game, that would be a major success for our program right now, considering what stage we're at (i.e. caliber players).....

Actually, the calibre of players we have is EXCELLENT, but you cannot consistently win without some serious beef up front, which is what we lack.

14 wins is good at this point, but 4-point losses to top-10 teams (Kentucky, Pittsburgh and Kansas) would have been wins with the necessary post player, and we would be looking at about 19 wins now.

[Jay_Lupo]

Out of the four SEC bubble teams--LSU,USC,Arkansas and Vanderbilt--I think South Carolina has the best shot right now of becoming the fifth SEC team in the big dance. I don't know what their schedule looks like the rest of the way, and craziness can always happen in Atlanta, but if USC just continues to win the ones their supposed to, I think they'll get in b/c of those close losses to Kentucky, Pitt and KU and their signature victory against Kentucky at home.

[rabidcock]

Unfortunately, we play Bama, FLA, and Vanderbilt among the last five.