Arkansas’ NCAA Tournament hopes: Comparing this year’s Hogs to previous Dancers
January is the month on the calendar, but Arkansas can ill-afford more than a few more defeats if it wants to make the Big Dance for a fourth straight year. The question is just how many more defeats.
Here we’re going to look back at the Hogs’ previous five NCAA Tournament teams and compare them to this season’s team. Of course the season is barely half over, so plenty could change, but that’s also our goal: see what has to change.
Right now, this is how the 2023-24 Razorbacks stand:
Overall record: 10-7
Conference record: 1-3
Road: 0-2
Neutral: 2-3
First SEC five: 1-3 (incomplete)
Last 10 before Dance: N/A
The good news is that Arkansas has started badly in conference play in all five of its previous NCAA-Tournament-bound seasons. Four teams started 2-3 and last year the Hogs started 1-4.
The bad news is that road record the looming ‘last 10 before Dance.’ Mike Anderson’s final NCAA Tournament team had a losin record on the road, as did Arkansas last year. The other three tourney teams all had winning road records.
And before last year, when Arkansas finished 3-7 down the stretch, none of the other four NCAA Tournament teams went worse than 7-3. In other words, last year’s team built enough credibility early in the season to overcome mediocrity in the middle and end.
This year’s Arkansas team hasn’t built that, which means this year’s Arkansas team can’t afford a repeat.
What it doesn’t mean is that the Hogs’ season is officially over. It might take a crazy run, but such things have happened.
Let’s take a closer look at each of those five previous teams.
Arkansas' 2023 season
Overall record: 20-13
Conference record: 8-10
Road: 2-8
Neutral: 7-3
First SEC five: 1-4
Last 10 before Dance: 4-6
Arkansas' 2022 season
Overall record: 25-8
Conference record: 13-5
Road: 5-4
Neutral: 6-4
First SEC five: 2-3
Last 10 before Dance: 7-3
Arkansas' 2021 season
Overall record: 22-6
Conference record: 13-4
Road: 5-4
Neutral: 4-2
First SEC five: 2-3
Last 10 before Dance: 9-1
Arkansas' 2018 season
Overall record: 23-11
Conference record: 10-8
Road: 3-7
Neutral: 5-3
First SEC five: 2-3
Last 10 before Dance: 7-3
Arkansas' 2017 season
Overall record: 25-9
Conference record: 12-6
Road: 6-5
Neutral: 5-2
First SEC five: 2-3
Last 10 before Dance: 8-2
