Bubble breakdown: Arkansas helps itself with marquee road win
In Mike Anderson’s first five seasons at Arkansas, an inability to win on the road was his team’s fatal flaw.
The Razorbacks were 15-38 in road games, a huge reason they reached the NCAA tournament only once in that span.
Reversing that trend has been critical to Arkansas’ emergence as a contender for an NCAA bid this season. The Razorbacks improved to 5-4 on the road on Wednesday night and notched by far their most impressive victory of the season, upsetting 21st-ranked South Carolina 83-76 in Columbia.
Trailing by as many as 14 points early in the first half, Arkansas stormed back by shredding a South Carolina defense that hasn’t been up to its usual elite standards the past few games. Guards Dusty Hannahs and Jaylen Barford combined for 43 points and center Moses Kingsley added 16 as the Razorbacks shot 53.6 percent from the field and hit half their threes.
Arkansas’ victory was its first against a team that’s almost certainly NCAA tournament-bound. The best teams the Razorbacks (19-7, 8-5) had previously beaten were fellow SEC bubble team Tennessee and a Houston team on the outskirts of the NCAA tournament hunt.
Upsetting South Carolina gives Arkansas the best chance to emerge as the SEC’s fourth NCAA tournament team along with Kentucky, Florida and the Gamecocks. The Razorbacks have three winnable home games left along with tough road trips to Auburn and Florida.
Arkansas probably needs to win at least three of those games to feel secure entering the SEC tournament, but the Razorbacks are in much better position now than they were this morning. They have a marquee win and the confidence that their efficient, fast-paced offense can carve up the conference’s best defense.
WEDNESDAY’S BUBBLE WINNERS
Providence (16-11, 6-8): For a team expected to struggle after losing Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil to the NBA draft last spring, Providence has been surprisingly competitive in the Big East this season. The Friars are within two games of .500 in league play after following up Saturday’s big win over Butler by also toppling injury-plagued Xavier on Wednesday night. Egregiously bad losses to DePaul and Boston College mar Providence’s NCAA tournament resume, but back-to-back quality wins coupled with previous victories over Rhode Island and Marquette have the Friars starting to creep toward the fringes of the bubble picture. If they could somehow get to 9-9 in the Big East, that would give them reason to dare to dream entering the conference tournament.
Seton Hall (16-9, 6-7): Just like Providence took advantage of facing Xavier without Edmond Sumner and Trevion Bluiett, Seton Hall capitalized on getting Creighton without star point guard Maurice Watson. The Pirares roared to an 87-81 home victory to bolster their hopes of returning to the NCAA tournament for a second straight year. Seton Hall projects right near the cut line at this point thanks to a profile that includes a few decent wins and a couple of damaging losses. In addition to the Creighton win, the Pirates have also defeated South Carolina, Cal and Marquette, each of whom have realistic NCAA tournament hopes. But Seton Hall has also lost to the likes of Stanford and Saint John’s, leaving the Pirates work to do to ensure a bid.
Miami (17-8, 7-6): When coach Jim Larranaga suspended starting point guard Ja’Quan Newton for three games Wednesday afternoon, it seemed like an ill-timed blow to the Hurricanes hopes of wrapping up an NCAA tournament bid. Newton is dynamic playmaker who’s second on the team in points per game and leads in assists. Credit Miami for finding a way to win in Newton’s absence on Wednesday night. The Hurricanes turned aside fellow bubble team Georgia Tech 70-61 behind 21 points from Davon Reed. Miami would almost certainly make the field of 68 if the season ended today, but its remaining schedule offers no guarantees it will stay there. Still left to play are Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Virginia Tech and Virginia, three of whom will meet the Tigers on the road.
Other bubble winners: Iowa State (defeated Kansas State); Oklahoma State (defeated TCU); Wichita State (defeated Southern Illlinois) Illinois State (defeated Missouri State)
WEDNESDAY’S BUBBLE LOSERS
Indiana (15-12, 5-9): Anyone who didn’t bury Indiana after its home loss against Michigan on Sunday afternoon probably is ready to toss dirt on the Hoosiers now. They fell for the sixth time in seven games on Wednesday night, this time by just a single point at the hands of likely NCAA tournament-bound Minnesota. Giving Indiana slim hope are two marquee non-conference wins over Kansas and North Carolina, but the Hoosiers are also four games below .500 in a weaker-than-usual Big Ten and took a bad loss to Fort Wayne back in November. Three of their four remaining games are on the road, where they are just 1-6 so far this season.
Rhode Island (16-9, 8-5): Rhode Island had hoped to challenge for the Atlantic 10 title last season, but the year ended for the Rams with both its cornerstones sitting on the bench in sweatsuits. All-league guard E.C. Matthews tore his ACL in Rhode Island’s season opener and defensive standout Hassan Martin battled knee and ankle injuries all season before shutting things down in February. Both returned this season, inspiring optimism that this could be the year the Rams make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1999. Alas, the Rams were swept by Dayton last Friday night and suffered an egregiously bad loss to Fordham on Wednesday. As a result, Rhode Island may need to win the Atlantic 10 tournament to get an at-large NCAA bid.
Other bubble losers: Kansas State (lost to Iowa State); Georgia Tech (lost to Miami); TCU (lost to Okahoma State).
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
