SEC Standings Update: Arkansas top 4 status in slight peril

Razorbacks could have work to do to lock up double bye in conference tournament

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Dave Van Horn in the dugout against the Charlotte 49ers at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. / Andy Hodges-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — For about 30 minutes when No. 7 Arkansas took a 4-2 lead Friday night against LSU, the Razorbacks had ambitions of swiping the SEC regular-season title from No.1 Texas.

The Longhorns lost 8-2 Friday against Florida. Texas left the door ajar for the Razorbacks to trim a five-game lead to just one.

Those ambitions are all but gone. LSU walked off the Razorbacks in 10 innings Friday before dominating in run-rule fashion Saturday.

Here's how the league standings look heading into the penultimate Sunday of the regular season.

Current SEC Standings

1. Texas: 20-6
2. LSU: 17-9
3. Arkansas: 17-9
4. Georgia: 16-9*
5. Auburn: 16-11
6. Tennessee: 15-11
7. Vanderbilt: 15-11
8. Ole Miss: 14-12
9. Alabama: 13-12*
10. Oklahoma: 13-13
11. Florida: 12-14
12. Kentucky: 12-14
13. Mississippi State: 12-15
14. Texas A&M: 10-16
15. South Carolina: 5-22
16. Missouri: 2-24
*Game two between Georgia and Alabama was postponed with the Crimson Tide leading 6-2 in the fifth.

Before we go any further, golf claps for Missouri for not only breaking the ice, and snapping a 0-24 start (worst in SEC history) but winning the first two games of the series against Texas A&M.

The Aggies' NCAA Tournament hopes are now in serious danger.

Arkansas' hopes of the SEC title are not mathematically over, but Texas holds a three game lead with just four games left after beating Florida Saturday.

The Razorbacks do hold the tiebreaker in case of a two-way tie thanks to sweeping the Longhorns in Fayetteville.

The more practical fight for Arkansas is maintaining its top 4 status.

With the revamped 16-game SEC Tournament, seeds 5-8 will receive a single-bye into the second round. the top 4 teams will receive a double-bye directly into the quarterfinals.

Dave Van Horn had this to say about how to approach the conference tournament when a team's birth in a regional is already confirmed.

"You don’t want to try and stress guys out to try to win a tournament," Van Horn said in 2024. "If it happens for you and things go your way, then try to win it but you don’t want to recycle guys, pitching two or three times on a weekend, even if they are relievers. Then they have five days to recover before you open up next weekend. It gets a little difficult."

By winning the first two games of the series, LSU has already clinched the tiebreaker over the Razorbacks regardless of the outcome of Sunday's game.

Arkansas has arguably the toughest remaining series on the calendar. A home matchup with Tennessee, who sit two games behind Arkansas, currently outside the top 4.

All 16 teams will play the final weekend Thursday-Saturday. LSU is on the road against South Carolina. The Gamecocks have just one SEC series win and are one of only two teams locked into a double-digit seed already at 5-22.

Georgia is at home against Texas A&M. Vanderbilt is at home against Kentucky and Auburn is on the road against Ole Miss.

Arkansas needs to win three out of the last four games to guarantee the double-bye

The final game against LSU is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday and will be broadcast on SEC Network.

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