Eric Musselman Has Razorbacks at Top in SEC Wins

Arkansas ahead, Alabama lacking NCAA Tournament success, Kentucky basketball becoming Texas football

Author:
Kent Smith
Updated:
Apr 26, 2023 10:16 PM EDT
Original:
Apr 26, 2023

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – If this post is completely accurate, which it definitely is on the Arkansas win total, then it's pretty revealing in regard to how the balance of power has changed in the SEC. While knowing Arkansas is on top isn't much of a revelation, where a lot of these other teams fall definitely tells a story.

The number that jumps off the page for most people will be the 82 wins by Kentucky. It's not so much their positioning on the list because anyone who has been paying attention knows this year's lone win over Providence in the opening round is the first NCAA Tournament win at Kentucky in forever. It's how far behind Arkansas the Wildcats are that is jarring.

While some of that gap can be attributed to an extreme lack of tournament success, that's not the only factor. After all, Alabama is an easy bet for an upset each year in the NCAA Tournament, but make up for it by being regular season warriors.

The Wildcats are in grave danger of becoming the Texas football of college basketball – a name team with lots of hype every season on jersey alone while being little to no threat in actuality. If Kentucky misses the tournament next season or fails to make it out of the first weekend again, it will be time to start breaking out the "Kentucky is Back" label to start every season afterward. Hopefully, Wildcat fans will be able to figure out what Texas fans haven't, that the phrase doesn't mean what they think it does.

Perhaps the second most jarring bit of information from that list is how Mississippi State ended up so high. Their overall final win totals are highly pedestrian, but definitely a very consistent pedestrian. It took a solid NIT run three years ago to do it, but the Bulldogs are an 18-20 win NIT team every year.

That such an average Mississippi State team ranks above Florida and Missouri says things have been terribly wrong at both of those schools. There is never an excuse for either to not be a tournament team every year. Both the Gators and Tigers should be ahead of Kentucky with the drought the Wildcats have had.

The good news for Missouri is they made a huge leap under Dennis Gates, knocking out 38 percent of their overall wins during this period just last season. While Mizzou is an afterthought in football, the Tigers have a place in SEC basketball and the conference is way better when they are good.

As for Florida basketball, it looks like it's going to take a long time to rebuild. At one time Gainesville held both a football school and a basketball school all in one. Now the Gators are neither.

The gap between Arkansas and the rest of the SEC should continue to widen next year because the Crimson Tide may never realize how much more important the NCAA Tournament is than the regular season and SEC Tournament and the magic is gone in Kentucky.

It's just another recruiting tool in Musselman's tool belt when contacting all these transfer portal players. Come to Arkansas and shine bright under the spotlight of the NCAA Tournament with the winningest program in the SEC over the past several years.