Razorbacks a Christmas Miracle Away from Big Dance in Latest Bracketology

Eric Musselman's team reduced to tiny font in Joe Lunardi's latest bracket prediction

Author:
Daniel Shi
Updated:
Dec 20, 2023 8:23 AM EST
Original:
Dec 19, 2023

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas has been a perennial fixture of NCAA March Madness under coach Eric Musselman, making the three straight Sweet 16s. Yet, the Hogs find themselves in an early spot of bother this year.

In the latest version of Joe Lunardi's Bracketology, the Razorbacks are nowhere to be found in both the main bracket of 68 teams and the first four teams out. Instead, relegated to the tiny font on the graphic as the next group of teams after the first eight teams out.

It's hardly surprising. Musselman is off to his worst start during his Razorback tenure. Other than the sparkling win over Duke, the resume is lacking in quality wins. The Arkansas went into the Bahamas as the betting favorites to win the tournament and limped out 1-2 with a double-overtime win against Stanford.

Close calls against Old Dominion and most recently Lipscomb has the Hogs floundering around No. 98 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings. The Razorbacks have plenty of opportunities to improve their tournament standing, but with conference play two games away, Arkansas has put itself in the pressure cooker during the final few games of the non-conference schedule. All 11 teams listed in front of Arkansas on the Bracketology list are Ranked higher in the NET compared to the Hogs.

Arkansas starts a three-game homestand against Abilene Christian Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on the SEC Network and fuboTV.