Bad Loss at Florida Doesn't Knock Razorbacks Completely Out of Final Poll

Arkansas is ranked No. 20 in this week’s AP Top 25 after splitting its final regular-season games.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari talks with win Meleek Thomas during game against the Florida Gators at Steven C. O'Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, Fla. | Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The final Associated Press poll of the regular season arrived with a number next to Arkansas’ name but there was a reminder attached to it.

The Razorbacks are No. 20 in the country.

That’s the good news.

The complicated part? The last thing voters saw was a 111-77 loss to Florida on Saturday. And when you give up 111 points on national television, it tends to linger.

That lopsided result may have taken some shine off what had been a strong week for the Hogs — especially a quality win over Texas A&M earlier in the week that helped stabilize their résumé.

Poll voters have short memories when it comes to Tuesday. They remember Saturday. The Hogs could probably use a strong performance in the SEC Tournament in Nashville next week for the whole March Madness bracket thing.

The FIRST AP Top 25 of MARCH 💥

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— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 2, 2026

A Week of Highs and Lows

Arkansas did something important against Texas A&M. The Razorbacks showed they can play as a team with toughness and the kind of late-season urgency that travels well in March.

It was the type of win that strengthens a postseason case and reminds people why this team has been ranked most of the season.

Then came Florida.

The 111-77 final wasn’t just a loss. It was a reminder that even ranked teams can unravel against elite opposition when things snowball. Defensive breakdowns multiplied. The scoreboard spun faster than anyone in Fayetteville preferred.

By the time it ended, the conversation had shifted from momentum to damage control.

With Darius Acuff Jr. hampered by an injury, it was clear and now we're starting to see stories with tournaments coming up fast he may need a quick break. We'll see if John Calipari and the coaching staff agree with that.

That’s how weeks go in the SEC. One night you’re stacking credibility. Four days later you’re picking up the pieces.

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Still Standing at No. 20

Despite the stumble, Arkansas held firm inside the Top 20, checking in at No. 20 in the final regular-season AP Top 25.

That says something. Hog fans will say it could be much higher if they hadn't blown up down in Florida.

Calipari has publicly just kind of shrugged it off to a certain extent. The fans can't do that nearly as easily.

The body of work will still matter and the poll probably reflects that to a point. It says the earlier victories, including the win over Texas A&M, weren’t erased entirely by one rough afternoon.

The Hogs didn’t fall out. They didn’t crater. They absorbed the blow and remained nationally ranked heading into the SEC Tournament.

That’s not nothing.

The Razorbacks have navigated one of the toughest leagues in the country and enter March with both opportunity and unfinished business.

If there’s a lesson here, it’s simple that perception can swing quickly, but substance sticks around longer.

Arkansas’ substance of wins, its résumé, its overall standing was enough to keeping hanging at No. 20.

Now comes the part where rankings stop mattering and possessions start defining seasons.

Complete AP Top 25

1. Duke
2. Arizona
3. Michigan
4. UConn
5. Florida
6. Iowa State
7. Houston
8. Michigan State
9. Nebraska
10. Texas Tech
11. Illinois
12. Gonzaga
13. Virginia
14. Kansas
15. Purdue
16. Alabama
17. North Carolina
18. St. John’s
19. Miami (OH)
20. Arkansas
21. Saint Mary’s
22. Miami
23. Tennessee
24. Vanderbilt
25. Saint Louis