All Hogs

Resilient Razorbacks on Brink of NCAA Tournament Bid After Downing State

Left for dead following a dreadful January, John Calipari's Hogs may be dancing after all

Curtis Wilkerson

Arkansas Razorbacks head coach John Calipari during the first half against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Bud Walton Arena.
Arkansas Razorbacks head coach John Calipari during the first half against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Bud Walton Arena. / Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Saturday was as close to a win-and-in game as Bud Walton Arena has seen in a long time, and the Arkansas Razorbacks took care of business in dramatic fashion with a 93-92 victory over Mississippi State.

A 16-point second-half lead was not enough as the Bulldogs battled back and even led themselves in the final minute before a Jonas Aidoo free throw with 11 seconds remaining, a Billy Richmond block and a last-second attempt that rolled off to give Arkansas its fourth win in five games to close the regular season.

"Heck of a basketball game," Calipari said. "Glad we won it. Love how we fought. I've done this a long time and this may be the most rewarding season for me because they're a bunch of good kids that struggled early in their own individual way, and then collectively we struggled early.

"Yes, because they were good people, they stuck together. Our staff never blamed, just kept working with them."

Arkansas was an afterthought in the NCAA Tournament picture after a dreadful January where the Hogs got off to a program-worst 0-5 start to SEC play and finished the month 1-6 before flipping the switch with an inspired effort in John Calipari's return to Rupp Arena.

Since that time, the Hogs have climbed from the basement in the SEC to a ninth-place finish in the league standings with a 19-12 (8-10 SEC) end to the regular season.

Is this where Arkansas expected to be? Of course not, but given the early stumbles and injuries to leading scorers Boogie Fland and Adou Thiero, Razorback fans should be plenty pleased with their team all but locking up an NCAA Tournament bid with Saturday's win whether Calipari is ready to admit it or not.

"You never — the committee will make a decision, so you get out ahead of yourself," he said. "We've just got to keep trying to get better."

Prior to Saturday's win, Arkansas appeared in the "Last 4 Byes" according to ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi, meaning the Hogs were in position to avoid a trip to the First Four in Dayton, but not completely off the bubble.

According to the Bracket Matrix, a compilation and average seeding of all reputable bracketologists, the Razorbacks were included in 102 of 103 updated brackets as of Friday evening.

The Razorbacks will most likely be much closer to the 8-10 lines on the bracket than out of the field when things update after the weekend thanks to another Top 25 win, the potential for the Georgia win to move up to Quad 1 after its win over Vanderbilt and some positive early returns elsewhere around the bubble.

If there were any remaining doubt at all about Arkansas' March Madness prospects, they would be eliminated with a win over last-place South Carolina on Wednesday at the SEC Tournament.

Easier said than done after last weekend's debacle in Columbia, but it is hard not to like Arkansas' chances much more in a rematch the Hogs should be highly motivated for.

"My first though is, I'm not even watching (the South Carolina tape) and I may not, because I can see their last few games and have an idea and then I'll tell my staff, 'You guys watch it,'" Calipari joked.

"Give me what I need to know because I am not going through that again."

HOGS FEED:

• Razorbacks ride Root's stellar start; pushes winning streak to 10

• Calipari dragged Hogs to finish Line, time for Aidoo to carry load in March

• Razorbacks manage to pull things out at end against Mississippi State

• Trio of blazing hitters paying dividends for entire Razorback offense

Pittman: 'I want to win' why ego doesn't impact coordinator hires

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Curtis Wilkerson
CURTIS WILKERSON

Curtis is in his fifth year on the beat covering Arkansas basketball, football, baseball and recruiting. Prior to his time in Fayetteville, he spent eight years coaching basketball at the small-college level in Illinois and spent two years contributing as a scout and recruiting analyst with Prep Hoops. He holds a bachelor's degree in Athletic Training and a master's in Administration.

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