Arkansas Razorback Basketball 2016-2017 SEC Preview
Arkansas Basketball tips off conference play on Thursday against Florida in the friendly confines of Bud Walton Arena. This will be the first time since the removal of divisions the Hogs have begun conference play at home. However, other than Kentucky, they couldn’t have a tougher opening opponent. Let’s take a closer look at the Hogs conference schedule and see where it may be possible to rack up some SEC wins.
Personally, I would put the strength of the first 3 conference games for this Arkansas basketball team up against anyone in the country. Hogs start at home with No.25 Florida and end on the road at No.8 Kentucky while sandwiching a road game at well coached Tennessee in between. If Arkansas can manage to win two of those games, that will give us a good idea of this team’s ceiling.
The Hogs have a manageable home schedule with Florida and probably Georgia being the toughest opponents. I fully expect us to win all but possibly one home game. The mantra of the Anderson era has always been taken care of the home court. This team is capable of winning all of its home games.
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The good news about our road slate is that we do not play in the state of Mississippi this season, a place Arkansas struggles to win. We do have a challenging road schedule with games at Florida, A&M, South Carolina, and Auburn. In my opinion, we will struggle to win those games. We never play well in College Station or in Columbia SC.
Don’t get me wrong, we could lose more than those 4 conference road games I mentioned. With the depth and talent we have, I think it is reasonable to expect a winning road record this season.
Perhaps the most important road game is not in conference but rather a
January 28th game at Stillwater against the Pokes of Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are 10-2 with an impressive road win against Wichita State. This will be a critical resume game if the Hogs find themselves on the NCAA tournament bubble.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect us to be 11-1 at this point. I have been pleasantly surprised how this team has been able to put together W’s. I think anything from 12-6 to 14-4 is possible in conference play. Oklahoma Stat is a toss up. All that said, this team has a high ceiling, perhaps 25+ wins. Let’s hope they can continue to gel and get wins.
