SEC Basketball: Power rankings heading into the SEC season
By Kevin Miller
SEC Basketball Power Rankings:
No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks
A similar story to the Missouri Tigers, Eric Musselman's Arkansas Razorbacks are a better team than their ranking but are this low due to a difficult out-of-conference schedule. The Hogs have four losses to four good teams (two really good teams), but they also beat Duke.
Led by four transfers Tramon Mark (Houston), Khalif Battle (Temple), El Ellis (Louisville), and Trevon Brazile (Missouri), Arkansas' roster is one of the best in the SEC.
However, the third-worst turnover total in the conference, second-worst steal total, and worst steal/turnover rate are holding them back despite having one of the most efficient scoring offenses in the league.
If Ellis and do-it-all guard Davonte Davis were shooting more efficiently, they'd likely have the best shooting percentages in the SEC.
At 9-4, Arkansas has to have a big season during SEC play to have a realistic chance of reaching a 4th-straight Sweet Sixteen. Other than getting Kentucky twice and Alabama on the road, the Razorbacks have as light of an SEC slate as they could hope for as they shoot to do just that.
An 8-10 conference record like last year won't cut it, but if Musselman's group can recreate a win total more similar to Arkansas' back-to-back 13-win SEC campaigns in 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, they will have done enough to get back into the good graces of the NCAA Tournament selection committee.