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Published Feb 15, 2021
Hogs crack top 25, other good news from NET rankings
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Andrew Hutchinson  •  HawgBeat
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A pair of road victories has vaulted Arkansas into the top 25 of the NET rankings.

Wins at Kentucky and Missouri have moved the Razorbacks up five spots to No. 24 - which is third among SEC teams in the metric - over the past week.

Alabama (No. 9) and Tennessee (No. 12) are still the top two teams in the SEC, but Arkansas, LSU and Florida jumped ahead of Missouri.

The Tigers fell 13 spots to No. 37 following their 0-2 week, which gives the Razorbacks’ a Quadrant 2 loss on Jan. 2 because they fell outside of the top 30. Arkansas’ win at Missouri on Saturday is still a Q1 win, though, because it was a road game and Missouri is still in the top 75.

It was a solid week for the Razorbacks in the NET rankings aside from their own move up the metic.

Kentucky followed up its loss to Arkansas by beating Auburn, which has it on the verge of cracking the top 75 and becoming a Q1 victory for the Razorbacks.

There will also be several more Q1 opportunities for Arkansas coming up. In fact, as the rankings currently stand, three of the Razorbacks’ next four games are Q1 chances at home.

Despite not playing last week, Florida (Tuesday) moved up two more spots to further solidify its spot in the top 30, while LSU (Feb. 27) knocked off Tennessee on Saturday to vault back into the top 30. Alabama (Feb. 24) is firmly inside the top 30, as well.

The other game during that stretch is Saturday at Texas A&M, which - at No. 137 - is just outside of the Q2 range. The Aggies need to move up two spots to jump up a quadrant.

In the non-conference portion of Arkansas’ schedule, not only did Abilene Christian maintain its spot at No. 74, but North Texas jumped seven spots to No. 72. That makes both of those games Q2 wins for the Razorbacks.

The only other non-conference opponent to keep an eye on is Oral Roberts, which could potentially become a Q3 win for Arkansas if it moves up 26 spots to crack the top 160.

You can find a complete rundown of the SEC and Arkansas’ non-conference opponents below, with their movement from last week in parentheses…

Quadrant Reminder

~Quadrant 1: Home vs. 1-30, Neutral vs. 1-50, Away vs. 1-75

~Quadrant 2: Home vs. 31-75, Neutral vs. 51-100, Away vs. 76-135

~Quadrant 3: Home vs. 76-160, Neutral vs. 101-200, Away vs. 136-240

~Quadrant 4: Home vs. 161-plus, Neutral vs. 201-plus, Away vs. 241-plus

NET Rankings of SEC

9. Alabama (-1)

12. Tennessee (-2)

24. Arkansas (+5)

26. LSU (+16)

28. Florida (+2)

37. Missouri (-13)

55. Ole Miss (+10)

65. Auburn (+1)

76. Kentucky (+4)

95. Mississippi State (-22)

98. Georgia (+2)

110. South Carolina (—)

127. Vanderbilt (+19)

137. Texas A&M (-2)

NET Rankings of Arkansas' Non-Conference Opponents

42. Oklahoma State (-5)

72. North Texas (+7)

74. Abilene Christian (—)

186. Oral Roberts (+10)

224. Lipscomb (-5)

246. UT-Arlington (-12)

290. Southern (-13)

328. Central Arkansas (-6)

347. Mississippi Valley State (—) — OUT OF 347 TEAMS