College students, get a year of HawgBeat coverage for just $11.95! Request details via email from your school account (.edu) to andrewhutchinson413 (at) gmail (dot) com.
After leading or being tied atop the division after the first 29 games of conference play, Arkansas finished runner-up in the SEC West and will be the 3 seed in next week’s SEC Tournament.
The Razorbacks squandered the division title by losing their last two games against Alabama, including an embarrassing 18-5 loss on Saturday. Texas A&M, meanwhile, beat Ole Miss 12-5 on the final day of the regular season to win the division outright.
That snaps a streak of three straight years in which Arkansas won at least a share of the SEC West, winning the division — and overall conference — outright in 2021 and sharing the division crown in 2018 and 2019.
Entering the event with a 38-16 overall record that includes an 18-12 conference mark, the Razorbacks received a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament as the 3 seed. That means they’ll start in the double-elimination portion of the tournament and will be guaranteed at least two games in Hoover.
Arkansas’ first opponent in Hoover will be the winner of the Georgia-Alabama single-elimination matchup scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The Bulldogs (35-20, 15-15 SEC) sputtered down the stretch, losing their last four series to finish tied for second in the SEC East and earn the 6 seed in the SEC Tournament.
Having lost five straight series entering the final weekend of the regular season, the Crimson Tide (29-25, 12-17 SEC) were in danger of missing the SEC Tournament, but secured its spot in Hoover by taking two of three against the Razorbacks.
Arkansas would get a rematch with Alabama if the 11 seed can knock off Georgia in the tournament’s first game.
If the Razorbacks win their first game, they’ll play at 4:30 p.m. CT Thursday with a chance to clinch a spot in the SEC Tournament semifinals. A loss in that game would mean playing in the morning again, with an elimination game at 9:30 a.m. CT Thursday.
The other teams on Arkansas’ half of the bracket are 2 seed Texas A&M, 7 seed Florida and 10 seed South Carolina. The Razorbacks lost road series against the Aggies and Gators this season, but did not play the Gamecocks.
