With back-to-back losses to Texas A&M to end the regular season, Arkansas needed some help to win a share of the SEC West title and South Carolina provided it.
The Gamecocks salvaged Game 3 of their series at No. 5 Mississippi State with a 10-8 win, creating a tie atop the division. Arkansas and Mississippi State each ended the season with a 20-10 SEC mark and are considered co-champions of the West.
It is the second straight year the Razorbacks have won a share of the division title, as they finished tied with Ole Miss last season. Before these last two seasons, they had won at least a share of the SEC West just four times in 26 years since joining the conference: 1999, 2004, 2007 and 2011.
Because Arkansas swept the Bulldogs at Baum-Walker Stadium last month, it will receive the No. 2 seed at next week’s SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala. That means the Razorbacks will play the second game Wednesday, which will start around 1 p.m. and be televised on the SEC Network.
Their opponent will be the winner of the single-elimination first-round matchup between No. 7 seed Ole Miss (33-23, 16-14 SEC) and No. 10 seed Missouri (34-21-1, 13-16-1).
Ole Miss became the only team to win a series in Fayetteville this year when it took two of three games against the Razorbacks in March and Arkansas swept Missouri at home to start conference play.
The middle portion of the SEC Tournament is double elimination, so the Razorbacks are guaranteed to play a second game regardless of the result Wednesday afternoon. It goes back to a single elimination format in the semifinals Saturday.
HawgBeat will be in attendance at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium and provide comprehensive coverage of Arkansas’ attempt to win its first SEC Tournament title.
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