FAYETTEVILLE — Most coaches will tell you they don’t pay attention to things like bracketology and what so-called “experts” are saying about their team, even if they’re lying. Mike Neighbors is not like most coaches.
Arkansas’ second-year head coach has been tracking NCAA Tournament bracket projections for about two decades, dating back to his time as the Razorbacks’ director of operations with then-head coach Gary Blair from 1999-01.
“Coach Blair and I used to have contests… Before bracketology was even invented, we used to do it,” Neighbors said. “I’ve got a cabinet full of back RPIs and brackets and everything, so it’s just like anything else - as long as they’re doing them, I’d rather be in it.”
Thanks to a 5-2 SEC record, Arkansas’ best conference start in 13 years, Neighbors’ squad is very much in the mix and finds itself listed as one of the “last four in” in both of the major women’s basketball bracketology projections.
The Razorbacks are a No. 11 seed with a first-round matchup with Miami (Fla.) in Iowa City, according to ESPN’s Charlie Creme, and a No. 11 seed facing Michigan State in Milwaukee, according to HighPostHoops.com’s Russell Steinberg.
“Their resume still isn’t sparkling, but any team that’s 5-2 in the SEC deserves a serious look,” Steinberg wrote. “They’ll probably need to knock off at least two more projected tournament teams to stay in the bracket.”
A tenuous spot in the projected field of 64 is not surprising to Neighbors. He even admitted to the media that the 5-2 conference record has been aided by a favorable schedule.
The five wins have been against the bottom five teams in the SEC standings. They have a combined conference winning percentage of .250 and only two - Alabama (11-10) and Tennessee (13-7) - have an overall record above .500.
“It’s a product of who you’ve played,” Neighbors said. “If we’d have traded that schedule, we might’ve been 2-5, so you have to keep some perspective on it.”
The games start getting tougher beginning Thursday with a home game against Georgia. Although the Bulldogs are tied for seventh in the conference with a 3-4 mark, they were picked to finish fourth and three of their losses have been to teams currently ranked or ranked as recently as last week.
Georgia is coming off a bad five-point home loss to Alabama, but it was without redshirt junior guard Taja Cole, who Neighbors described as “the best perimeter on-ball defender” in the SEC. She should be back after serving a one-game suspension for a violation of team rules and joins an already stout defensive team.
Senior forward Caliya Robinson is 6-foot-3 and closing in on the Bulldogs’ career blocked shots record, earning her a spot on the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year midseason watch list, while Maryland transfer Jenna Staiti is 6-foot-6 ranks third in the SEC with 41 blocks this season.
“There’s not as many teams in our league as there used to be that do it this way, but Georgia can win game without scoring; they can do it to you on defense,” Neighbors said. “They can take away the things that we’re really good at. … It’s going to be a fun matchup to see if offense wins out over defense.”
Neighbors said the key to scoring against the Bulldogs will be speeding up the game and getting buckets in transition because their half-court defense is so tough.
The Razorbacks will likely continue to lean on senior point guard Malica Monk, who is averaging 21.3 points and has played 115 out of 120 possible minutes in the three games since backup point guard A’Tyanna Gaulden went down with a knee injury that required surgery.
Before that injury, Monk was playing 26.4 minutes per game with Gaulden contributing 13.7 minutes off the bench. Now playing without looking over her shoulder, she has started attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line more.
“I think she’s playing fearlessly and I think she plays best when she’s that way,” Neighbors said. “That confidence is exuded and I think as a result of that, she’s being a little more aggressive.”
Thursday’s tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and it will be streamed on SEC Network-plus, meaning it can be watched online on ESPN3.com or on the WatchESPN app.
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