Coming off a two-game win streak that had them safely in the NCAA Tournament field, the Razorbacks' 19-point beatdown by South Carolina on Saturday has Arkansas right back on thin ice.
All things considered, a loss to the Gamecocks, whom the Hogs trailed by as many as 35 points, could have done them in entirely. Instead, they're still in the thick of it. ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi still has Arkansas as one of his last four teams in, and a strong finish to the regular season could get it back in the tournament safely.
What's helping the Hogs is several key wins over high-quality opponents — Michigan at Madison Square Garden, Kentucky on the road and Missouri at home are all season-defining victories.
Prior to the South Carolina loss, Arkansas was at No. 40 in the NET Rankings. It dropped seven spots to No. 47 afterward, and that's where it sits today.
The NET ranking evaluates game results, strength of schedule, net offensive and defensive efficiency and the quality of wins and losses. It breaks wins and losses into four quadrants, and is based on game location and the opponents' NET rankings.
— Quadrant 1: Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75
— Quadrant 2: Home 31-75, Neutral 51-100, Away 76-135
— Quadrant 3: Home 76-160, Neutral 101-200, Away 135-240
— Quadrant 4: Home 161-353, Neutral 201-353, Away 241-353
The NCAA website says the number of Quad 1 wins and Quad 3 and 4 losses will be "incredibly important" for NCAA Tournament selection and seeding.
So, what does Arkansas' metrics look like? HawgBeat has a brief overview.
