Wednesday, February 6, 2013
What Arkansas' big win means
By Luke Lapinski
Mike Anderson had his team ready to play last night. Not only did Arkansas beat No. 2 Florida, the Razorbacks steamrolled the Gators. In fact, they put up 80 points. Prior to that, Billy Donovan's squad hadn't allowed more than 67 in a game and was only yielding an average of 51.0 points per contest.
So what does this win do for Arkansas? It certainly gives the program a signature victory to point to if it finds itself on the bubble when March rolls around. But the Razorbacks still have work to do as well. Joe Lunardi still has them outside the Field of 68 at the moment, though they'll get plenty more opportunities to raise their profile against notable opponents like No. 21 Missouri (twice), Florida (again) and Kentucky. Plus they'll have a shot at some quality competition in the SEC tournament.
Last night's effort puts them on the map, and six of their eight losses have come against clubs with a very real shot at making a trip to the NCAA Tournament this year. On the one hand, that shows that BJ Young and Co. aren't making a habit of stumbling against sub-par competition. On the other hand, some of those losses may have come against the very teams they'll be competing with for one of the final invites to the Big Dance on Selection Sunday.
