FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas coach John Calipari was keenly aware of where his team stood after nine games. While the SEC took off and appears to be the top-attended conference by a wide margin, the Razorbacks were still looking for their decisive win.

Kentucky had Duke and Gonzaga. Tennessee had Baylor. Oklahoma had Arizona. Florida is 3-0 against the ACC. Missouri defeated No. 1 Kansas in a game that really counts. Auburn has both Iowa State and UNC. Texas A&M had Creighton. The list goes on and on.

The Razorbacks’ best win before the 89-87 win over No. 14 Michigan was against a Miami team that had lost six straight. No. 1 Tennessee comfortably handled Miami on the same court just 30 minutes before the Hogs took the floor at Madison Square Garden.

“Normally as a coach you look (at the schedule),” Calipari said. “‘Okay, do we have some wins in this league?’ Then I start thinking, ‘Are we the winner?’ The way we played for a while, maybe they thought, ‘Jesus, we’re playing Arkansas.’

13 of the SEC’s 16 teams have at least eight wins in 10 games this season. Among the old 14-team conference, the SEC’s record for most NCAA Tournament bids was eight, set three different times in 2018, 2023 and 2024.

Someone with a really strong resume will likely be shut out of March Madness, Calipari hopes it’s not his Hogs. Michigan’s win could go a long way toward making that happen.

“Someone is going to win 7-8 (conference) games,” Calipari said. “They should get into the NCAA Tournament if they win at Miami and Michigan and play hard against the other teams. They should get into the NCAA tournament, but it’s going to be one of those years.”

Arkansas has three non-conference games remaining on its schedule, all outside the top 150 of the KenPom rankings. The Hogs will travel to North Little Rock to take on Central Arkansas. Tipoff is scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. and will be streamed on SEC+.

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