If Arkansas can't win on the road at Oklahoma, the Hogs frankly won't deserve to win the SEC title. It's time to step up.
Here we go again. Arkansas goes on the road in the SEC, trying to play a strong, complete game away from Bud Walton Arena. It's not as though Arkansas' road SEC losses have come against the top of the conference. UA has lost at Auburn and Georgia, certainly decent teams -- NCAA Tournament teams -- but not high-end teams. Neither the Tigers nor the Dawgs will come anywhere close to a top-five NCAA Tournament seed. They will be mid-level seeds or at the back end of the bracket. Arkansas has not faced a ferocious SEC road schedule, and yet it has been hard for the Hogs to win games away from home.
Now comes a game which, on paper, is as winnable as they come: Oklahoma. The Sooners are 1-6 in the SEC. They have lost six straight games. Coach Porter Moser is almost certainly going to be fired at the end of the season. Oklahoma has made the NCAA Tournament under Moser, but not because of SEC excellence. The Sooners dominated nonconference play but then finished under .500 in the league. The noncon was so good and strong that the subpar SEC results didn't matter. Moser has had a horrible time winning in his conference.
Oklahoma's most recent loss was typical of Moser's tenure: The Sooners led in the second half and had the game within their grasp, but they faltered late. They were up three at the end of regulation, failed to foul, and allowed Missouri to hit a tying 3-pointer which sent the game to overtime. Oklahoma led by two but allowed a walk-up 3-pointer just before the final horn to lose. The 3-pointer wasn't an easy shot, but the shooter was allowed to get a free shooting hand because OU defenders didn't force the ballhandler left. They allowed him to go right and get into his normal shooting motion. Little details like that have eluded Oklahoma under Moser.
Arkansas is coming off a lackluster performance against LSU. The effort was not where it should have been. UA got outrebounded by eight and was minus-15 in free throw makes (22-7). Perhaps the Hogs were taking LSU for granted. They certainly can't do the same to OU. The Sooners aren't good, but they did give Alabama a tough battle at home and have played a lot of close games in the SEC. They're not a cupcake or a tomato can, but they will relent if their opponent punches them in the mouth. It's time for Arkansas to play a strong road game and not cede ground to the rest of the SEC.
Vanderbilt, Alabama and Florida are all struggling to varying degrees. The SEC title is there for the taking. Winning on the road is how the Hogs can lift a trophy in March.