Arkansas lost on Saturday, but Alabama gave away a horrible loss which keeps the Hogs in good position for the SEC title
Arkansas lost to Auburn on a full SEC basketball Saturday, but the Razorbacks got some great news later on Saturday night when Alabama gave up 92 points to Texas and lost at home. The result is an absolute stunner, given how weak Texas has been so far this season. The Longhorns were 0-2 in the SEC going into this game. They just got crushed by a Tennessee team which frankly looks ordinary and is 1-2 in the league. Texas lost at home to Mississippi State. The Longhorns are a shell of their former selves. They made the Elite Eight in 2023 and have tumbled since then. Alabama, coming off a loss to Vanderbilt, was supposed to roll through the Horns, but instead, the Tide got hooked.
If Alabama is that weak and wobbly -- that vulnerable against one of the SEC's lesser teams -- Arkansas should be able to finish above the Tide in the league standings. Arkansas at least lost on the road to an Auburn team which has shown its potential at times. Alabama losing at home to Texas is so much worse than Arkansas' face-plant on Saturday.
Vanderbilt and Texas A&M won on Saturday to become the only 3-0 teams in the SEC. Vandy handled LSU while A&M rallied to beat Oklahoma. Arkansas is part of the chasing pack at 2-1 with Alabama now 1-2. Texas A&M feels like an outlier team which, once it plays the top teams in the SEC, will fall back to the middle of the pack. Arkansas -- ahead of Alabama -- will need to chase down Vanderbilt if it wants to lift a conference championship trophy in two months.
Having reviewed the state of play in the SEC basketball championship chase, here are the other results from a full Saturday of basketball in the conference:
Kentucky beat Mississippi State to stop the bleeding and avoid falling to 0-3 in the league. Ole Miss beat Missouri to give the Tigers their first loss in conference play, a good result for Arkansas on multiple fronts. Mizzou takes a loss, and the Hogs' win over Ole Miss instantly looks better.
Florida hammered Tennessee. Again, the Vols don't look especially strong this season. They lost too many important players from last season. Florida bounced back well from its loss to Mizzou a week ago.
Georgia rallied late to win on the road at South Carolina. The Dawgs are currently an NCAA Tournament team (going by projections and resumes) but are making life a little too close for comfort.
The SEC looks like it will get eight teams into the NCAA Tournament, with nine teams looking like the ceiling for the conference and seven looking like the floor. All of this is subject to change with two whole months left in the season.