Arkansas basketball fans have seen the same basic scenario unfold multiple times for the Hogs in March Madness this decade. Can this group replicate what recent UA teams have done?
The Arkansas basketball program is living through Groundhog Day. The same basic NCAA Tournament bracket scenario keeps emerging for the Razorbacks, in one form or another. It's not always exactly the same but usually contains a few common threads.
In 2022, 2023, and 2025, Arkansas was shipped to the West Region, so this year's bracket assignment is no different from those other seasons. In 2022 and 2025, the West Regional was in San Francisco. In 2023, it was in Las Vegas. This year, it will be in San Jose.
In 2022 and 2023, Arkansas was placed in the same half of the West Region bracket as the No. 1 seed in that region. In 2022, Arkansas beat No. 1 seed Gonzaga in the Sweet 16. In 2023, Arkansas took down No. 1 seed and defending national champion Kansas in the Round of 32. This year, Arkansas is once again in the path of the top seed in the West. This time, a possible encounter with top-seeded Arizona looms in the Sweet 16. Obviously, Arkansas has to get through the first weekend in Portland -- including a likely date with Wisconsin in the Round of 32 -- before it can even worry about Arizona in San Jose, but the parallel remains evident for all to see.
In 2022 and 2025, Arkansas had to make a long commute out of its own part of the country to play first- and second-round NCAA Tournament games. In 2022, the opening-weekend site was Buffalo. Last year, it was Providence. This year, it is Portland. The long out-of-region commute remains a common thread for the Razorbacks this decade in the NCAA Tournament.
Why do we bring up these details? Two main reasons exist: First, the 2026 Razorbacks are not unique or alone in being shipped West and being forced to rack up frequent flyer miles in the NCAA Tournament. Calipari didn't coach the 2022 and 2023 teams, but he did coach the 2025 team, and he can tell his guys about rolling with the punches -- and the travel -- to play well when it really matters.
Second, Arkansas had strong NCAA Tournament runs in each of those previous three trips in 2022, 2023, and 2025. The Hogs didn't make the Final Four, but they did reach the Sweet 16 all three times and reached the Elite Eight once, very nearly twice. Calipari can tell his players that adverse seeding, bracketing and travel situations did not stop those Arkansas teams from playing at a high level and advancing in March Madness. This 2026 team can look at that history and focus on this inconvenient bracket as an opportunity rather than a burden.