Arkansas basketball picked to finish third in 2027 SEC season

If the Arkansas basketball team wanted fresh motivation before the 2026-2027 college basketball season and the 2027 SEC basketball campaign, it received it. SEC basketball media day is upon us, and when media day arrives, that means the media ranks every team in the conference. The media rankings are out, and Arkansas has been picked to finish third in the SEC for the coming season. 

Florida, the preseason No. 1 team in the country with a loaded and experienced roster, is the obvious and unquestioned choice as the top team in the SEC. No one is saying or implying that Arkansas should be ranked ahead of Florida. No one should be ranked ahead of the Gators. We can all agree on that.

However, the Texas Longhorns are being picked to finish second, ahead of the Razorbacks. That is not going to sit well with the Hogs or their players ... which is great. 

It doesn't cost Arkansas anything to be picked to finish behind Texas. It doesn't mean it will actually happen. The media has been wrong about a lot, and will continue to be. The Hogs therefore get to play the disrespect card relative to an old rival. John Calipari can tell his players the media trusts Texas more than Arkansas, and be 100-percent correct about it.

Calipari can tell his players something along the lines of this: "We've been out here making the Sweet 16 in consecutive seasons. We've finished in the upper tier of the SEC. We won the SEC Tournament. We are setting a consistently high standard. Texas, on the other hand, barely makes the NCAA Tournament as an 11 seed, plays shorthanded BYU in the first round (one of the Cougars' top players, Richie Saunders, was injured), plays shorthanded Gonzaga in the second round (Gonzaga was missing key big man Braden Huff), and gets to the Sweet 16. Now everyone is falling in love with Sean Miller and what he did in the transfer portal. We have been better and more consistent than Texas the past two seasons. We have the top recruiting class in the country, and yet the media thinks the Longhorns are better than us? Really? Guys, the media has declared what it thinks about you and Texas. The media thinks you're not as good as the Horns. Are you just going to sit there and take it, or are you going to do something about it?"

That's what John Calipari can say. He would be right.

So, Arkansas players, what exactly will you do about it? In a few weeks, we will begin to find out.