Arkansas keeps getting breaks from other SEC basketball results. The Hogs' path to a championship is still open and very realistic
The door remains open for the Arkansas basketball team. Other SEC teams refuse to close it. First it was Alabama tripping over itself multiple times, including at home to Texas, to give Arkansas increased reason for optimism. Then it was Vanderbilt losing a bunch of games in a row to fall back to the pack. Then, on Saturday, we saw the Florida Gators -- a team which had won several games in a row and had seemingly figured out a lot of problems which had dogged the team earlier in the season -- stumble at home to Auburn.
The Gators trailed by almost 20 points early in the second half, then came roaring all the way back to tie the score with several minutes left and seemingly own the upper hand, only to then falter late and fall behind by 10 points, ultimately losing by nine, 76-67.
Auburn did beat Arkansas by a lot in early January, but the Tigers had not been a consistently good team entering Saturday. They lost at Missouri and at home to Texas A&M. They barely squeaked by South Carolina at home and have been quite erratic this season. Yet, it all came together for them in Gainesville, where they won for the first time since 1996. Auburn's halfcourt defense was on point, and when the Tigers didn't give the ball away, they held the advantage. Florida's guard play and 3-point shooting were not up to the challenge. The Gators also missed a double-digit amount of free throws to hurt their cause.
Texas A&M now leads the SEC standings. The Aggies are good, but no one thinks they are great. Arkansas should certainly consider itself superior to A&M, which is going to face the tougher part of its SEC schedule in the coming weeks. The Aggies hosted -- and crushed -- lowly South Carolina on Saturday. If Florida gets stuck in the muck, Arkansas -- having just beaten Vanderbilt head to head -- could find itself in a duel with Alabama down the stretch for the SEC crown. Given that Alabama struggled with one of Tennessee's more ordinary teams (comparatively speaking) at home on Saturday night, Arkansas should feel it has the potential to win the SEC.
Potential and reality, of course, are two different things ... but that door remains open. The Hogs just have to stride through the entryway confidently and take what is available to them. It's right on a silver platter.