Arkansas is not the favorite to win the SEC basketball title, but Texas A&M losing to Alabama makes the Hogs' path clearer
Arkansas has lost the benefit of the doubt in the SEC basketball race. Losing at home to Kentucky and being very inconsistent over the past three weeks have diminished the Razorbacks' overall position in the SEC and on a national level. However, it's only the first week of February. We remember that John Calipari turned around the Hogs at this point in the 2024-2025 season. If Cal wants to begin a turnaround right now, the Razorbacks still have a shot at the SEC title. If this team irons out its problems and uses this off week -- no Tuesday or Wednesday game -- to make the necessary tweaks which can turn the Hogs into a roaring engine, the SEC title is still attainable.
Crucially, Texas A&M lost to Alabama on Wednesday night. It was exactly the result the Razorbacks needed to stay in the SEC title conversation.
It's true that Texas A&M, which had not faced the elite teams in the SEC in January, was not the SEC favorite entering February or -- for that matter -- Wednesday night. Nevertheless, the Aggies were at the top of the standings. It's just that SEC basketball observers were waiting for a little regression to finally occur. It did in Tuscaloosa. The Aggies scored 97 points but could not defend the surging Tide, who posted 100 points in a rip-roaring game. Now that A&M has finally lost a second SEC game, Arkansas can make one more run at the SEC crown.
You might ask -- reasonably enough -- why it was so important for Texas A&M to lose even though Florida was presented as the clear-cut SEC favorite. Fair question. The answer is simple: Florida and Texas A&M play each other this Saturday. A&M needed to lose so that the loser of UF-A&M would be guaranteed to suffer a third SEC loss. Both teams carry exactly two SEC losses into Saturday night's big contest.
If A&M had beaten Alabama, the Aggies would have remained ahead of the Gators. Florida beating A&M would have then evened the SEC standings at the top. The price of A&M losing would have been Florida winning, a price Arkansas and other SEC pursuers would not have wanted to pay. On the other hand, an A&M win over Florida in that scenario would have affirmed the Aggies as the top team in the standings.
Now, after A&M's loss to Bama, Arkansas knows it will gain a game on either Florida or A&M this Saturday if it can beat Mississippi State, and at least improve its chances of being the No. 2 seed at the SEC Tournament.
Everything in this discussion begins with Arkansas getting itself straightened out, but the A&M loss at Alabama is exactly what the Hogs needed to maintain the hope they can still win the SEC over the next month of basketball.