It's About That Time

It's the first day of February, and if my series of complex mathematical equations is correct, March is the next month on the calendar. That means it's time to start obsessing and fretting about the Razorbacks' chances of making the NCAA Tournament (it is against official Expat policy to refer to the tourney as "The Big Dance").

So, if the tournament were to start today, would the Hogs be in it? Yes ... but barely, according to ESPN's Bracketology page. Specifically, they would be a 12th seed in the West Region and would face 5th-seeded Pittsburgh in the first round. According to the page, Arkansas would be one of the last four teams to receive an at-large bid. (Sounds like a carbon copy of last year doesn't it?) Overall, the SEC would receive six bids; Tennessee, Ole Miss, Vandy, Mississippi State and Florida also would make it.

The Hogs have 10 regular-season games left, but five of those are on the road. We'd all love for the Razorbacks to get hot and make a return trip to the NCAAs more of a sure thing (and the last two games have encouraged me to perform some pre-bandwagon-jumping stretching exercises). However, the realist in me says that the Hogs will still be firmly on the bubble when Selection Sunday rolls around.