Where Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology has the Hogs dancing
There’s a long way to go before the Razorbacks make their push for a national championship, but that’s not stopping bracketologists from making projections based on what they’ve seen now.
Perhaps the most prominent bracketologist is ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, who releases updated brackets throughout the season. He released his latest bracket projections on Tuesday.
After the Razorbacks’ recent wins over Louisville and Fresno State on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively, Lunardi put the Hogs as a six seed. In this projection, they’d play close to home in the first two rounds in Oklahoma City.
Their first round matchup would be against Akron, which is currently 8-2 on the season. Assuming they win that game, it would set up a second-round matchup between either 14-seed Hawaii or 3-seed Houston.
If that projection holds true, and assuming there weren’t any major upsets, it would be the second the Hogs face off against the Cougars. Arkansas will face Houston in the “Never Forget Tribute Classic” at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Dec. 20.
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Lunardi’s projections have eight total SEC teams in the field so far. The only other team in the West Region paired with Arkansas is Florida, which would be playing close to home in Tampa for the first two rounds. The other SEC teams in the projected field are Auburn, Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Vanderbilt.
The Razorbacks will have ample opportunities to raise that projection, as there are two more key non-conference matchups before the onslaught of SEC play begins. Arkansas will face Texas Tech at the American Airlines Center in Dallas this weekend, and as mentioned above will play Houston a week after that.
Arkansas’ matchup with Texas Tech will tip off at 11 a.m. on Saturday. The game will air on ESPN2.
