Hogs peaking at right time

Early in the 2022-23 basketball season, I predicted that the Arkansas Razorbacks might be a Final Four team. Then came the SEC schedule, and it looked like I was wrong. But now, maybe that early- season outlook wasn’t so far off base after all.

Scott Loftis

The Razorbacks’ victory over Kansas on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament sent the Hogs to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive season. It also was the second time in as many years that Arkansas has eliminated a No. 1 seed.

I suspected during the regular season that the SEC was a pretty rugged conference, and so far the national tournament has borne that out. The SEC has three teams in the Sweet 16 and an overall record of 9-5 in the tournament. The fact that the Razorbacks lost some conference games clearly doesn’t mean they can’t be competitive with anyone in the bracket.

Credit for the tournament success goes to Eric Musselman and to Devo Davis — “Mr. March” — who simply took control of the game against Kansas.

Arkansas will need Davis to continue playing well going forward, but the Razorbacks still have plenty of other weapons. Ricky Council, Anthony Black, Jordan Walsh. And I’ll throw out three names that could be huge this weekend in Las Vegas: Nick Smith Jr., Makhi Mitchell and Kamani Johnson.

Smith wasn’t a real factor in Arkansas’ wins over Illinois and Kansas in the first two rounds, but his talent is undeniable. Don’t forget that it was his late basket against Auburn in the first round of the SEC Tournament that likely ensured the Hogs would even get to the NCAA Tournament. Smith could be quiet again Thursday against UConn, or he could just as easily score 20 points or more. Hogs fan should remember, too, that this is a young man who very easily could have sat out the rest of this season to nurse his knee before moving on to the NBA as a lottery pick in the upcoming draft. Instead, he chose to return to the court and represent his home state. He deserves a lot of credit for that.

Arkansas is built around its guards, but its big men are capable, too. It was Johnson’s basket after an offensive rebound that helped clinch the win over Kansas, and Mitchell can be dominant at times around the basket.

There’s no guarantee who will step up for Arkansas, but there are plenty of candidates. Just imagine if Trevon Brazile were available.

Basketball coaches always want their teams to be peaking at the end of the season, and that sure looks to be the case with these Razorbacks.

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Scott Loftis is editor and publisher of the Carroll County News. His email address is SLoftis@Carroll-CoNews.com.