Great year so far for Arkansas basketball. The Hogs came in second in the SEC West and second in the SEC B-ball Tournament. Not bad at all. Then a 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
First up for Arkansas will be Indiana on Friday in Raleigh, NC. If they get by the Hoosiers, they likely will play the #1 team in the Nation -- UNC. If you are looking for tickets, here's a great page 2008 March Madness Tickets and Rebate.
Prior Discussion:
University of Arkansas basketball has been a fixture in the world of college basketball for many years. The Razorbacks won the NCAA tournament in 1994 under the direction of, then head coach, Nolan Richardson. They also made it to the NCAA final four six times, with the latest being in 1995 when they lost to UCLA in the championship game. The team has been selected for the NCAA tournament each of the past two seasons, although they have not made it past the first round.
Arkansas basketball had a good 2006-2007 season as they finished with a 24-14 record and in a tie for third in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) West.
They made it to the SEC Tournament Championship Game, beating South Carolina, Vanderbilt, and Mississippi State before finally being defeated by Florida 77-56. As noted above, Arkansas basketball also made it to the NCAA tournament but lost out in the first round to Southern California.
The Backs have great returning talent, including all five starters from last year's team. However, they have a new coach: John Pelphrey (formerly coach of South Alabama). Obviously, it will take a bit of time for Pelphrey to get to know the players and install his new system.
Patrick Beverley, who shined in his first year in 2007, will likely continue to excel this season at guard. Levan Patsatsia is a newcomer to the team after being signed as guard for the coming season and is expected to bring a lot to the offense with his skills at the three. Guard, Sonny Weems is expected to see more game time this season.
Another issue to deal with will be Stefan Welsh's hamstring injury, that happened at the end of the summer.
The men of Arkansas spent much of their summer on the road, having the opportunity to travel to Cancun to play in several exhibition games. Beverley has also seen success in the off-season after being selected to play for the Under-19 League for Team USA in the FIBA World Championships.
Coach Pelphrey has been speaking to the media lately about how he is going to tackle the upcoming season. Pelphrey is trying to focus on bringing his team back to the basic traditions of basketball, encouraging good team work and having more consistent effort from the players.
Prediction: We think Arkansas basketball will be up to the challenge. They have five returning starters who took the team to the SEC Championship game last year. So, they are seasoned. We see the Razorbacks winning winning the SEC West and a couple games in the NCAA tournament.
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