NCAA Basketball: Texas, Virginia soar on top 25 ranking ahead of Thanksgiving
By Joey Loose
9. Arkansas (3-0)
There’s plenty to like at Arkansas, both this season and in recent years. This is a program coming off consecutive appearances in the Elite Eight with a talented roster that has the potential to make it three straight years. The Razorbacks have taken care of their business early in the season, and that’s really all you can ask for at this point, especially when a few other teams have already been slipped up or worse. The Razorbacks got win number three with a third straight fantastic defensive effort.
On Wednesday night, they defeated South Dakota State 71-56, limiting the Jackrabbits to just 18% on 3-pointers and getting 19 points of their own from Ricky Council IV. Arkansas also benefited from 13-point efforts from Trevon Brazile and Davonte Davis, with Brazile having a double-double in the win.
Two weeks into the season, Arkansas has allowed 54 points a game, though the competition hasn’t exactly been the highest level. Still, facing Fordham and a pair of Summit League squads is a tougher schedule than some of these Top 25 teams have played and the Razorbacks have looked great to this point. That challenge steps up significantly next week as they head out for the Maui Invitational. The good news is that their first matchup is against a mightily struggling Louisville squad; but expect two fantastic games after that.