SEC Basketball is elite, and I know the league may have been down this year, at least by their standards, but it was still an elite conference. The league has many teams that received at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament and are going to make the second weekend. So when you look at it, it's not really down at all. The SEC Tournament did have some chaos with Ole Miss and Oklahoma almost stealing bids in the NCAA Tournament. As the dust settled, it was the Arkansas Razorbacks who beat the Vanderbilt Commodores in the title game.
The Razorbacks were already an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, but decided to take the suspense out of it. It is the second straight NCAA appearance for the Razorbacks and the 37th total appearance overall. Head coach John Calipari has rebuilt the Arkansas program in just two short years. Arkansas has earned a 4 seed in the tournament and is a threat to make a deep run.
Athletes
There are teams out there built with finesse and shooting who have to run set offenses and keep the defense off balance with ball movement. Then there are teams like the Razorbacks who still move the ball and run a set offense, but once the defense collapses or the play breaks down, they have athletes all over the floor who can make things happen. If you have not watched Arkansas play yet, you will understand exactly what the previous sentence means the second you watch the Razorbacks.
Darius Acuff is the point guard for coach Calipari, but he can play any position on the floor and would still average over 15 points per game. Few guys can do what he can on a basketball court. He does run the offense and averages over 6 assists per game, but Acuff also makes tough shots and can get whatever shot he wants. He is arguably the best athlete in the NCAA Tournament, so good luck to whoever is trying to stop him. Hope he doesn’t score 40, because he will. Oh, and how could I forget, he’s only a freshman.
Then there is Trevon Brazile. Brazile is the big man for the Razorbacks, and he makes at least three eye-popping plays a game. He can jump out of a gym, make threes, and block tons of shots. He is the third Razorback ever to make 40 threes, have 40 steals, and tally 40 blocks in the same season. Brazile is one of the more athletic players I have seen in a long time and is a lot of fun to watch. Â
Having guys with this kind of athleticism allows immense positional flexibility. Every guy who starts for Arkansas is athletic, but these two mentioned were the ones who stood out. All of them bring the ball up, all of them post up, all of them can shoot, and all of them are almost impossible to defend one-on-one.Â
Low Turnovers
Arkansas plays at one of the highest paces in the country and has a lot of guys who can get to the rim and go one-on-one against anyone. The Razorbacks do have a lot of ball movement, and all five guys on the floor can handle the ball and bring the ball up the floor. Teams like that tend to have more turnovers because they get going too fast and become careless.Â
This is the exact opposite of Arkansas. The Razorbacks were one of the nation's leaders in fewest turnovers. The Razorbacks average about 9 giveaways a game, and that isn’t very many, so how does that matter, given what we already established about Arkansas's offense? Defenses can’t overcommit and are going to have a hard time trying to go for steals if they are prepared for easy layups and dunks. Â
The lack of turnovers makes Arkansas extremely hard to close out. If the Razorbacks have a lead, they can sit on it and get a clutch basket or get to the free-throw line. If they are trying to make a comeback, they can put all the pressure on the opposing team to make the stops and get the rebound. Arkansas is really hard to prepare for, especially on short notice.
John Calipari
Calipari will always be a polarizing figure in the college basketball world; people will either love him or hate him. He is a legendary coach who desperately needed a change of scenery from his time at Kentucky. He had some great teams at Kentucky,y and although he never won a National Championship, he had some excellent teams in Lexington, but just couldn’t get the job done.
Arkansas is following the same path that his Kentucky teams did. Loaded with talent and athletes, many of whom will be in the NBA next season. They are going to win a lot of games and eventually make it to a National Championship game. The Razorbacks come into the tournament hot and have one of the best players in the country, so why not now?
Can coach Calipari guide his team to some upsets and see his team make the Final Four? I think so. Acuff and Brazile alone are enough to get it done. Throw in a legendary coach who has done it before, and you have a recipe for an elite run through March when no one is expecting you to make one. Â