There is only one group that can put the Arkansas Razorbacks in the NCAA Tournament, and it is not the selection committee.
It is the Razorbacks.
It is easy to say the Hogs will win three out of the next four, one SEC Tournament game and make the field of 68.
Bracketologists have the Razorbacks in as of today, but that's what bracketologists do right now -- put teams in and out. Between now and March 12, when the field is announced, any number of teams will have been on and off the bubble.
The bottom line for the Hogs is they need to win the next three, but four would be better.
Arkansas has one quality victory, at South Carolina, and decent ones at Tennessee and against Alabama.
It also has three horrific losses, and two of those were at home.
That 84-78 loss to Mississippi State in Bud Walton back on Jan. 10 has turned into a big negative for the Hogs. The Bulldogs are 5-9 in SEC play and 14-12 overall. Taking an average of Basketball Power Index, Jeff Sagarin, Ken Pomeroy and RPI, they are 102.
The other home loss was to Vanderbilt, which the Hogs had beaten in Nashville. That loss was damaging because of the score, 72-59, and that it was in Bud Walton. The Commodores have an average rating of 54.5.
Missouri was almost devastating. The Tigers are 2-13 in SEC play and 7-20 overall and have an average rating of 186.25.
Granted, the 83-76 victories over South Carolina was huge -- and the Hogs followed that up with a 98-80 spanking of Ole Miss -- but it is the players who decide whether they are peaking at the right time.
Tonight's game is huge as the Hogs face a decent and well-coached Texas A&M team. The Aggies are 6-8 in conference play and 14-12 overall. Their average rating is 71.
Let's make this crystal clear: The Razorbacks' average rating is 45.25, and they cannot afford to lose to any team with a rating lower than theirs.
The Aggies aren't worried about their rating, only about finding a way to slow the ball down and get the upset.
After Texas A&M will be a road game at Auburn (17-11, 6-9 SEC), which was riding a three-game losing streak before defeating hapless LSU on Tuesday night. Auburn's average rating is 84.5.
The regular-season's home finale is March 4, and it could be a challenge with Georgia coming in hoping to ruin senior day. The Bulldogs have an average rating of 56.5 and are coming off a narrow loss to Kentucky.
Fans expect the Razorbacks to win those, especially after the past two victories.
The one that would help them the most is the March 1 showdown in Gainesville against Florida, which sports a 7.75 rating and is being penciled in as a No. 3 seed, possibly a No. 2 seed depending on how it responds to the season-ending injury to starting center John Egbunu.
A victory on the road against a top 10 team would catapult the Hogs in the ratings, especially if they win the three they are supposed to.
What the Razorbacks did in the past two games, what Mike Anderson has been preaching and teaching all season, is control the tempo and feed the offense with their defense.
That is one of the hardest lessons junior college players have to learn, but Daryl Macon and Jaylen Barford have made huge strides in the past two games.
If the Razorbacks continue to play hard on both ends of the court, they'll make the tournament the old-fashioned way: They will have earned it on the floor.
Sports on 02/22/2017