By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said he needed some time before he could look ahead Saturday.
His team had just hit a devastating low, blowing a nine-point lead over the final five minutes in its 68-66 loss to Ole Miss in the regular season finale. So when he was asked about the Razorbacks’ next step — heading to the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Nashville, Tenn. — Pelphrey wasn’t ready to start evaluating the upcoming opponent.
“It’s going to take a second here before I can get to any of the future stuff,” Pelphrey said.
“But we’ll get ready and we’ll play.”
Arkansas limps into the postseason with a five-game losing streak, which is the longest the Razorbacks have ever endured to end the regular season in the program’s 86-year history. The skid is also the longest among SEC teams entering the tournament.
It has forced Arkansas into a well-known predicament, too. The Razorbacks — who play Georgia on Thursday night at 8:45 — are facing the likelihood that the season will end with their next loss.
Arkansas must win four games in four days to earn an automatic berth into the 65-team NCAA Tournament field. If not, Arkansas won’t likely earn a place in the 32-team National Invitation Tournament. And it’s unknown whether the Razorback would even entertain an opportunity to play in a third postseason tournament — the College Basketball Invitational.
Either way, it’s a dim outlook for a team that had an opportunity to win the SEC Western Division championship two weeks ago. But Arkansas guard Rotnei Clarke said the Razorbacks remain confident they can make an impact in the SEC Tournament this week.
“We can definitely turn it around,” Clarke said. “It’s not easy going into the tournament like that, but once we get there, we’re not thinking about the five-game losing streak or how many games we lost. We’re thinking about making a run in the tournament.”
To do so, Arkansas would have to start by beating Georgia — which lost at LSU in the regular season finale — in the first round. The Hogs and Bulldogs do share one similarity: They are the only SEC teams to lose to the struggling Tigers this season.
The Razorbacks won the head-to-head meeting with the Bulldogs earlier this season, but needed a strong second half in Athens, Ga. Arkansas trailed by 15 at the break before rallying to get a road victory, which was part of its five-game win streak.
“We were very fortunate against Georgia the first time,” Pelphrey said. “It probably won’t be a good idea to get behind by 15 again.”
The winner of the opening-round game will advance to play Vanderbilt, the SEC East’s No. 2 seed, in the second round on Friday night. The Commodores cruised to a 89-72 win against Arkansas on February 27 and have not lost to a team from the SEC West this year.
But Arkansas’ five-game losing streak is an indication the Razorbacks shouldn’t be looking that far down the road. Instead, Arkansas will spend the next few days preparing for Georgia — and trying to get over the shock of losing its regular season finale against Ole Miss with a late-game collapse.
“We didn’t the job done,” Arkansas guard Marcus Britt said. “We’ve got to move on to the next game.”
2010 SEC Tournament
First-Round Games (Thursday)
Noon Game 1 S.C. (East 5) vs. Alabama (West 4)
2:15 Game 2 LSU (West 6) vs. Tennessee (East 3)
6:30 Game 3 Auburn (West 5) vs. Florida (East 4)
8:45 Game 4 Georgia (East 6) vs. Arkansas (West 3)
Second-Round Games (Friday)
Noon Kentucky (East 1) vs. S.C./ Alabama
2:15 Ole Miss (West 2) vs. LSU/Tennessee
6:30 Mississippi St. (West 1) vs. Auburn/Florida
8:45 Vanderbilt (East 2) vs. Georgia/Arkansas
