Arkansas is viewed as being firmly on the bubble in the stacked Southeastern Conference and may be slightly trending upward.
Being a bubble team means Arkansas cannot afford a slip-up by losing to last-place South Carolina on Saturday afternoon in Columbia, S.C.
The Razorbacks, however, might be without leading scorer Adou Thiero. He is nursing a hyperextended knee.
Arkansas (17-11, 6-9 SEC) has a NET ranking of 40 and is sandwiched between fellow SEC teams Texas and Vanderbilt. The Razorbacks helped their cause by following up last Saturday’s 92-85 victory over Missouri by outlasting Texas for an 86-81 overtime home win on Wednesday.
The Razorbacks are 11th in the conference in scoring at 76.4 points per game and scored at least 85 in consecutive games for the first time in league play.
“We’re trying to get that tournament bid,” Arkansas reserve Jonas Aidoo said. “That’s the main thing for us, we got to finish the last stretch of games. And that’s how tournament games are.”
Thiero is averaging 15.6 points per game. He was replaced by Trevon Brazile, who scored 12 points against the Longhorns.
If Thiero sits again, the Razorbacks will rely on another balanced showing after Zvonimir Ivisic scored 18 points and D.J. Wagner added 16 to lead five players in double figures.
The Gamecocks (11-17, 1-14) earned their first conference win when they rolled to an 84-69 home victory over Texas a week ago. South Carolina followed it up with a rough defensive showing when it allowed Missouri 52 first-half points and 63.5 percent shooting in a 101-71 road loss on Tuesday.
“I thought there were moments where we didn’t respond,” Gamecocks coach Lamont Paris said. “We gave up 52 points in the first half, and that’s not been characteristic of us.”
South Carolina took its most lopsided loss of a trying season despite getting a big game from leading scorer Collin Murray-Boyles. Murray-Boyles tied a season high with 27 points and has scored at least 20 in consecutive SEC games for the first time this season.
–Field Level Media
