FAYETTEVILLE — Jimmy Dykes dismisses the idea that his increasing comfort level as a coach has had anything to do with Arkansas' turnaround this season.
Whatever the reason, the first-year head coach — at any level — has the once-forgotten Razorbacks (15-9, 5-7 Southeastern Conference) possibly nearing their first NCAA tournament appearance in three years.
After opening SEC play with four straight losses, Arkansas has won four of its last five games entering a home game with No. 2 South Carolina (24-1, 12-0) on Thursday night. The winning stretch, coming despite a season-long struggle with only nine players on the roster, has the moved the Razorbacks into the middle of the pack in the rugged SEC.
It's also helped boost the confidence and postseason possibilities for Dykes, the former ESPN analyst who returned to coaching after more than 20 years before the season.
"We have a lot of hope, and I think that's very, very important when you get to the end of February," Dykes said. "Does your team have hope and something to play for, and we absolutely do ... We're in a fight right now, we're in a fight for our postseason life."
The Razorbacks faced a difficult schedule to open SEC play, playing three teams — Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Tennessee — that were all ranked in the top 15 nationally. And after a 72-58 loss at Florida on Jan. 25, they were 1-6 in conference play, squandering leads late in several games as their lack of depth hurt them.
While Dykes insists he's been comfortable at practices since his first day as coach, he admitted the early SEC setbacks could have easily shaken his confidence.
To help keep his limited roster fresh after the difficult start, Dykes heeded the advice of his assistant coaches and reduced the Razorbacks practices from 90 to 60 minutes in recent weeks.
Led by Kelsey Brooks' 15 points per game, as well as 13.8 per game from Jessica Jackson, Arkansas bounced back from its difficult start by winning three games in a row — including a 54-48 win over then-No. 24 Georgia on Feb. 9.
No game this season, however, has been as daunting as the one coming Thursday against the Gamecocks, who have lost only to No. 1 Connecticut this season.
For Dykes, the game is just another challenge he's eager for his players to experience as they continue to learn each other and together.
"I think we're a good ball club, I really do," Dykes said. "And it's not anything that I've done at all; it's because we've all stayed together, we've stayed resilient."