Arkansas' next 48 hours at the SEC Tournament will determine how strong its chance is at hosting a regional.
It's been five years since Baum Stadium was used for June baseball. The Razorbacks would likely be sent packing if the NCAA postseason began today, but a lot can happen between now and when the host sites are announced Sunday.
Arkansas will play No. 1 LSU tonight and will play either the Tigers or No. 6 Florida on Friday or Saturday.
One more win over either of those teams would make the NCAA selection committee take a long look at the Razorbacks. Two consecutive losses would all-but lock Arkansas into a No. 2 seed.
How valuable would a win be? Consider this: the Razorbacks' win over the Gators on Wednesday gave them a seven-point RPI boost to No. 29.
That ranking would only improve with another win over a top 10 team.
It has appeared for most of the season that the SEC would be a four-host conference. LSU, Florida, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M have all hovered in or around the top 10 for most of the year, and at least two of those should be national seeds.
A strong year in non-traditional power conferences will work against a team trying to make a late push to host like Arkansas. The Missouri Valley Conference should be a two-host league with Dallas Baptist and Missouri State, and the Colonial Athletic Association is also likely to have a host school, College of Charleston.
Regional proximity to other hosting candidates will also factor into the Razorbacks' own chance to stay home. In addition to Dallas Baptist and Missouri State, Oklahoma State and TCU are within a relatively short driving distance from Fayetteville, and there could be as many as eight regionals played in bordering states.
As Arkansas learned in 2013, the NCAA prefers its baseball regionals are as spread out as possible. Playing nine regionals in six states won't accomplish that.
Despite all of that, the Razorbacks could have a legitimate claim by the weekend. Since falling below .500 in March, Arkansas has won 24 of its last 32 games and hasn't lost twice in a row during that span.
The Razorbacks have won three straight games against teams in the top 10 and is capable of beating any team in the nation.
At worst, their hot streak to close the season should keep them from long trips like the one last year to Virginia.