FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas won a little more than two out of every three games during the regular season and enters the NCAA postseason with a 39-18 record.
In most years, two wins every three games is an accomplishment - the goal of each team during a weekend series. But for Arkansas in 2018, two out of three has to be viewed as a little more noteworthy.
The Razorbacks' schedule included 13 games against five teams - Florida, Georgia, Ole Miss, Texas and Texas Tech - that will host an NCAA regional this week, and 35 games against 13 teams that are in the NCAA field.
By comparison, the other three teams in Arkansas' regional - Southern Miss, Dallas Baptist and Oral Roberts - played a combined 36 games against 13 teams in the tournament (that includes ORU and DBU by virtue of the teams playing one another in March, a 2-1 series win for DBU).
Arkansas' record against teams in this year's NCAA Tournament is 21-14. Southern Miss is 6-4, Dallas Baptist is 7-10 and Oral Roberts is 3-6.
The Razorbacks' opponent win percentage is .6036, which is tied with Florida as the hardest in college baseball. The Gators won three more regular-season games than Arkansas, but also played two more games than the Razorbacks because of two weather-related cancellations on the Arkansas schedule.
"We had probably the toughest schedule, I think, and by far one of the toughest schedules we've had here," Arkansas infielder Casey Martin said. "That definitely prepares for us for the long run, playing these good teams. It definitely makes you better."
Playing in the always-difficult Southeastern Conference - and in particular, the western division, which had six of seven teams make the NCAA field - boosted Arkansas' schedule strength. But the Razorbacks also tested themselves with a number of difficult out-of-conference games against Texas, Texas Tech, Missouri State, Kent State and San Diego State - all of which are in the NCAA Tournament.
Arkansas also played Arizona and Southern Cal early in the season, but those teams struggled in Pac-12 play and failed to make the NCAA field. Bucknell, the preseason favorite to win the Patriot League, also had a down year after opening the season in Fayetteville.
When he was assembling the schedule more than a year ago, Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said it was the type of schedule that would potentially earn the Razorbacks a top eight national seed and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. That was the case Monday when Arkansas was named the No. 5 national seed, which assures the Razorbacks of playing in Fayetteville prior to the College World Series.
"I knew who we were going to play in conference on the road and those ended up being the other three national seeds" from the SEC, Van Horn said, referencing Arkansas' road series at Florida, Ole Miss and Georgia, the Nos. 1, 4 and 8 national seeds. "We played some pretty good games against them; obviously didn't win the series, but played them tight and won three games against them. I just felt like it would get us ready. We won enough that...we got selected to be a top eight."
The Razorbacks played eight conference series and three more games at the conference tournament against teams that made the NCAA field. Kentucky, which Arkansas swept to open SEC play, is widely believed to be the first team that was left out of this year's tournament.
The SEC had a record 10 teams make the NCAA Tournament. The only conference team to make the NCAAs without playing Arkansas was Vanderbilt from the eastern division.
All five of the Razorbacks' SEC road series were against teams that made the NCAA field. Arkansas failed to win any of those series, but its 29-3 record against quality competition at home offset a lack of wins in away or neutral venues, which are worth more to a team's RPI. The 2018 Razorbacks are only the second team in college baseball history to earn a top eight national seed with a losing road record. Arkansas in 2004 was the first team to do so and wound up winning its home regional and super regional.
In addition to going 14-1 against SEC competition at home, the Razorbacks also won a number of notable midweek games in 2018. Arkansas defeated Texas twice in between series against Kent State and Kentucky; Missouri State once sandwiched between series against South Carolina and Mississippi State; and Texas Tech once (another game was canceled) following the road trip to Mississippi State.
"It definitely wasn't an easy schedule," Arkansas pitcher Blaine Knight said. "We had midweeks with Texas, Texas Tech and those are some really good programs that are in the postseason right now. It was a hard schedule in the long run, but I think we learned a lot from it. I think it helped us once we really got into conference play and got going."
It also succeeded in another goal: to keep the Razorbacks at home in the postseason.