Their backs are not against the wall, but the University of Arkansas Razorbacks are getting closer to being out of the NCAA Tournament than they are in it.
The Razorbacks are 11-8 -- having lost four of their past five games -- and 2-4 in SEC play. The NCAA's new NET Rankings -- which replaced the RPI as an evaluative tool -- has them at No. 69. Before you start thinking that's just one spot off the 68 teams who make March Madness, 32 bids are awarded to conference tournament winners.
What the Razorbacks need is to be in the top six or seven in the SEC, which means finding a way to claw themselves ahead of Auburn, Florida, Mississippi State and Alabama in the standings. The other alternative is to win four games in four days in the SEC Tournament.
If the Hogs don't find a way into the Big Dance, Mike Anderson is going to feel some heat. This is his eighth season, and the Razorbacks have only been to March Madness three times on his watch, including the past two years.
The Razorbacks popped out of a slump and finished strong the past two seasons, and there were some indications in the 67-64 loss at Texas Tech on Saturday they might be about to come together.
Their defense was much better and gave Tech fits. If anyone but Chris Beard was coaching the Red Raiders, they might not have won, but the man can coach defense as well as anyone in the country.
The Hogs led 33-30 at the half and had a chance to tie it at the end, but offense has not been a resume builder for the Razorbacks this season.
On Saturday, Daniel Gafford was 6-of-6 shooting and had 14 points, but the Hogs were 4 of 19 on three-pointers, including 1 of 9 in the second half.
The big advantage the Razorbacks had and couldn't capitalize on was athleticism. They had it in abundance, and Tech didn't.
Tech was a little more disciplined on its shot selection, and while the Red Raiders turned the ball over 21 times to 17 for the Hogs, the Red Raiders outscored the Hogs 26-25 on points off turnovers.
Still, Texas Tech is 16-4 overall, 4-3 in the Big 12 and ranked No. 16 in the nation.
It was an overall effort that Anderson can use to kick-start his Hogs, and tonight is the right time to throw it into a higher gear on both ends of the court.
Georgia comes to Bud Walton for a 6 p.m. tip, and the Bulldogs are just 10-9 and 1-5 in SEC play. They are 1-4 on the road, and that one win was at Georgia Tech, although the Bulldogs did beat Texas in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday 98-88.
Three of the Bulldogs' conference losses were to Tennessee, Kentucky and LSU, teams who are ranked in the Top 25. The other two were to Florida and Auburn.
Tonight is the perfect night for Anderson to point his team toward March Madness. With 12 game remaining, the Hogs need to win all six of their home games and at least two on the road. That would put them at 10-6 in SEC play going into the conference tournament.
That combined with a 19-12 overall record might be good enough to get them on the bubble.
The Hogs have road games at LSU, South Carolina, Missouri, Auburn, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. It might be a tall order to ask them to win at LSU or Kentucky, but the Gamecocks and Tigers have lost four home games, and the Commodores five.
Arkansas played pretty well Saturday, but like in five previous losses, the Hogs didn't find a way to win with the game on the line. The Razorbacks can't wait any longer.
What they are feeling on their backs is a wall that they can avoid by playing hard on both ends of the court.
Sports on 01/29/2019