Arkansas enters postseason No. 15 in AP poll

Arkansas forward Jaylin Williams interacts with teammates on Saturday, February 19, 2021 during the second half of a basketball game at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville. Check out nwaonline.com/220220Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for the photo gallery.

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas will enter postseason play as a top-15 team in the country.

The Razorbacks are No. 15 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 that was released Monday. It is the fourth consecutive week Arkansas has been ranked in the poll following an eight-week absence from Dec. 20-Feb. 7.

The 4 seed in the SEC Tournament in Tampa, Fla., the Razorbacks split games against LSU and Tennessee last week. Arkansas defeated the Tigers 77-76 in Bud Walton Arena last Wednesday and fell 78-74 to the Vols in Thompson-Boling Arena after trailing by as many as 24 points.

“I’m really happy with how hard we played in the second half and the toughness that we had,” Eric Musselman said Saturday. “That’s who we’ve been all year. The biggest thing we’ve got to focus on is how do we get ready for a second second, meaning the SEC (Tournament) and even more (it’s) really important to get ready for the NCAA Tournament, as well.”

Graduate transfer Stanley Umude scored 23 points against LSU, forward Jaylin Williams added 19 points and 10 rebounds, and wing Au’Diese Toney finished with 18 points. Star guard JD Notae scored a game-high 20 points on 6 of 20 shooting at Tennessee.

Arkansas closed the regular season with 14 wins in its final 16 games. It will open play in the SEC Tournament on Friday against either 5-seed LSU, 12-seed Missouri or 13-seed Ole Miss at approximately 1:30 p.m.

Other SEC teams in this week’s poll are Auburn (4), Kentucky (5) and Tennessee (9).

Arkansas’ ranking in AP poll in 2021-22

Preseason — 16

Nov. 15 — 16

Nov. 22 — 13

Nov. 29 — 10

Dec. 6 — 12

Dec. 13 — 24

Dec. 20 — NR, 9 voting points

Dec. 27 — NR, 0 voting points

Jan. 3 — NR, 0 voting points

Jan. 10 — NR, 0 voting points

Jan. 17 — NR, 0 voting points

Jan. 24 — NR, 0 voting points

Jan. 31 — NR, 7 voting points

Feb. 7 — NR, 74 voting points

Feb. 14 — 23

Feb. 21 — 18

Feb. 28 — 14

March 7 — 15