PROS WHY ARKANSAS WILL MAKE NCAA TOP 30 RPI Razorbacks had a Rating Percentage Index of 23 heading into last weekend’s series, and they don’t figure to be below 30 when the NCAA Tournament brackets are unveiled Monday. QUALITY VICTORIES Arkansas went 9-14 in games against teams in the RPI Top 50, topped by a series victory at Florida (No. 15 in the RPI ), a road victory at Nebraska (No. 6 ) and a sweep of South Carolina (No. 22 ). STRONG FINISH Arkansas won four of its last six SEC series and went 14-6 in the final 20 games overall. SOUTH CAROLINA, MISSISSIPPI Arkansas swept South Carolina and won a road series from Ole Miss while finishing a half-game behind them in the conference standings, providing the Razorbacks with a strong argument to go in ahead of either team if one or both lose their first two games in the SEC Tournament. PRECEDENT Three previous SEC teams (Florida in 2003, Mississippi State in 2004 and Auburn in 2005 ) made the 64-team NCAA field despite not making the eight-team SEC Tournament field in Hoover, Ala.

CONS WHY ARKANSAS WILL NOT MAKE NCAA STARK-VILLE REALITY Losing 2 of 3 at last-place Mississippi State to end the regular season hurt. The Razorbacks also lost a series to Auburn, which like Mississippi State also didn’t qualify for the SEC Tournament. TOP-HEAVY SCHEDULE A 1-4 record in games against possible national seeds Arizona State, Texas A&M and Nebraska reflects a missed opportunity for the Razorbacks. ORAL ROBERTS Losing to Oral Roberts 9-4 and 12-2 on consecutive Tuesdays in April won’t look good despite the fact Oral Roberts is a quality team. Arkansas also suffered a home nonconference loss to Centenary. SO-SO SEC The SEC had losing records against each of the top three RPI leagues (10-11 vs. ACC, 3-7 vs. Pacific-10 and 4-8 vs. Big 12 ). Plus, Georgia won the overall SEC championship but was only 4-7 against probable tournament participants Arizona, Oregon State, Florida State and Georgia Tech.