STARKVILLE, Miss. - It would be easy to don rosy Razorback red colored glasses and support coach Dave Van Horn's contention that Arkansas, 33-22 overall, deserves to be included as an at-large entrant when the NCAA announces its 64-team NCAA Regionals baseball field come May 26. It would also be easy, knowing the Razorbacks finished ninth in a league taking eight to its conference tournament, to assert Arkansas should not be included in college baseball's Big Dance. Personally witnessing so many games Arkansas frittered away, including two of three to lastplace Mississippi State right here in Starkville this past week when just winning one more would have sent Arkansas to its sixth-straight SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala., can make one unduly hard on the Hogs.

However a lot of teams in a lot of leagues ride the same boat through waters not scheduled to be as choppy.

Impartially scrutinizing most any team other than the obvious elite or the obvious dregs inclines more waffling than a Waffle Hut.

The Hogs' can't make their own conference's Big Dance and are 14-15 in the league yet think they should be deemed good enough to advance to the real Big Dance ? Then again, the SEC is so well respected that teams routinely have advanced to Regionals while under. 500 in league play, including some that didn't qualify for the SEC Tournament.

Arkansas seldom played patsies. That's why its RPI (ratings power index ) stood 23 nationally going Starkville.

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" We have a great RPI, " Van Horn said last Saturday after Arkansas rallied from losing a 9-2 lead to Mississippi State to win 15-10. " I'm sure it's going to be a top 25 or lower. If any team deserves to get in with all the injuries we've had and the way we've done the second half, it's us. " The Hogs have played at powers Arizona State and Texas A & M, split two with Nebraska in Lincoln, swept Missouri State home and home. In the SEC, Van Horn asserts, " Some of the teams that have made the (SEC ) tournament have RPI's not as good as ours and we have done better against them than they have against us. " Three headed to Hoover, South Carolina, Ole Miss and Florida, lost 3-game SEC series to Arkansas. The Hogs swept South Carolina in Fayetteville and won two of three in Oxford, Miss., and Gainesville, Fla. Arkansas also won two of three from Tennessee when the Vols were a ranked team. Had the Hogs reeled in just one of several that got away. They lost a 9-0 lead and the game in Fayetteville to eventual SEC champ Georgia. They wasted opportunities while losing leads and two of three games to also-ran Auburn in Fayetteville and two of three to last-place Mississippi State here in Starkville. Arkansas had 3-run leads in both 6-5 losses to Mississippi State, including 5-2 in Friday's ninth.

Win one of those and they would be Hoover bound at 15-14 with the advantage over South Carolina and Ole Miss, grabbing the last two SEC Tourney slots at 15-15. Arkansas played one less league game because of a rainout after losing two at Vanderbilt. Too late now for the what-ifs.

So while eight SEC teams proceed to Hoover, Van Horn proceeds like Arkansas will join them in next week's Regional field. He'll keep the Hogs practicing in Fayetteville after tonight's 6: 30 p.m. game at Baum Stadium with Western Illinois and he'll keep campaigning that a " great RPI" deserves better than a RIP.

Nate Allen covers the Razorbacks for the Northwest Arkansas Times.