Jay Williams firm on Arkansas NCAA Tournament chances: 'I think they're going to be out'

Arkansas appeared on the most recent ESPN Bracketology update, finding themselves on Joe Lunardi’s ‘Last Four Byes’ list. That projects John Calipari’s Razorbacks a 10-seed designation for the NCAA Tournament.

Discussing Arkansas’ odds to make March Madness on ESPN College GameDay, analyst Jay Williams was the odd man out when revealing his opinion on the Razorbacks’ postseason hopes.

“I think they’re going to be out,” Williams said. “I don’t trust them, because I don’t really know who they are against the teams I expect them to beat. That’s going to be interesting down the stretch.”

For the rest of the CGD panel, Andraya Carter believes Arkansas will be in the Big Dance at the end of the day. Rece Davis did, too. However, Seth Greenberg — who has been high on the Razorbacks all season — believes it’s not set in stone just yet.

“If they don’t win tonight, I think they have to win one of those last two,” Greenberg said. “But I think in the end, they’re going to be in and this will probably be one of [John Calipari’s] better coaching jobs, getting as much as he can out of this group.”

The Razorbacks currently have a 51% chance to make the NCAA Tournament, according to ESPN analytics. They’re set to play South Carolina, which is currently 1-14 in SEC play heading into Saturday’s matchup. If Greenberg is to be believed, the Razorbacks may punch their ticket to March Madness if they leave Columbia with a victory.

One downside to playing the Gamecocks is that it won’t count toward Arkansas’ Quad 1 resume. They’re currently 4-9 in such games but are also 2-2 against Quad 2 opponents.

Given the Razorbacks will play unranked Vanderbilt on the road next Tuesday, but aside from hosting No. 24 Mississippi State in the regular season finale, there isn’t much Arkansas can do to bolster its resume heading into the SEC Tournament. Of course, a run in Nashville could do wonders for the Razorbacks as that would entail multiple Quad 1 victories on consecutive days.

Regardless of the debate, Joe Lunardi’s projections have the Razorbacks in the tournament if the selection committee made their picks today. With impressive wins over the likes of Michigan, Kentucky and Missouri this season, not to mention going 6-4 against SEC competition after its 0-5 start in league play — they have a decent resume for the committee to review.