Joe Lunardi compares NCAA Tournament resume of Arkansas vs. Oklahoma

With Selection Sunday less than two weeks away, Arkansas and Oklahoma both still have work to do to make the NCAA Tournament. The Sooners and Razorbacks are part of a handful of SEC schools currently on the bubble with the regular season coming to a close.

According to ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s latest projections Arkansas is one of the last four teams in the field while Oklahoma is the first team out. Lunardi joined the SEC Network on Tuesday evening ahead of a matchup between the Razorbacks and Vanderbilt to explain why he likes John Calipari‘s squad a little bit more at the moment.

“I think Arkansas does (have a better chance to make the tournament) because they’re a better basketball team,” he said. “They’re also in the field right now whereas Oklahoma, whether it’s poor play or just buzzard’s luck, has had a lot of things go against them. Arkansas’ wins are bigger and more recent.

“But again, road game tonight. Tough place to play at Vanderbilt. I think that we’re seeing desperation from the teams that are out versus teams that are solidly in. Maybe that’s why Texas is winning and also why Arkansas can smell a bit of a road upset themselves.”

Arkansas has a 4-9 record against quadrant 1 opponents compared to 5-10 for Oklahoma. However, the Razorbacks recently came away with a top 25 win against Missouri while the Sooners have lost seven of their past eight games.

A win against Vanderbilt would give Arkansas an equal amount of quad 1 wins to the Sooners with a chance to earn another to close out the regular season against Mississippi State. Just winning one of those games and maybe another in the SEC Tournament should have Razorbacks fans feeling good.

To argue the Oklahoma side, however, the Sooners won head-to-head against Arkansas on the road earlier this season. If both teams finish with a similar resume, perhaps that would factor in to the selection committee’s decision.

OU’s recent slide doesn’t help, nor does the fact that the Sooners have won only four SEC games compared to six for the Razorbacks. They likely need to win both against Missouri on Wednesday and fellow bubble team Texas on Saturday to give themselves a shot to make the field of 68.

Regardless of how they compare to each other, both teams simply need to focus on winning their games to put themselves in the best position. If they both take care of business, there will be plenty of time left for debate.