It’s not just football that does these “way too early” rankings, but Arkansas is listed in the first of these things … and they are in the Top 10.
Kevin Flaherty of CBS Sports put out the first rating for men’s basketball and Eric Musselman’s team is at No. 9 … headed into just his third season in Fayetteville.
Here’s what Flaherty had to say about the Razorbacks:
“There’s so much to like about Arkansas’ roster, from dynamism at guard with Chris Lykes joining JD Notre and Devonte Davis to the addition of versatile, switchable players like Eric Musselman covets in transfers Stanley Umude, Au’Diese Toney and Trey Wade.”
Gonzaga is ranked No. 1 while UCLA is second followed by Texas, Kansas and Villanova round out the first five. The next group is Michigan, Duke and Baylor just ahead of the Hogs and Purdue is 10th.
You read that correctly … he has the Hogs ranked the highest of any team in the SEC. Kentucky is next at No. 12, Alabama 17th, Tennessee 19th and Auburn 21st.
Musselman probably doesn’t care about any of these early rankings with the exception that recruits DO notice these things.
Getting ranked, especially in the preseason, adds to credibility of a program and name recognition.
Which does play a pretty big role in landing those big-name players.
