Arkansas was ranked 10th in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll despite losing eight of the top nine scorers from last season's roster that advanced to the Elite Eight of the 2022 NCAA Tournament largely because of a recruiting class that ranked second nationally and Eric Musselman's track record of turning a lot of newcomers into quality teams seamlessly. Two months into this season, it's fair to say he's done it again -- under less-than-ideal circumstances.
Nick Smith Jr. has only played five games.
Trevon Brazile is done for the season with a torn ACL.
That means Arkansas is 12-2 even though its leading scorer and most-heralded prospect (Smith) has been, and continues to be, sidelined with a knee issue while the Razorbacks' third-leading scorer and second-best transfer (Brazile) recovers from knee surgery. Is the ceiling on the Razorbacks now lowered a bit? Perhaps, if only because teams don't often remain the same when two of their top three scorers aren't in the lineup. But this is still a high-level team that just this week beat the Missouri team that just last week smashed the Kentucky team that was the preseason SEC favorite. So it's reasonable to assume Arkansas can still compete for the league title even without Brazile and Smith, the latter of whom remains out indefinitely while industry sources openly wonder if he'll ultimately decide to just shut it down in advance of the 2023 NBA Draft.
Arkansas remains No. 17 in Saturday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. The Razorbacks will play their third SEC game of the season Saturday night when they visit Auburn in a contest scheduled to tip at 8:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.
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Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Jarace Walker finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds in Thursday's 87-53 win over SMU. The Cougars' next game is Sunday at Cincinnati. | -- | 32-5 |
| 2 |  | Zach Edey finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds in Thursday's 71-69 win at Ohio State. The Boilermakers' next game is Sunday against Penn State. | -- | 34-5 |
| 3 |  | Azuolas Tubelis finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in Thursday's 70-67 win over Washington. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Washington State. | -- | 27-9 |
| 4 |  | Dajuan Harris finished with 18 points and three assists in Tuesday's 75-72 win at Texas Tech. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday at West Virginia. | -- | 23-11 |
| 5 |  | UConn shot just 36.5% from the field in Wednesday's 73-61 loss at Providence. The Huskies' next game is Saturday against Creighton. | -- | 37-3 |
| 6 |  | Rasir Bolton finished with 21 points and three rebounds in Thursday's 77-75 win at San Francisco. The Zags' next game is Saturday at Santa Clara. | -- | 27-8 |
| 7 |  | Brandon Miller finished with 17 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 84-62 win over Ole Miss. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday against Kentucky. | -- | 25-12 |
| 8 |  | Santiago Vescovi finished with 14 points and three rebounds in Tuesday's 87-53 win over Mississippi State. The Vols' next game is Saturday at South Carolina. | -- | 27-9 |
| 9 |  | Jaylen Clark finished with 15 points and five rebounds in Thursday's 60-58 win over USC. The Bruins' next game is Thursday against Utah. | -- | 16-17 |
| 10 |  | Zach Freemantle finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 83-73 win over UConn. The Musketeers' next game is Saturday at Villanova. | -- | 16-18 |
| 11 |  | Markquis Nowell finished with 36 points and nine assists in Tuesday's 116-103 win at Texas. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at Baylor. | -- | 19-15 |
| 12 |  | Mike Miles Jr. finished with 33 points and four assists in Wednesday's 88-87 win at Baylor. The Horned Frogs' next game is Saturday against Iowa State. | -- | 21-13 |
| 13 |  | Texas allowed Kansas State to shoot 60.0% from the field in Tuesday's 116-103 loss to the Wildcats. The Longhorns' next game is Saturday at Oklahoma State. | -- | 21-13 |
| 14 |  | Steven Crowl finished with 17 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 63-60 win over Minnesota. The Badgers' next game is Saturday at Illinois. | -- | 22-14 |
| 15 |  | Miami missed 27 of the 32 3-pointers it attempted in Wednesday's 76-70 loss at Georgia Tech. The Hurricanes' next game is Wednesday against Boston College. | -- | 15-17 |
| 16 |  | Virginia squandered a 13-point lead in Tuesday's 68-65 loss at Pitt. The Cavaliers' next game is Saturday against Syracuse. | -- | 23-11 |
| 17 |  | Ricky Council IV finished with 25 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's 74-68 win over Missouri. The Razorbacks' next game is Saturday at Auburn. | -- | 16-17 |
| 18 |  | Missouri squandered a 17-point lead in Wednesday's 74-68 loss at Arkansas. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Vanderbilt. | -- | 8-24 |
| 19 |  | Bryce Hopkins finished with 27 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 73-61 win over UConn. The Friars' next game is Saturday against St. John's. | -- | 21-14 |
| 20 |  | Matt Bradley finished with 23 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 76-67 win at UNLV. The Aztecs' next game is Saturday at Wyoming. | -- | 26-11 |
| 21 |  | Ohio State lost 71-69 to Purdue on Thursday despite shooting 50.0% from the field. The Buckeyes' next game is Sunday at Maryland. | -- | 22-14 |
| 22 |  | Caleb Grill finished with 20 points and four steals in Wednesday's 63-60 win at Oklahoma. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday at TCU. | -- | 29-8 |
| 23 |  | Olivier-Maxence Prosper finished with 29 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 96-85 win at St. John's. The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday against Georgetown. | -- | 27-10 |
| 24 |  | Indiana allowed Iowa to shoot 47.7% from the field in Thursday's 91-89 loss to the Hawkeyes. The Hoosiers' next game is Sunday against Northwestern. | -- | 19-14 |
| 25 |  | Baylor squandered a 17-point lead in Wednesday's 88-87 loss to TCU. The Bears' next game is Saturday against Kansas State. | -- | 24-11 |
| 26 |  | Duke suffered its most lopsided loss since 1978 in Wednesday's 84-60 loss at NC State. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday at Boston College. | -- | 27-9 |
