ESPN Analytics predicts outcome of Texas A&M-Arkansas clash in Fayetteville
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ESPN Analytics isn’t treating Wednesday night’s SEC showdown in Fayetteville as though it’s a matchup between teams separated by just 1 game in the conference standings.
Because that’s what it will be when Texas A&M invades Bud Walton Arena for a 9 p.m. ET tipoff on ESPN2 against 20th-ranked Arkansas. The Razorbacks are sitting pretty at 10-4 in the SEC, tied for second place with Alabama and still just 2 games behind first-place Florida, who we’ll get to later.
Meanwhile, the Aggies are only a game behind the Hogs at 9-5 in the league, as they try to separate themselves from the pack in the regular season’s final couple weeks. Texas A&M is looking for that magical (and pivotal) 20th win of the regular season, too, sitting at 19-8 as it tries to pull off the road upset of the 20-7 Razorbacks. Again, this is an SEC showdown between teams with similar records, only ESPN’s BPI isn’t buying it, giving Arkansas a hefty 70.6% chance to take care of business in its rowdy arena.
Maybe that’s because the Hogs are on a pretty good roll here in late February, having won 7 of their past 9 games. But Arkansas has to be careful in this spot, not only because Texas A&M is a solid team but because of what’s coming this Saturday night — a trip to Gainesville to face those 7th-ranked, surging Gators in a primetime showdown on ESPN.
But before it can possibly think about toppling Florida, John Calipari’s club will have to contend with a Texas A&M team that has steadied itself with 2 straight victories after losing 4 in a row before that. Arkansas will look to avoid looking past the Aggies on Wednesday night and toward that Saturday night clash at the O’Connell Center.
Kalshi is giving Arkansas an even better shot to hold serve at home than ESPN’s BPI does, with the Razorbacks getting a 78% chance to take down the Aggies before gearing up for that titanic showdown on Saturday night in Gainesville:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
