Razorbacks raise expectations with No. 13 ranking in SI's basketball Top 25

You can throw in some highly-touted recruits, too.

Five-star guard Darius Acuff is expected to excel alongside D.J. Wagner in the backcourt, while Karter Knox is expected to have a breakout season on the wing.

The frontcourt has been reinforced with transfer additions Malique Ewin (Florida State) and Nick Pringle (South Carolina), giving Arkansas a more physical presence inside.

“The Hogs seem positioned to build on that with strong roster continuity (a rarity for Calipari) and some talented reinforcements,” SI's Kevin Sweeney wrote.

Last year was a rollercoaster for the Razorbacks.

After a promising non-conference slate, Arkansas stumbled to an 0–5 start in SEC play, leading many to write off their postseason hopes.

Calipari, however, remained defiant in the face of criticism.

“Everyone put us in a coffin after 0-5,” he told reporters. “They just forgot the nails”.

The Razorbacks closed SEC play by winning four of their final five games, including upsets over ranked opponents Missouri and Mississippi State

The late surge secured a No. 9 seed in the SEC Tournament, where the Hogs edged South Carolina before falling to Ole Miss in a narrow second-round loss.

The Razorbacks are one of several SEC teams featured in Sports Illustrated’s Top 25 for 2025–26, showing it's going to be another rough season in league play.

Defending national champion Florida is No. 2, Kentucky is No. 7, Auburn at No. 12 and Tennessee completes the ranked SEC teams at No. 15.

To save you some thinking about, the SEC has five teams in the Top 15. It may be another loaded representation of league teams in the NCAA Tournament.

Here's the analysis of the other SEC teams in the Top 25 projections:

Other SEC programs, such as Alabama, Missouri, Texas A&M and Ole Miss, also appear in various national rankings and NET calculations.

The challenge for the Razorbacks will be translating preseason promise into consistent results, something Calipari’s teams have sometimes struggled with amid roster turnover.

The return of key players and the infusion of elite recruits give the Razorbacks a high ceiling.

As Calipari put it after last season’s turnaround, “We’ll be all right,” signaling his belief in the team’s direction.

If the Hogs can avoid the pitfalls of last year’s slow conference start, they have the pieces to make a deep tournament run.

Around these parts that's the expectation.

HOGS FEED: