Although Confusing to Some, Loss to No. 11 Georgia Gives Arkansas Better Chance

While NCAA Tournament almost locked, SEC championship spot elusive for Razorbacks right now

Arkansas Razorbacks' Frankie Price on the floor against the LSU Tigers at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. / Ted McClenning-Hogs on SI Images

ATHENS, Ga. — While it may be hard for the casual Razorbacks gymnastics fan to understand, Friday night's loss to No. 11 Georgia is a way bigger positive in the Razorbacks' quest for an SEC and national championship than the upset win over No. 2 LSU at Bud Walton ever will be.

And that's not just because of the heroics shown on beam on the final event to overcome disastrous uncharacteristic falls on vault and floor that caused Arkansas to keep low scores they wouldn't normally count. Qualifying for both events relies on a formula resulting in average scores, so while defeating the defending national champions 196.875-196.600 felt nice for the fans, it's nowhere near as helpful as a 197.125-197.050 road loss to No. 11 Georgia.

Because the national qualifying scores requires teams to take their six best scores, drop the highest and count at least three road scores, this guarantees Arkansas will get to count at least one 197+ score. Right now, the Razorbacks' highest score came with a 197.175 at home in an upset of then No. 2 Florida, so that would be dropped unless Arkansas can top it against Alabama or Missouri.

 Speaking of the Crimson Tide, that meet to close out February will be crucial. Because of the addition of Oklahoma, one of the nine SEC gymnastics programs will be left out of the SEC championships.

For casual fans to get an understanding of what that's going to be like, imagine this year's SEC men's basketball tournament only taking the Top 8 teams, but the league is even better than it actually is in terms of containing the best teams in the country.

It is more than four times easier to be one of the 36 regional qualifiers for the national tournament than it is to make the SEC championships. Friday's score helped Arkansas make up a lot of ground on No. 14 Alabama after the Tide posted a 196.675 in a quad meet against Iowa, Illinois and Missouri Friday night.

However, if they were happening today, No. 15 Arkansas would be the team on the outside looking in. Even for gymnastics die-hards, it's hard to get a grip on one of the nation's top teams, a program that took down not one, but two teams ranked No. 2 in the country, not even making its own conference meet.

That's why when Alabama comes to town, the goal has to be two-fold. The Razorbacks have to win and their score has to be as high in the 197s as possible in doing so.

Right now Arkansas' super score, a composite of the highest scores on each event throughout the season, shows the Razorbacks are capable of posting a 197.675. That's higher than the season high 197.650 they put up in March against Missouri last season with a team that made it all the way to the national meet in Forth Worth.

While things might feel stressful for Jordyn Wieber's team because of the SEC championships situation, this is back-to-back meets of 197+. It's also a team the numbers show can have a strong finish.

The only down side is only four meets remain to get it done. Also, only Alabama and maybe Auburn are close enough to the Razorbacks to overtake for a spot, so in a sport built on pressure, the stress is real each time Arkansas goes out the rest of the way.

Should Arkansas qualify, the SEC championships will take place on March 22 in Birmingham. If the Razorbacks fail to qualify, If not, they will find out which regional the will compete in during the selection show on March 24.

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