Mike Anderson is a favored son in Fayetteville because of his connection with the Richardson days, when he admittedly probably played a much bigger role in their success than most folks realized. (He did much of the work, Nolan got the credit.) And he has won a bunch of games as a head coach.
BUT, in Fayetteville he has never been further in the NCAA tournament than the round of 32. That despite having little competition for fans within the state, likely having his pick of any D1 talent from the state, having almost limitless financial resources, and being "bullet proof" to some extent because of Nolan's presence and the threat of considerable noise from his direction involving things legal and political should Anderson be fired.
Granted that the average sports fan in Arkansas is focused on football, but when March does eventually roll around, since they have nothing else to do, they finally begin to ask, "How are the Razorbacks doing in basketball?" The answer is (once again), Not too badly, but not great. Sagarin has them ranked #42, which is sixth in the SEC. They are 7-2, with only one of those wins being outside of the "purchased" category, and it by only a single point. Plus, they lost to Arizona State at home. In short, they are not building the sort of resume so far that is likely to overwhelm the selection committee. That is the sort of season that has become far too familiar under Anderson.
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