FORT COLLINS, Colorado – The drive to Fort Collins, a beautiful city in northern Colorado just miles from the Wyoming border at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, requires one final stop through Denver before the home stretch.
With fans having a ton of questions about basketball just weeks before football season begins, the scenic jaunt down I-25 provided an opportunity to take a look ahead to next March. Denver is one of the spots on the list for the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, and as far as seeding goes for John Calipari’s first-ever postseason run at Arkansas, it’s a great option.
The city is beautiful and easily accessible by plane. It can also be reached by car, but those who drive the 12 hours from Fayetteville will be particularly bored in a desolate stretch of land through western Kansas and eastern Colorado where there is literally nothing.
But a word of warning: Don’t be fooled by the sweet tea in this part of the country, even if it’s in a place that could easily be called Taco Bell. Sweet tea there means it’s either mixed with raspberries without anyone noticing, or it contains a sugary syrup mix that tastes absolutely awful.
However, the chances of the Hogs landing in the scenic Central Colorado countryside with its C+ sweet tea skills are probably slim. Everyone knows the NCAA is in the TV business in March and stories drive ratings.
Lexington is the clear favorite, especially if former Arkansas coach Eric Musselman can somehow get USC into the tournament. Sending Calipari to his old stomping ground in Kentucky, especially if Mark Pope can’t get the Wildcats into the tournament, is simple logic for television producers.
It would be interesting to see if Kentucky fans would come out either in spite of or support of their old coach, or pretend he’s not even in town. And as for Musselman, if he does his part, there’s a chance the Razorbacks and Trojans could meet in one of his old haunts – San Francisco.
That would mean a potential Round of 16 clash in the same city where Arkansas beat No. 1 Gonzaga in the same round in 2022 before losing to Duke in the Elite 8 on Mike Krzyzewski’s farewell tour. Getting two weekends in a row of big headlines from Calipari is a TV executive’s dream.
The second possible storyline, although not quite as exciting, is to send the Razorbacks to Newark, New Jersey, which would put Calipari just a stone’s throw from New York City and in the same state he flew to for a break after completing summer workouts.
There has to be an unexpected twist in the story, and to get there he’ll have to face Rick Pitino’s St. John’s team, which will be a double tie given the situation with Mike Anderson and the shady way he was pushed out so Pitino could get the job. Putting two coaches who led Kentucky to a national championship against each other will help a region that may be lacking good storylines.
And to get there, the NCAA can send Arkansas to various outposts that probably won’t excite Arkansas fans. Anyone fancy a weekend in Cleveland?
Either way, as desirable as Denver is as a first-round host, it probably won’t make the cut. On the other hand, based on some questions from fans, there seems to be some doubt as to whether Arkansas will even make the tournament.
Calipari seems motivated enough to make sure missing the tournament isn’t an option in his first season in Fayetteville. There’s little doubt the NCAA hopes that’s the case, because they could use some good news these days, and Arkansas is best for business this year.
PIG FEED:
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