Dave Van Horn couldn’t ask for better out of SEC Tournament week for Hogs

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Razorbacks got everything they need heading into this week’s SEC Tournament.

No distractions

For starters, it gets to finally be all about baseball. No tests and no rushing to a computer after a game to submit a project before the midnight deadline.

Also, since the tournament is multiple states away, theoretically there is no pressure to find ways to spend time with girlfriends and make them happy, nor buddies trying to convince them to hang out until 2 a.m.

Regular work week

Also, since the Hogs took care of business against Tennessee this past weekend, there is minimal disruption to the typical weekly baseball routine. Arkansas can stick to its normal practice schedule, plus take in a few games, before settling in to play a typical Friday through Sunday series schedule.

Razorbacks coach Dave Van Horn isn’t having to sort out how to unnaturally stretch his pitching staff or figure out when to rest his catcher. He gets to plan things like any other SEC series.

If the Razorbacks play their cards right, Van Horn wouldn’t have to deal with such stress on himself and his pitching rotation until the College World Series in Omaha. Avoiding that kind of strain so late into a potential national title run is priceless.

No need to stress

The big thing is there’s no pressure on Arkansas this week. If the Hogs win Friday, then that’s great. 

It keeps them in a natural rhythm. If they don’t, well, the right to host a super regional is already theoretically locked up and there isn’t a team that will be in the SEC quarterfinals bad enough to change that by beating the Razorbacks a single time.

Arkansas faces either Florida, South Carolina or Ole Miss, all of which will have already burned through at least one starter and most likely multiple relievers. The Hogs swept South Carolina, lost 2-of-3 at Florida and opened the SEC slate by taking two out of three against the Rebels.

No Texas unless for championship

Should the Razorbacks win their opener, they likely face LSU for the right to play in the SEC championship game. If all goes as expected, the Longhorns will be there waiting.

Now, it might seem odd to list not playing Texas until the very end as a positive considering how easily the Razorbacks dispatched what was then the nation’s No. 1 team in a much needed sweep in Fayetteville. However, the Longhorns aren’t regular season SEC champions for nothing.

This won’t be a night game in front of a packed house of rabid Arkansas fans. It will be a rather docile atmosphere in the early afternoon on a neutral site with the possibility of the overall No. 1 seed on the line.

There’s no doubt the Razorbacks could make it four in a row, but why waste the pitching capital on the Longhorns unless there’s something on the line?

The real victory

Whether Arkansas makes it there and wins the SEC Tournament is of little consequence.

The real win would be getting back to Fayetteville with no injuries and confidence still intact. If that’s the case, it will have been the perfect business trip for Van Horn and his Hogs.

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