FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas basketball will enter the final week of the regular season boasting its highest ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 poll in more than 20 years.
The Razorbacks, who have won nine consecutive games in SEC play, rose eight spots to No. 12 in the AP poll that was released Monday. It is the program’s highest ranking in the poll since it was No. 12 in February 1998.
It is the third-largest one-week jump ever for Arkansas in the AP basketball poll, according to HogStats.com, and the largest since the Razorbacks jumped from unranked to No. 12 in December 1992 following a 3-0 start that included two wins over top 10 teams.
The Razorbacks (19-5, 11-4 SEC) have been ranked in three consecutive AP polls for the first time since the end of the 2014-15 regular season.
Arkansas went 2-0 last week with home wins over then-No. 6 Alabama on Wednesday and LSU on Saturday. The Razorbacks are scheduled to play at South Carolina (6-12, 4-10) on Tuesday and host Texas A&M (8-7, 2-6) in a rescheduled home finale on Saturday.
“We’re playing really well,” Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said Saturday. “Like I’ve mentioned and like I told the team, when we have an emotional game like we did against Alabama, there’s a concern for your next game. Same thing going forward now.
“We had a huge week, won two really, really big games and now it’s a matter of how do we turn the page and get ready for South Carolina as soon as possible.”
The Razorbacks are in sole possession of second place in the SEC, two games ahead of Florida.
The No. 8 Crimson Tide are the only other SEC team in this week's AP poll. Alabama clinched its first SEC regular-season title since 2002 on Saturday.
This week's AP Top 25
1 Gonzaga (24-0)
2 Michigan (18-1)
3 Baylor (18-1)
4 Illinois (18-6)
5 Iowa (18-7)
6 West Virginia (17-6)
7 Ohio State (18-7)
8 Alabama (19-6)
9 Houston (20-3)
10 Villanova (15-4)
11 Florida State (14-4)
12 Arkansas (19-5)
13 Kansas (18-8)
14 Creighton (17-6)
15 Texas (14-7)
16 Oklahoma (14-7)
17 Oklahoma State (16-6)
18 Texas Tech (15-8)
19 San Diego State (19-4)
20 Loyola Chicago (21-4)
21 Virginia (15-6)
22 Virginia Tech (15-5)
23 Purdue (16-8)
24 Colorado (19-7)
25 Wisconsin (16-9)