Razorbacks picked fifth in SEC West

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Razorback men’s basketball team was picked to finish fifth in the Southeastern Conference’s Western Division by the media it was announced on Monday afternoon.

Arkansas tallied 63 points in the media poll and were selected to finish ahead of Auburn in the division and just behind LSU (70), but the Tigers also picked up one first-place vote. Mississippi State led the Western Division with 144 points and 22 first-place votes followed by Ole Miss (120, 2) and Alabama (84). In the Eastern Division, Kentucky led the way with 148 points and 23 first-place votes. Tennessee (117, 2), Vanderbilt (90), South Carolina (77), Florida (68) and Georgia (25) rounded out the voting.

The Razorbacks are one step ahead of where they were a year ago when they were tabbed to finish sixth in the media poll with just 51 points.

Arkansas returns all five starters from last season’s team that pulled off massive upsets over No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 7 Texas during the season. Senior Michael Washington was the SEC’s leading rebounder a year ago with 9.8 rebounds per game while sophomore guard Rotnei Clarke was the nation’s top freshman three-point shooter in 2008-09 as he hit 39.3 percent of his shots from behind the arc. Sophomore Courtney Fortson led the Razorbacks in assists and was one of the top playmakers in the nation at 5.9 assists per game. The Razorbacks added depth and height to the roster with this season’s group of recruits and the combination of experience with the talent of the newcomers has Arkansas head coach John Pelphrey excited about the opportunities this season.

The Razorbacks hold their annual red-white game on Friday, Oct. 23. For more information regarding Razorback basketball or University of Arkansas athletics, please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.

SEC Champion: Kentucky (20); Mississippi State (3); Tennessee (2).