Maybe it was time for Arkansas to move on from the Mike Anderson era. Since arriving in 2011, Anderson reinvigorated a program that had been in a funk since Nolan Richardson’s exit. In the decade before Anderson, the Razorbacks finished an average of 80th in KenPom’s rankings. Under the former Richardson assistant, the average rose to 61st, and it was inside the top 50 once you strip out the first two years of his rebuild.
But the Hogs were always searching for a breakthrough, never reaching the peak many expected after he arrived from Missouri. Stated plainly: The program had grown a little stale.