Arkansas surely would’ve landed in both national college basketball polls this week with a win Saturday night over Mississippi State. Instead, the Razorbacks lost 70-56, and because of that, they barely missed out on both the ESPN/USA Today coaches and Associated Press Top 25.

The Hogs are 26th in the coaches poll, 11 votes behind No. 25 St. Mary’s (Calif.). They’re 27th in the AP poll, behind No. 25 Michigan and Gonzaga.

And just so you know, I did play a part in keeping the Razorbacks out of the AP poll this week. Sorry, Hog fans. Without the Saturday night loss, I was prepared to rank UA as high as No. 15 this week. But the way in which the Razorbacks lost was too much for me to include them on my ballot this week, especially without a quality win on the road on their resume.

Win both games on the road this week — at Ole Miss and at Florida — and it’s a no-brainer: Arkansas will be on my ballot next week.

Ryan’s AP ballot
1. Pittsburgh
2. Wake Forest
3. Duke
4. North Carolina
5. Michigan State
6. Connecticut
7. Syracuse
8. Clemson
9. Oklahoma
10. UCLA
11. Notre Dame
12. Texas
13. Georgetown
14. Marquette
15. Butler
16. Xavier
17. California
18. Minnesota
19. Arizona State
20. Louisville
21. Villanova
22. Miami (FL)
23. Gonzaga
24. Illinois
25. Purdue