Wednesday marks the beginning of the SEC Tournament as Arkansas and South Carolina are the first game of the day. Winner will advance for a showdown against Ole Miss in the second round of the new-look event. Unfortunately, injury news has hit on Tuesday night for the Razorbacks as they will be without a top player in their first-round matchup.

Adou Thiero will miss the South Carolina game due to an undisclosed injury. He was ruled out on the SEC availability report, joining Boogie Fland — who has been dealing with a long-term injury for a while now.

Thiero has not played since Feb. 22 against Missouri, missing the last four regular season games. Arkansas has still found some success as they won every game he missed, closing on an overall five-game winning streak. Now, the goal is to replicate the result against South Carolina and hopefully advance.

In 26 games played, Thiero is averaging 15.6 points (leading the team), six rebounds, and two assists per game. He is one of four Arkansas players to shoot at least 50% from the field at 54.8%. Despite picking up wins, the Razorbacks will not want to go too long without their leading scorer.

Arkansas is likely to hear their name called on Selection Sunday, no matter the result against South Carolina. Having Thiero healthy for the NCAA Tournament is likely the team’s primary objective moving forward.

But if Arkansas is able to advance in the SEC Tournament, the possibility of a return is there. Winning would mean another afternoon tip on Thursday, continuing all the way through a potential title game.

John Calipari gives honest thoughts on SEC Tournament

Arkansas will be one of the first teams out in Nashville Wednesday afternoon, facing South Carolina at 1 p.m. ET. Five wins in five days will be required to bring home an SEC Tournament championship, something the program has not done since 200. A big opportunity for John Calipari in his first season in charge.

But according to Calipari, he does not care too much about the SEC Tournament. He believes only one event is what really matters in college basketball, the NCAA Tournament. Calipari is always striving to win a national championship and that cannot be accomplished this weekend.

“I don’t care about the conference tournament,” Calipari said. “Which is why we won it so many times because I could care less. The tournament that matters is the NCAA Tournament.”