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6 Things to Know about Colgate

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Colgate guard Jordan Burns was the 2021 Patriot League Player of the Year.
Colgate guard Jordan Burns was the 2021 Patriot League Player of the Year. (Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports)
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HawgBeat's coverage of Arkansas's journey in the 2021 NCAA tournament is present by Wright's Barbecue. Already serving up the best meats in Arkansas, you can now also find Wright's meat rub and sauces at Walmart.

The bracket is finally set and Arkansas will open up the NCAA Tournament against Colgate on Friday.

A small private liberal arts college in central New York, college basketball fans probably aren’t very familiar with the Raiders. No, the Razorbacks are not playing a toothpaste company, but the university is named after the family that founded the Colgate Company.

Here are six other things to know about this year’s Colgate team that stands between Arkansas and the second round of the Big Dance…

1. Unusual Schedule

In response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Patriot League eliminated almost all non-conference games and split its 10 teams into mini-conferences based on geographic proximity to minimize travel and overnight trips.

What resulted was one of the most unusual schedules in modern college basketball history, as the Raiders played 15 games against only five different opponents. They beat Bucknell and Loyola (MD) once each - in the semifinals and finals of the conference tournament, respectively - and then played 13 games against three other teams.

(MORE: Hogs' non-conference slate wasn't flashy, but it delivered)

Colgate went 5-0 against Boston University, 4-0 against Holy Cross and 3-1 against Army. That lack of variety could make it tough to scout the Raiders, but head coach Eric Musselman said he’ll get in plenty of studying during the NCAA-mandated quarantine while utilizing a stationary bike strength coach Dave Richardson brought on the trip.

“All we can do is watch as much tape as possible,” Musselman said. “I’m fortunate that Coach Richardson brought a bike here that I can put in my room and just pedal away. I'll share that with you guys from my room tomorrow morning when I'm pedaling and watching some game tape because I can't leave my room. What better way than to burn calories and watch Colgate."

2. High in NET, RPI…Lower in KenPom, Sagarin

The only Patriot League teams allowed to play non-conference games this year were Army and Navy because they “are unique in their environments and their missions within higher education,” according to the league’s press release.

Both teams picked up a quality win over a top-80 NET opponent (Army over No. 79 Buffalo, Navy over No. 64 Georgetown) while also playing a tough road game against a high-major opponent (Army at Florida, Navy at Maryland).

Those results weighted the conference’s strength more than it would in a normal year without the rest of the teams playing non-conference games, so with Colgate dominating the Patriot League with wide margins of victory, it soared up to No. 9 in the NET and No. 11 in the RPI.

However, the Raiders aren’t nearly as high in other metrics that factor in the “closed system” that is the Patriot League by using data from prior seasons. That has led to them being No. 67 in Sagarin’s ratings, No. 75 in Torvik’s ratings and No. 84 in KenPom’s ratings.

3. Conference tournament champion

Despite finishing the regular season with an 11-1 record, Colgate was actually the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament behind Navy, which went 12-1 in conference play.

It never got a chance to face the Midshipmen, though, because they were knocked off by Loyola (MD) in the quarterfinals. Instead, after getting by Boston University for the fifth time this season in its quarterfinals matchup, Colgate crushed Bucknell by 30 in the semifinals and beat Loyola (MD) by 13 in the championship to clinch Patriot League’s automatic bid.

If one of those teams sounds familiar, it’s because this isn’t the first time Arkansas has faced the Patriot League’s champion in the NCAA Tournament. Back in 2006, the 8-seeded Razorbacks were knocked off by 9 seed Bucknell 59-55 in Stan Health’s first postseason appearance at Arkansas.

The current Razorbacks would have been in elementary school, if that, when that game happened, but they know upsets happen in the Big Dance every year and approaching this matchup with that in mind.

(MORE: 2021 NCAA Tournament: Round one tip-off times, TV, locations)

“It’s a faceless opponent,” senior Jalen Tate said. “We’ve got to treat them as if they’re an SEC team, or any team in the country, because anything can happen in this tournament. We’re definitely not going to take them lightly and will make sure we get focused and do everything we can to get prepared for that game.”

4. Patriot League Player of the Year

The player Musselman and his staff will have to game plan for is senior Jordan Burns, who was named the Patriot League Player of the Year. He is averaging 17.0 points, 5.4 assists and 4.4 rebounds, plus has a team-high 24 steals.

Burns is also shooting better from three-point range (41.5 percent) than he is from the floor overall (40.8 percent) and he’s made 89.6 percent of his free throws, which ranks 14th nationally.

In an interview with Stadium’s Jeff Goodman, Boston University head coach Joe Jones said the 6-foot, 175-pound guard is the kind of player that can carry a Cinderella team in March.

“He’s a really good jump-shooter guard,” Jones said. “He’s a guy that can come down in transition and before you set up, he can make some shots from deep and he can get in a rhythm and get going. He’s also a really good ball-screen player, where he can come off the ball screen and make plays for himself and other people at a high level.”

Colgate does have some balance, though, with three other players averaging double figures. Sixth man Jack Ferguson contributes 12.6 points per game off the bench, while Nelly Cummings - a second-team all-conference selection - is averaging 12.3 and Tucker Richardson is averaging 11.7.

Richardson is also a “tremendous passer” and the Raiders’ glue guy, Jones said, before adding that the guard trio of Burns, Cummings and Richardson is “terrific.”

“We've got to come up with some drills to defend the three,” Musselman said. “We've got to keep their guards in front of us. We can't let them get to the hole. Again, we've got to contain Burns and Cummings.”

5. March Madness experience

For a handful of Colgate players, this won’t be the first time they’ve played on this stage. Two years ago, the 15-seeded Raiders pushed 2-seed Tennessee to the brink in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

Led by a spectacular performance by Burns, Colgate actually tied it up and briefly took the lead midway through the second half before the Volunteers pulled away for a 77-70 win and eventually reached the Sweet 16.

(MORE: Justin Smith back in Indiana for collegiate finale)

Then just a sophomore, Burns poured in 32 points - including 20 in the second half - on 12 of 20 shooting, including 8 of 13 beyond the arc. Richardson also started that game and contributed 10 points in 35 minutes, while Ferguson came off the bench and had 7 points and 7 rebounds in 27 minutes.

The other five players in that game are no longer at Colgate.

6. Up-tempo, high-scoring team

Similar to the Alabama team that won the SEC regular-season and tournament championship, Colgate is big on analytics and shoots a lot of threes and layups.

Granted they’ve played only 15 games against only Patriot League opponents, but the Raiders are averaging 86.3 points on 49.8 percent shooting. Those numbers rank second - sandwiched between Gonzaga and Baylor - and seventh nationally, respectively.

They also like to play fast, with an adjusted tempo that ranks 25th in Division I - eight spots behind Arkansas at No. 17.

“Colgate can really, really score the basketball,” Musselman said. “They do a great job of moving the basketball from side to side with 17.6 assists per game and then their field goal percentage, they take great shots.”

The key to slowing down the Raiders, according to Boston University’s head coach, is preventing them from shooting the three.

They are one of only four Division I teams shooting 40 percent or better from beyond the arc and are doing so on 22.7 attempts per game. Those attempts are pretty balanced, too, with Colgate’s top four scorers each taking between 65-69 three-pointers this season.

However, Colgate does have some big men they can throw the ball down low to in 6-foot-10 sophomore Keegan Records and 6-foot-11 freshman Jeff Woodward.

“If they don’t shoot a great percentage from three, I think they could struggle,” Jones said. “But a little bit different than they have in the past, Records and Woodward can score one-on-one at the basket, so that gives them something they didn’t have last year. I do think the three-point shot is their most efficient weapon for them to be successful.”

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