How to watch to Arkansas-UConn, projected lineups, more
The Arkansas Razorbacks will attempt to keep dancing in the NCAA Tournament when they face a very talented 4-seed UConn Huskies team in the Sweet Sixteen on Thursday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Arkansas made it through the first weekend of the tournament with wins over 9-seed Illinois and 1-seed Kansas, while the Huskies made it through by defeated 13-seed Iona and 5-seed Saint Mary's.
Led by fifth-year head coach Dan Hurley, the Huskies are No. 4 overall on KenPom and they are statistically the best offensive rebounding team left in the tournament. That is something Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman has stressed during his team's prep.
"They're relentless on the glass, for sure," Musselman said. "I think that our teams had nights where we're really, really good defensive rebounding because that's obviously the key, is to try to keep them off the offensive glass. That's one of the defensive themes that we're trying to create with our team.
"So you've got to be physical. They're a physical team. They send four to the glass almost every time. A lot of teams will send three to the glass and two back. But they, almost every possession they're sending four to the glass."
While the Huskies are statistically better on the boards than the Razorbacks, so were Kansas and Illinois. In the first two games against those team, the Razorbacks were a combined plus-17 in rebounding.
"Arkansas is a tough rebounding team," UConn forward Alex Karaban said. "We know it's going to be a battle on the boards tomorrow. And I think we get it from Coach Hurley instilling it every day in practice. He wants us to be the toughest team every time, stick to our identity, which is toughness and rebounding."
While the Huskies have a pair of All-Big East players in guard Jordan Hawkins (16.0 points, 3.9 rebounds per game) and forward Adama Sanogo (17.1 points, 7.4 rebounds per game), Arkansas has a pair of guards in Anthony Black and Nick Smith Jr. that are projected NBA Draft first round picks.
While Black has been a mainstay in the lineup all season, Smith missed a significant portion of time with right knee management and it still feels like he hasn't reached his peak. The five-star freshman didn't score a point in 16 minutes against Kansas and he was a team-worst minus-9 during that time.
"Nick's one of the most talented players in the country," Musselman said. "And he's had some big games for us. He's been in a tough situation, in and out of the lineup with injuries. It's not easy for any player to do, let alone when a team's on a tournament run.
"But, yeah, we'd certainly love Nick to have a big game. But like I said, he's been in and out of the lineup. It's hard to do for any player, let alone someone that's in their freshman year."
Though Smith struggled against the Jayhawks, the Huskies are preparing for him like he's the player Musselman described — one of the most talented in the country.
"He's really an electrifying player to watch, just in terms of his abilities with the ball, just how twitchy he is with the ball," UConn head coach Dan Hurley said. "Obviously his size, his length. I saw him a bunch in high school so we know what he's capable in terms of the 3-point shooting and perimeter shooting. We're obviously preparing for him like we've got to guard one of the best scoring guards in the country."
Here are details on how to watch/listen, notes, projected lineups, stats, odds and more for Thursday's game between Arkansas and UConn:
Notes
~ UConn was reportedly forced to switch hotels on Thursday evening after the Huskies' original hotel had several rooms that were in very bad condition.
~ This is just the second time Arkansas has reached the NCAA Sweet 16 in at least three straight seasons. The other time was a four-year stretch in 1996 (Sweet 16), ’95 (National Runner-up), ’94 (National Champion) and ‘93 (Sweet 16).
~ The Razorbacks own a 50-34 all-time record in NCAA Tournament action.
~ Arkansas will be looking to advance to the Elite Eight in three consecutive seasons for the first time in program history. Arkansas advanced to the Elite Eight in each of the last two years. In 2021, Arkansas lost in the Elite Eight to eventual national champion Baylor, and in 2022, the Razorbacks upset No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 before falling to Duke in the Elite Eight.
~ Arkansas and UConn have met on four previous occasions. The Huskies own a 3-1 advantage in the series. However, Arkansas’ lone win was the last encounter, a 102-67 victory in the 2017 Phil Knight Classic.
~ For the third straight year, Arkansas faced a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. In 2021, the Hogs lost to 1-seed Baylor in the Elite Eight. In 2022, Arkansas defeated No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga in the Sweet 16. On Saturday, the Razorbacks upset 1-seed Kansas in the Round of 32.
~ The last program to beat 1 seeds in back-to-back years was Butler in 2010-11. Ironically, Butler, like Arkansas this year, was an 8-seed in 2011.
How to Watch/Listen
Who: #8 seed Arkansas Razorbacks (22-13) vs #4 seed #10/12 UConn Huskies (27-8)
When: Thursday, March 23 at 6:15 p.m. (CT)
Where: Las Vegas, Nev. – T-Mobile Arena (18,000)
Television: CBS (Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, Stan Van Gundy, Lauren Shehadi)
Stream/Online: NCAA GAME CENTER
Radio: Learfield Razorback Sports Network (Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman)
Gameday Info and How to Listen Online/Mobile: Razorback Gameday App
Sirius/XM National Broadcast: (Ryan Radtke, PJ Carlesimo)
Projected Lineups
Arkansas
#0 - G Anthony Black - Fr., 6'7", 198 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 34.8 min, 12.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.0 steals, 3.1 turnovers, 0.6 blocks, 45.4 fg%, 30.0 3fg%
#1 - G Ricky Council IV - Jr., 6'6", 205 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 34.1 min, 16.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.1 steals, 2.1 turnovers, 0.3 blocks, 43.6 fg%, 26.8 3fg%
#3 - G Nick Smith Jr. - Fr., 6'5", 185 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 25.8 min, 12.6 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.9 steals, 1.6 turnovers, 0.1 blocks, 37.3 fg%, 32.4 3fg%
#4 - G Davonte Davis - Jr., 6'4", 185 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 33.2 min, 11.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.4 steals, 2.0 turnovers, 0.1 blocks, 42.4 fg%, 34.6 3fg%
#20 - F Kamani Johnson - Sr., 6'7", 230 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 11.7 min, 2.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.2 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.4 turnovers, 0.2 blocks, 51.3 fg%
UConn
#2 - G Tristen Newton - Sr., 6'5", 190 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 28.6 min, 10.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.1 steals, 2.2 turnovers, 0.3 blocks, 37.2 fg%, 35.5 3fg%
#24 - G Jordan Hawkins - So., 6'5", 195 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 29.7 min, 16.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.3 turnovers, 0.5 blocks, 40.1 fg%, 37.0 3fg%
#44 - G Andre Jackson Jr. - Jr., 6'6", 210 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 28.8 min, 6.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.0 steals, 2.0 turnovers, 0.6 blocks, 41.9 fg%, 28.9 3fg%
#11 - F Alex Karaban - r-Fr., 6'8", 210 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 28.9 min, 9.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.5 steals, 1.1 turnovers, 0.7 blocks, 47.7 fg%, 41.1 3fg%
#21 - F Adama Sanogo - Jr., 6'9", 245 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 26.6 min, 17.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.9 turnovers, 0.7 blocks, 60.2 fg%, 35.4 3fg%
Vegas odds:
Vegas: Arkansas is a 4.5-point underdog (BetSaracen)
ESPN: Arkansas has an 33.6% chance to win
Headlines
WATCH: Musselman, Johnson, Davis preview UConn
WATCH: UConn HC Dan Hurley talks matchup with Arkansas in Sweet 16
Scouting Report: Arkansas vs UConn preview, prediction
Hardwood Hawgs Podcast: Arkansas set for Sweet 16 matchup with UConn
Behind Enemy Lines: Gaining insight on the UConn Huskies
Walsh playing with boosted confidence in March
WATCH: Kamani Johnson, Jordan Walsh give early thoughts on UConn
(some information courtesy of Arkansas and UConn Communications)