Scouting Report: Arkansas vs Illinois preview, prediction

The 8-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks will look to keep their season alive Thursday when they take on the 9-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.

Just like the Razorbacks have done under head coach Eric Musselman, Illinois is making its third straight NCAA Tournament under head coach Brad Underwood. Led by a pair of experienced transfers, the Illini present a tough challenge for a younger Arkansas squad.

On a team that has no projected starter shorter than 6-foot-6, Texas Tech transfer guard Terrence Shannon Jr. is the leader. He averaged 17.1 points per game as a first team All-Big 10 performer this season.

"Terrence Shannon, he’s just so versatile," Musselman said. "He’s a lefty. He can score at many different levels. He’s one of the best athletes in college basketball. He can attack the rim. He can beat people off the bounce. He’s an excellent transition player. He’s had a really, really good year for them."

Shannon scored a team-high 20 points in Texas Tech's 68-66 loss to the Hogs in the Round of 32 during the 2021 NCAA Tournament, so Musselman and his staff have somewhat of an idea of what to expect.

Illinois' second leading scorer is Baylor transfer Matthew Mayer, a third team All-Big 10 selection, who the Razorbacks also saw in the Elite Eight during the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Mayer scored seven points and brought down three rebounds in 20 minutes of a game that saw the Bears beat Arkansas, 81-72.

The duo of Mayer and Shannon combine to have 15 games of NCAA Tournament experience, something Arkansas lacks.

Razorback guard Davonte Davis is one of just three players — along with Ricky Council IV and Kamani Johnson — with experience in the Big Dance, and he's the only one of the trio that has played meaningful minutes in the postseason.

"Even some of the new guys haven't been in this position to be going to March Madness," Davis said. "I talked to them and told them it's going to be fun, but it's also going to be tough, hard-nosed basketball. Hopefully we get to prep right after this and start getting to work."

A pair of early season non-conference victories over UCLA (2-seed) and Texas (2-seed) are the only two Quad 1 victories the Illini have all season. They did manage to go 11-9 in Big 10 play with a few quality wins over Northwestern and Michigan State, but overall they were 2-7 against tournament teams during their conference slate.

The Razorbacks are 0-5 all-time against Illinois, with the last meeting resulting in a 72-60 loss on Dec. 4, 2004. Arkansas and Illinois have never met in the postseason.

Here's a closer look into Illinois stats, metrics, projected lineups, efficiency ratings, plus a prediction ahead of Thursday's game, which is set to tipoff at 3:30 p.m. CT on TBS: