For the third straight season the Arkansas Razorbacks will be competing in the Sweet Sixteen, this time against the 4-seed UConn Huskies on Thursday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
After a 10-point victory over 9-seed Illinois in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Hogs upset 1-seed Kansas, 72-71, in the second round at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on Saturday.
The Huskies took down 13-seed Iona by a margin of 25 points in the first round and they benefitted from a strong second half performance to beat 5-seed Saint Mary's, 70-55, in the Round of 32 on Sunday.
A popular dark horse pick to be in the national championship, UConn is a strong team metrics-wise and it presents a tough challenge on the glass as it ranks as the top offensive rebounding team (13.1 per game) left in the NCAA Tournament.
"Obviously they're the best rebounding team we played all year and we played against some really good rebounding teams," Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman said Wednesday. "Texas A&M's a phenomenal rebounding team. Kentucky, with (Oscar) Tshiebwe, is a great rebounding team. Auburn can rebound the basketball.
"But everyone says UConn is the best rebounding team in the country. And they have two centers that, in my opinion, is the best center combination basically in all of basketball. They basically have a backup that's a starter on almost every team in a country and is a freshman and had a great year."
Led by first team All-Big East players Adama Sanogo and Jordan Hawkins, the Huskies secured impressive wins over Alabama, Florida, Providence, Marquette, Creighton and Florida during the regular season. They are a battle-tested team that didn't lose a game until dropping a matchup against Xavier on Dec. 31.
Sanogo is a tough cover on the interior as he averages 17.1 points and 7.4 boards per game. The Huskies very talented guards, and Hawkins leads the charge with 16 points per game and he shoots 40.1% from the field and 37.0% from three.
"(Hawkins is) one of the best pure shooters in college basketball," Musselman said. "He's got a quick release. He's got a competent release. Doesn't need a bunch of dribbles. Can catch and shoot. Can also create a little off the bounce. You can't let him have separation. You've got to ID him as early as possible and try to not let him get any catch-and-shoot-right-away shots."
Fifth-year head coach Dan Hurley has UConn in the Big Dance for the third straight season, but this year marks the first time his team has advanced past the first round.
The Razorbacks are 1-3 in the all-time series against UConn, with the last meeting resulting in a 102-67 win over the Huskies on Nov. 26, 2017 in the Phil Knight Invitational. The teams have never met in the NCAA Tournament, though UConn defeated Arkansas 74-67 in the 1997 NIT.
Here's a closer look into UConn's stats, metrics, projected lineups, efficiency ratings, plus a prediction ahead of Thursday's game, which is set to tipoff at 6:15 p.m. CT on CBS:
- CB
- OLB
- DT
- SDE
- WR
- S
- C
- SDE
- ILB
- DT
