Behind Enemy Lines: Looking into the Arkansas Razorbacks
We're just two days away from the 4-seed UConn Huskies' Sweet 16 game against the 8-seed Arkansas Razorbacks, one that is set to be a barn-burner. It's never too early to start looking at the opposition, so UConnReport enlisted the help of Mason Choate, the Managing Editor of HawgBeat. What are the Razorbacks' storylines, tendencies and more? Let's take a look...
1. What are the top storylines for Arkansas as it enters the Sweet 16?
Arkansas just took down 1-seed Kansas in the second round, marking the second straight year that it's beat a 1-seed in the tournament after the Hogs defeated the overall 1-seed Gonzaga Bulldogs last year. Head coach Eric Musselman continues to prove that he can get the job done in March, and the biggest thing about this year's team is that it is still getting better. The Razorbacks have an active roster with six freshmen — three of which are five-stars — and four are transfers. It took time for this team to mesh well and a pair of injuries to key players definitely didn't help. Most teams have plateaued by this point, but Arkansas is still trending up.
2. How did injuries impact Arkansas' regular season and what makes them better than their 22-13 record?
Injuries played a very big role in the way Arkansas' season ended up. The team lost one of its stars back in December when forward Trevon Brazile tore his ACL. Brazile was off to a great start and was making his way into the first round of some mock drafts.On top of the Brazile injury, five-star freshman Nick Smith Jr. — a projected lottery pick — missed a significant portion of the season with a right knee injury. Smith is back and fully healthy, but he still hasn't hit his stride. While he's shown flashes, Smith hasn't played like the McDonald's All-American that people are expecting. With all of that said, the injuries played a big role in why their record wasn't as good as some might have hoped for. With 11 total newcomers, it took time for this team to really play well together and it still feels like they haven't reached their potential.
3. What kind of style and pace does Arkansas like to play?
Arkansas is a defense-oriented team that has a plan for each individual player on the floor. It is going to try to eliminate the opponent's best player and force other guys to make something happen. They play physical and fast on defense, constantly putting pressure on the opponent to move the ball and be uncomfortable. Offensively, the Razorbacks can really beat opponents inside, but they struggle to shoot from three. If they are settling for a bunch of threes, something is going wrong. Arkansas is best when it's getting to the rack and punishing opponents at the rim. Look for Ricky Council IV to drive to the rim and draw fouls, Makhi Mitchell to work well on the pick and roll and Jordan Walsh to fly in the paint trying to find a gap. Kamani Johnson is as good of an offensive rebounder as you'll see and Anthony Black is another five-star freshman that runs the point very well.
4. What makes Arkansas such a strong team metrics-wise?
Don't let the 13 losses fool you. Of those 13 losses, 10 were by 10 points or less and five were by exactly three points. Arkansas battled some of the nation's best and just fell short a few times. Look to three-point losses at Baylor and at Alabama as examples of losses that didn't really hurt the resume much.The Razorbacks played a strong non-conference slate that featured matchups with four NCAA Tournament teams — San Diego State, Creighton, Baylor and UNC Asheville. They were 2-2 in those games with wins over San Diego State and UNC Asheville. Along with the non-conference seven of Arkansas' conference opponents this season earned an NCAA Tournament bid — Tennessee, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky and Auburn — and it finished with a 4-9 record against that group.
5. What are your keys to the game versus UConn and what's your prediction?
First and foremost, the Razorbacks are going to key in on Sanogo and Hawkins. They will look to force the ball out of their hands in an attempt to make other players win the game for UConn. In the first two tournament games against Illinois and Kansas, Arkansas really pushed the pace and kept the opponent on their toes. If the Razorbacks are able to run the floor and make the Huskies play a style of basketball that makes them uncomfortable, that will really put them in a good spot. I see this matchup playing out a lot like the Kansas game. Arkansas will struggle out of the gate and take some time to adjust to what UConn is doing. Musselman is as good of an in-game adjustments coach as there is, and I think he will do that well enough to show UConn that the SEC brand of basketball is what puts his team ahead of the Huskies.
Arkansas 68, UConn 64
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