By Garin Turner
It’s a 4/12 matchup between the 4th seed Arkansas Razorbacks and the 13th seed Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors on March 19, at 3:25 PM EST on TBS. The winner advances to play the winner of Wisconsin/High Point.
Arkansas road to the tournament
The Razorbacks are 26-8 on the season and finished 2nd in the SEC but won the SEC Tournament. Their losses were to Michigan State, Duke, Houston, Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky, Alabama, and Florida. Six of those loses the teams were ranked. Arkansas holds five wins against ranked opponents (Louisville, Texas Tech, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt twice including the SEC Championship game 86-75.)
Hawaii’s road to the tournament
The Rainbow Warriors enter the tournament with a 24-8 record and finished second in the Big West. They won the Big West Tournament 71-64 over UC Irvine Anteaters to secure its spot in the NCAA Tournament. Most of Hawaii’s schedule were against California teams. They had win streaks of 4, 6, and 4 during the season.
Keys to the game
Arkansas has SEC player of the year Darius Acuff Jr. and Hawai’i has to find a way to slow him down. Acuff Jr. led the SEC in scoring at 22.2 and assists 6.4. The Rainbow Warriors will need some breaks to go their way in this one.
Arkansas Season Leaders
Points: Darius Acuff Jr.; 22.2
Rebounds: Trevon Brazile; 7.4
Assists: Darius Acuff Jr.; 6.5
Hawai’i Season Leaders
Points: Isaac Johnson; 14.1
Rebounds: Dre Bullock; 5.8
Assists: Hunter Erickson; 3.8
Verdict
Hawai’i played the majority of the season on the West Coast and will hope to catch Arkansas cold. Arkansas wins this easily. Arkansas 78-Hawai’i 60.
(Image Credit: Hawaii Athletics)
