LAS VEGAS — Arkansas battles No. 4 seed Connecticut in the Sweet 16 tonight at 6:15 p.m. Central on THV11.
The eighth-seeded Razorbacks are in their third consecutive Sweet 16, and they'll need to tame the Huskies if they want to keep marching in the NCAA Tournament.
Here are three keys to the game if Arkansas wants to advance to Saturday's Elite Eight.
1. Lean on defense to generate offense
If Arkansas's upset victory over top-seeded Kansas showed anything, it's that the Hogs play better when their defense does the talking.
The Razorbacks overcame a 12-point deficit against the Jayhawks by disrupting passing lanes and having active hands, which helped generate more than a dozen points off 12 turnovers. Arkansas ranks 112th in the country in scoring offense (74.3 ppg), 41st in field goal percentage (47%) and 316th in three-point field goal percentage (31.3%).
Oftentimes, the team finds itself in a scoring drought if they're forcing things on offense. The Razorbacks are an athletic bunch who can fly up and down the court, probably faster than any team in the country.
If they want to get past Connecticut, they should focus on applying pressure and stringing together consecutive stops, which more than likely will lead to easy scoring opportunities.
2. Contain UConn's Adama Sanogo, but don't forget about Jordan Hawkins
Connecticut junior forward Adama Sanogo is the heart and soul of the team. He's averaging 26 points and 10.5 rebounds per game while shooting 72% from the field and 80% from the foul line in the NCAA Tournament. Connecticut likes to run its offense through the big man.
Whether it's setting him up on a pick-and-roll or finding him in post-up situations, you can guarantee Sanogo is the No. 1 option every time down the court. The Razorbacks have done a good job freezing out these types of players this season, but often become complacent once the key player is off the floor. We saw this happen in Arkansas's 88-79 loss to Kentucky on March 4. Despite letting Kentucky senior forward Oscar Tshiebwe score eight straight points to spark a Wildcats run, the Razorbacks still held him to 12 points and fouled him out with 4:53 left in the game. Arkansas trailed by eight when Tshiebwe fouled out, but then let senior guard Antonio Reeves run wild with a career-high 37 points.
The No. 2 option for Connecticut, sophomore guard Jordan Hawkins, has the same ability to take over a game if called upon. Hawkins has missed only two games this year, is second on the team in scoring (15.9 ppg) and is a 37.8% three-point shooter.
3. Rebounding wins games
Every week Arkansas coach Eric Musselman preaches about the importance of rebounding, and it was something the team did exceptionally well against Kansas. The Hogs outrebounded the Jayhawks 36 to 22 and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, which proved to be a difference-maker. The game between Arkansas and Connecticut will be a physical one down low.
Arkansas ranks 140th in the country in rebounds per game (35.5), while Connecticut is 19th in the country in rebounds per game (38.9) and third in rebound margin (+9.3). To keep it simple— the more rebounds a team can get usually means the opposition is missing shots.
If Arkansas wants to advance to its third consecutive Elite Eight, they need to put a body on a body when the ball goes up and fight for inside positioning.
The winner of Arkansas-UConn will clinch a berth in the West Regional Championship game, which will be played Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas against the winner of No. 2 seed UCLA and third-seeded Gonzaga.