The eighth seeded Arkansas Razorbacks (25-9) square off Friday with the ninth seeded Seton Hall Pirates (21-11) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament’s South Region.
The Hogs finished 12-6 in the SEC, and defeated Ole Miss and Vanderbilt in the league tournament, before dropping an 82-65 decision in Sunday’s Championship game.
Seton Hall went to 10-8 in the Big East, and advanced to the tournament semi-finals where it lost to eventual NCAA Tournament overall one seed, Villanova.
The Razorbacks are recognized as the “forty minutes of hell” program. This team doesn’t press for an entire game like some of the previous versions, but they do enjoy employing a breakneck tempo. They averaged 79.8 points per contest in games that featured lots of possessions. They shot 46.1 percent from the field, including 36.4 percent from three.
The emphasis on getting to the rim with an athletic team led to over 23 free throws per game. Defensively, Arkansas gave up 74 points per game, and its defensive perimeter pressure caused 13 turnovers per outing. The style of defense also led to fouls of their own, as the Razorbacks also gave up 23 charity tosses per game.
Seton Hall averaged 73.3 points per game, on 45 percent shooting and 33 percent gunning from deep. The defensive end is where it hangs its hat, giving up 70.2 points per game on 43 percent shooting and 34 percent from the three.
Look for them to pack in the defense, as they only cause 12.3 turnovers per game. Seton Hall also does a number on the boards, outrebounding its opponent by 224 on the season.
The strength of the Arkansas team toward the end of the season was the perimeter, which features a three-headed monster.
Dusty Hannahs lead the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game. Not overly athletic, he is efficient, mixing an array of floaters with a 38 percent shooting stroke from deep. Daryl Macon is one half of an athletic guard duo along with Jaylen Barford, who can play baseline to baseline, and create off the dribble. Macon is the better deep shooter of the two, but Barford began to come alive somewhat with the deep ball in the SEC Tournament in Nashville.
6-foot-10 big man Moses Kingsley is the x-factor for the Mike Anderson’s team. A pre-season SEC Player of the Year candidate, he can dominate a game on both ends of the floor. But the same player who won the SEC Tournament Quarterfinal game versus Ole Miss with two late game blocks is the same player who had zero points and one rebound at the half against Kentucky.
Seton Hall is led by wing Khadeen Carrington at 16.9 points per game, followed by backcourt mates Desi Rodriguez (15.9 PPG) and Myles Powell (10.7 PPG).
The Pirates also have their own effective post player in Angel Delgado Jr. He is averaging 15.3 points, 13.1 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game, and is a double-double machine that sets the tone for this physical Pirate squad.
Game Prediction
This could be a game of contrasts.
Arkansas would like to get the pace going up and down while Seton Hall prefers a half court game. The faster the pace, the better the chances for the Hogs.
It would also be beneficial for them to turn Seton Hall over, but the Pirates handle the ball well. Arkansas has a deeper bench, which could come into play.
The determining factor may be the post matchup between Kingsley and Delgado. Kingsley cannot be on a roller coaster ride, because Delgado brings it every game.
That is why I’m taking Seton Hall. We know what we are getting with Delgado. The ball is in Kingsley’s court.
Prediction: Seton Hall 70, Arkansas 68