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The Razorbacks are back in the Sweet 16 for the second straight year after surviving the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament
After getting by Vermont in the first round, Arkansas beat New Mexico State in a low-scoring affair featuring poor shooting and great defense.
It’s the first time the Razorbacks have made consecutive trips to the Sweet 16 since they made it four straight years from 1993-96.
Arkansas will face Gonzaga, which came from behind to defeat Memphis 82-78 in the Round of 32. It will be the programs’ second all-time meeting, with the first coming in 2013 in the Maui Invitational. The Bulldogs beat the Razorbacks 91-81 in that matchup.
That was nearly a decade ago, though, and while Mark Few is still leading the Zags, Eric Musselman is now the head man for Arkansas.
With a spot in the Elite Eight on the line Thursday, here are five things to know about the Bulldogs…
WCC Player of the Year
For a third straight game, Arkansas will face a conference player of the year. This time it’s Gonzaga’s Drew Timme, who is averaging 18.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 31 games this season.
Timme received notoriety during the Bulldogs run last March with his high level of play, unique personality and unusual facial hair. That following has only grown this season, along with his level of play.
At 6-foot-10, 235 pounds, Timme is a force inside and deadly in the pick-and-roll game. He shoots just under 60 percent from inside the arc, but only 29.6 percent from 3-point range and 66.9 percent from the free throw line.
In addition to being the 2022 WCC Player of the Year, Timme won the Karl Malone Award as college basketball’s top power forward last season and is a two-time second-team All-American.
Hall of Fame Coach
Gonzaga head coach Mark Few has been a head college basketball coach at only Gonzaga and nowhere else. His tenure started in 1999, when he led the Bulldogs to a conference tournament championship and NCAA Tournament berth.
That has become the norm under Few, as he’s never missed the Big Dance during his 23-year tenure. Despite all of his success — which includes a 658-128 overall record, 11 appearances in the Sweet 16 and multiple National Coach of the Year awards — Few and the Bulldogs have yet to get over the hump and win a national championship.
They finished runner-up to Baylor last season, ending their bid to become the first undefeated national champion since Indiana in 1976, and to North Carolina in 2017.
Gonzaga’s run this year nearly ended early in the Round of 32 against Memphis, but a second-half comeback kept the Bulldogs’ hopes alive for another deep run — along with Few’s chances at winning his first national title.
Most Size Yet
Gonzaga is significantly taller, bigger and longer than either of the first two teams Arkansas played in the NCAA Tournament. The Razorbacks have faced their fair share of size in the SEC, but in a tournament setting against an unfamiliar opponent of such a level of talent could pose some problems.
Starting with the interior, Gonzaga boasts a starting “twin towers” lineup of Timme and fellow second-team All-American Chet Holmgren.
Holmgren is 7-foot, 195 pounds to go along with Timme’s 6-foot-10 frame, although he floats to the perimeter a good amount of the time. His small frame is deceptive, as he has shown this year that he can bang with some big post defenders inside.
With Holmgren’s ability to play on the perimeter, the biggest challenge in regard to Gonzaga’s size will be on the perimeter. The Bulldogs’ starting guards are 6-foot-3 (Rasir Bolton), 6-foot-5 (Andrew Nembhard) and 6-foot-7 (Julian Strawther) to go along with Timme setting high-post and ball screens and Holmgren coming out to play on the perimeter.
It’s not just that they are large, though. They are also very athletic. Arkansas will have to fine-tune its rotation and matchups to keep the dynamic Zags’ offense in check.
Shooters Shoot
Gonzaga is one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country, making 37.4 percent of its from behind the arc on the season. A lot of that has to do with the starting five outside of Timme. Those four players average 6.6 makes on 16.4 attempts, good for 40.4 percent.
Their best shooter, Bolton, is a 47.0 percent 3-point shooter on 4.3 attempts per game. Not to take away from the other three starters that shoot between 37-39 percent from deep, but Bolton is by far the biggest threat from outside.
Aside from those four shooters, though, the Bulldogs don’t really have any other outside threats. In their main rotation off the bench, they have one shooter at a modest 31.6 percent from 3 and the other two hover in the low 20s.
Arkansas is going to need to rely on its 3-point defense, which has been a strength for most of the season, if it wants to stay in this game.
Free Throws
It is well-documented that Arkansas has made its living at the free throw line this season, leading the country in attempts and shooting a solid 75.9 percent, which ranks 35th nationally and third in school history.
Throughout the season as a whole, Gonzaga has limited its opponents free throw attempts, allowing just 14.8 per game, while shooting a decent 71.2 percent itself.
However, that has not been the case for the Bulldogs in the NCAA Tournament. Georgia State got to the line 25 times and Memphis attempted 20 free throws. On the other end, Gonzaga has shot an abysmal 29-of-54 (53.7%) from the charity stripe in those two games.
That’s a stark contrast to Arkansas, which shot 25 free throws in each of its games and managed to make 44 of 50 for a staggering 88 percent from the line.
Because the last two games are such outliers, and the fact the Bulldogs will have a long break to get their mind right at the line again, it shouldn’t be expected for them to shoot barely above 50 percent from the line again.
What should be expected, though, is Arkansas getting to the free throw line as much as it wants and continuing to score from there. That has been an advantage for the Razorbacks all year.
5 things to know about Gonzaga
HawgBeat takes a closer look at Gonzaga, which Arkansas will face in the Sweet 16 on Thursday.
The Razorbacks are back in the Sweet 16 for the second straight year after surviving the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament
After getting by Vermont in the first round, Arkansas beat New Mexico State in a low-scoring affair featuring poor shooting and great defense.
It’s the first time the Razorbacks have made consecutive trips to the Sweet 16 since they made it four straight years from 1993-96.
Arkansas will face Gonzaga, which came from behind to defeat Memphis 82-78 in the Round of 32. It will be the programs’ second all-time meeting, with the first coming in 2013 in the Maui Invitational. The Bulldogs beat the Razorbacks 91-81 in that matchup.
That was nearly a decade ago, though, and while Mark Few is still leading the Zags, Eric Musselman is now the head man for Arkansas.
With a spot in the Elite Eight on the line Thursday, here are five things to know about the Bulldogs…
WCC Player of the Year
For a third straight game, Arkansas will face a conference player of the year. This time it’s Gonzaga’s Drew Timme, who is averaging 18.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 31 games this season.
Timme received notoriety during the Bulldogs run last March with his high level of play, unique personality and unusual facial hair. That following has only grown this season, along with his level of play.
At 6-foot-10, 235 pounds, Timme is a force inside and deadly in the pick-and-roll game. He shoots just under 60 percent from inside the arc, but only 29.6 percent from 3-point range and 66.9 percent from the free throw line.
In addition to being the 2022 WCC Player of the Year, Timme won the Karl Malone Award as college basketball’s top power forward last season and is a two-time second-team All-American.
Hall of Fame Coach
Gonzaga head coach Mark Few has been a head college basketball coach at only Gonzaga and nowhere else. His tenure started in 1999, when he led the Bulldogs to a conference tournament championship and NCAA Tournament berth.
That has become the norm under Few, as he’s never missed the Big Dance during his 23-year tenure. Despite all of his success — which includes a 658-128 overall record, 11 appearances in the Sweet 16 and multiple National Coach of the Year awards — Few and the Bulldogs have yet to get over the hump and win a national championship.
They finished runner-up to Baylor last season, ending their bid to become the first undefeated national champion since Indiana in 1976, and to North Carolina in 2017.
Gonzaga’s run this year nearly ended early in the Round of 32 against Memphis, but a second-half comeback kept the Bulldogs’ hopes alive for another deep run — along with Few’s chances at winning his first national title.
Most Size Yet
Gonzaga is significantly taller, bigger and longer than either of the first two teams Arkansas played in the NCAA Tournament. The Razorbacks have faced their fair share of size in the SEC, but in a tournament setting against an unfamiliar opponent of such a level of talent could pose some problems.
Starting with the interior, Gonzaga boasts a starting “twin towers” lineup of Timme and fellow second-team All-American Chet Holmgren.
Holmgren is 7-foot, 195 pounds to go along with Timme’s 6-foot-10 frame, although he floats to the perimeter a good amount of the time. His small frame is deceptive, as he has shown this year that he can bang with some big post defenders inside.
With Holmgren’s ability to play on the perimeter, the biggest challenge in regard to Gonzaga’s size will be on the perimeter. The Bulldogs’ starting guards are 6-foot-3 (Rasir Bolton), 6-foot-5 (Andrew Nembhard) and 6-foot-7 (Julian Strawther) to go along with Timme setting high-post and ball screens and Holmgren coming out to play on the perimeter.
It’s not just that they are large, though. They are also very athletic. Arkansas will have to fine-tune its rotation and matchups to keep the dynamic Zags’ offense in check.
Shooters Shoot
Gonzaga is one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country, making 37.4 percent of its from behind the arc on the season. A lot of that has to do with the starting five outside of Timme. Those four players average 6.6 makes on 16.4 attempts, good for 40.4 percent.
Their best shooter, Bolton, is a 47.0 percent 3-point shooter on 4.3 attempts per game. Not to take away from the other three starters that shoot between 37-39 percent from deep, but Bolton is by far the biggest threat from outside.
Aside from those four shooters, though, the Bulldogs don’t really have any other outside threats. In their main rotation off the bench, they have one shooter at a modest 31.6 percent from 3 and the other two hover in the low 20s.
Arkansas is going to need to rely on its 3-point defense, which has been a strength for most of the season, if it wants to stay in this game.
Free Throws
It is well-documented that Arkansas has made its living at the free throw line this season, leading the country in attempts and shooting a solid 75.9 percent, which ranks 35th nationally and third in school history.
Throughout the season as a whole, Gonzaga has limited its opponents free throw attempts, allowing just 14.8 per game, while shooting a decent 71.2 percent itself.
However, that has not been the case for the Bulldogs in the NCAA Tournament. Georgia State got to the line 25 times and Memphis attempted 20 free throws. On the other end, Gonzaga has shot an abysmal 29-of-54 (53.7%) from the charity stripe in those two games.
That’s a stark contrast to Arkansas, which shot 25 free throws in each of its games and managed to make 44 of 50 for a staggering 88 percent from the line.
Because the last two games are such outliers, and the fact the Bulldogs will have a long break to get their mind right at the line again, it shouldn’t be expected for them to shoot barely above 50 percent from the line again.
What should be expected, though, is Arkansas getting to the free throw line as much as it wants and continuing to score from there. That has been an advantage for the Razorbacks all year.
