The Arkansas Razorbacks are back in the NCAA Tournament for a third straight year, this time as an eight seed in the West region.
If the Razorbacks are going to go make history by reaching the Elite Eight for a third consecutive season, they’re going to have to go through the Illinois Fighting Illini on Thursday, first.
Illinois’ season very much mirrors that of Arkansas’ up-and-down year. The Fighting Illini were able to get some big wins early on against No. 2 seed UCLA and No. 1 seed Texas, but also has some questionable losses to No. 7 seed Missouri by 22 and No. 7 seed Penn State by 15.
They’re entering the tournament having lost three of their last four games, with the lone win coming against a Michigan team that missed the NCAA Tournament. Similarly, Arkansas is entering the tournament having lost four of their last five games. However, all five of those games were against teams that made the big dance.
Both teams are very closely rated on paper, which means it should be really great game on Thursday. Let’s take a closer look at the Illinois Fighting Illini ahead of their first round meeting with the Hogs.
Season overview
(Photo by Alex Martin – Journal-Courier)
Record: 20-12 (11-9 Big Ten)
Key Wins: vs. UCLA (W, 79-70), vs. Texas (W, 85-78), vs. Northwestern (W, 66-62)
Key Losses: vs. Virginia (L, 70-61), Maryland (L, 71-66), vs. Penn State (L, 74-59), vs. Missouri (L, 93-71)
Tale of the Tape: Arkansas vs. Illinois
(Photo by Steve Roberts – USA TODAY Sports)
One thing that has been mentioned numerous times since Selection Sunday is how even these teams are on paper. One look at a handful of key stats and it’s actually pretty incredible how closely Arkansas and Illinois mirror each other on paper. This could make for an instant classic on Thursday that’s only decided by a possession or two.
ARKANSAS
ILLINOIS
PPG
74.4
74.7
RPG
35.2
37.9
TPG
12.9
12.8
FG%
47.5%
45.1%
3PT%
31.7%
30.9%
FT%
69.0%
68.0%
BPG
5.2
5.7
Off. Rtg
105.7
106.5
Def. Rtg
95.7
95.5
Story continues
Illinois head coach:…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa-tournament-preview-getting-know-001510105.html?src=rss
Author : Razorbacks Wire
Publish date : 2023-03-15 00:15:10
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