The Hogs are back in the Sweet Sixteen and meeting a familiar foe in San Fransisco. Texas Tech is the next team on deck.
The last time these two teams met in the NCAA Tournament, the Razorbacks had the upper hand, sending the Hogs to their first Sweet Sixteen in 25 years. Now, Arkansas is looking for its third Elite Eight bid in five years, heading into Thursday's game.
The Red Raiders' fanbase is somewhat well-known by the Razorback faithful. Apart from the Southwest Conference days, Arkansas and Tech have met a few times across all sports, including this year's Liberty Bowl, where the Hogs won 39-26. The last time Arkansas played the same team in the football postseason and the NCAA Tournament was in 2023 when Arkansas defeated Kansas in the Liberty Bowl and the second round of March Madness.
However, to gain more insight into the Red Raiders' attitude toward their basketball program, we went 'behind enemy lines' and sat down with Matthew Conner of Wreck 'Em Red.
Arkansas basketball vs Texas Tech: Q&A with Wreck 'em Red Site Expert Matthew Conner
Q: Ah, so, we meet again in the post season. Arkansas and Texas Tech's football teams met back in December for the Liberty Bowl, and there was a lot of drama that followed. Do you think the Tech fan base is excited about a potential 'revenge' game?
A: I don't think revenge is as much of a motivator for the Tech fans as is just keeping the run going. The Liberty Bowl was such a weird game in the sense that it felt like a meaningless exhibition (which most bowl are) because so many key players were missing for both teams. I do think that it is fascinating how often Tech and Arkansas cross paths across all sports and that makes the competition between the schools more interesting as does the fact that there is a lot of Southwest Conference history between the two that fans of a certain age remember.
Q: The first thing I heard about Tech when I found out Arkansas would play them in Sweet Sixteen was about its 3-point shooting. In the last 10 games, the Red Raiders have taken 51.3 percent of their shots from beyond the arc. Tell me who Hog fans should watch out for when they meet on Thursday.
A: What is interesting is that Tech has shot just 25% from 30-point range in the NCAA Tournament thus far. Will that continue against Arkansas or will the Red Raiders get back to their hot-shooting ways from deep? It might depend on if Kerwin Walton gets clean looks on Thursday. He had 27 points in the first round of the tournament thanks to eight 3s. He is as close to automatic as there is in the game when he has open looks from deep.
Also, freshman Christian Anderson has to be better than a 14.2% shooter as he was in the first two rounds. In the regular season, he was a 41% 3-point shooter. Finally, how healthy will Chance McMillian be if he plays? He's missed the last three games with an abdominal injury. When healthy, he's deadly from deep shooting 43.4% from deep this season.
Q: Going into this game against the Hogs, what scars you about Arkansas? What do you feel confident about?
A: The first thing that scares me about the Razorbacks is their elite size and athleticism down low. Tech plays only two players over 6-foot-6 and they have only one player over 6-foot-9, and that's backup big man Federiko Federiko who is a bit player who averages only about five points and four boards in 19.1 minutes per game. While Tech has beaten big, physical teams like Arizona, Kansas, and Houston, size in the paint has bothered the Red Raiders at times this year.
The other concern I have is Boogie Fland's ability to get to the rim. While Tech has gotten better at defending quick, slashing guards as this season has progressed, Fland is the type of star who can take over a game by himself and will his team to a win. Can Tech keep him out of the paint and force him to win the game with his jumper? That will be tough.
Q: On Saturday, Darrion Williams put up 28 points against Drake, two points shy of tying his career high. However, most of it came from inside the lane. The Hogs have three guys over 6-foot-10 in the front court and two wings the same size as Williams. Do you think he'll be much of a threat in the paint with Arkansas' length?
A: Darrion is a bit of a Swiss Army knife. He isn't elite at any one aspect of the game but he's able to do just about anything the game calls for from shooting 3s to hitting mid-range jumpers, to even posting up. So even if he doesn't do much back-to-the-basket work in this game, he has the skills to be effective in other ways. Though he has a below-the-rim skillset, he is a matchup problem because of his versatility. That's why I think he'll be effective, even if Arkansas is able to push him away from the rim.
Q: John Calipari announced on the Pat McAfee Show that Arkansas' leading scorer, Adou Thiero, will be available to play against Texas Tech after missing the last nine games with a hyper-extended knee. Thursday will be the first time all season the Hogs have been fully healthy. What do you think Tech needs to do to stop the Razorbacks?
A: I think Arkansas has the talent edge on paper. However, the Red Raiders are a veteran team that has played up to their competition all season. What I expect the game plan to be is to pack the defense in the lane and try to force the Hogs to win this game from the outside. Doing so will also put Tech in a better position to battle on the glass against Arkansas' elite size. If Arkansas gets hot from the outside and shoots its way to the Elite Eight, then Tech will tip its hat to the Razorbacks and go back to the drawing board.
On offense, Tech is capable of winning any type of game as we saw in the first two rounds. However, the Red Raiders must be efficient from 3-point range. They likely will not shoot 46 3's as they did in the first round when they set a single-game record for 3-point attempts in the NCAA Tournament. Still, they have to make around 12-15 shots from deep on around 30-35 attempts to be good enough to prevail.