#3 seed Texas Tech is set to play #10 seed Arkansas in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night in San Francisco, California.

The Razorbacks enter the game with a 22-13 record including 8-10 in conference play. Arkansas is 1-1 vs Big 12 programs this season, falling to Baylor in early November before defeating #7 seed Kansas in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament last week.

They took care of #2 seed St. John's 75-66 in the Second Round to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since the 2022-23 season.

Arkansas has made the NCAA Tournament 36 times in school history, most recently advancing to the Final Four in 1995. The Razorbacks won it all the previous year as part of back-to-back trips to the Final Four.

To learn more about Arkansas we caught up with Daniel Fair, Staff Writer for HawgBeat.com for the latest on all things Razorbacks.

Check out HawgBeat on Twitter at @ArkansasRivals.

"John Calipari has talked at length about his team banding together amidst their struggles, and said they’re playing as “one heartbeat.”

That goes a long way toward winning games, but on the court the real difference has been guys who were injured a long part of the season getting back to form.

Jonas Aidoo had foot surgery in the offseason and dealt with that pain for a long time, which hindered his effectiveness. Nelly Davis’ wrist injury caused him to shoot pretty poorly, too. Now that they’re both mostly 100% (Aidoo said last week his foot still bothers him but it’s manageable) you’re able to see why they were so coveted in the portal."

"Well, it’s worth noting Fland appeared back on the floor for the first time in almost two months in the first round of the tournament. Thiero has been out with a hyperextended knee since Feb. 22, but Calipari hinted he might be available for Thursday.

Down the stretch, it’s been either one of Davis or Wagner who are the go-to guys. Wagner is extremely good at getting to the rim and either drawing contact or getting a tough bucket to fall.

Wagner’s three-point shot has gotten better of late, but the real deep threat is Davis. He hit four against Kansas in the first round, the final one being a dagger of sorts.

I’ll also mention Fland is capable of scoring a lot in short spurts, but since he hasn’t played much since mid-January, it’s hard to look at him and see him as the go-to guy.

What’s interesting about this team is on any given night, it could be anyone. Aidoo is more than capable of getting a big offensive board and putback late. Trevon Brazile is, too. Heck, even Billy Richmond III and Karter Knox hit big shots late against St. John’s (Richmond had 16 points and Knox 15)."

"The one thing that sticks out most recently is zone defense. I’ve not watched Texas Tech much this season so I can’t say if they’ll run a lot of it, but Kansas implemented it in the second half and Arkansas’ offense simply wilted. It went nearly five minutes without a bucket because it couldn’t get a shot to fall, and Kansas was able to force a lot of turnovers off it because the Hogs couldn’t get the ball inside.

Where the Red Raiders could take advantage is Arkansas’ short bench. Even fully healthy, the Hogs only have nine players, and if Texas Tech can get them in foul trouble, it severely limits what the Razorbacks can do."

"The Hogs aren’t a great shooting team and unlike other college programs don’t live or die by the three. They love to get the ball in the lane and draw fouls, so if you look up and see them with 25-30 fouls, that’s why.

They also hang their hat on their defense. They’re not a high-scoring offense at just 76.6 points per game, but they also don’t allow many points either at 71.

I’ll also mention here that Arkansas has a way of losing big leads late in games. It was up 16 against Mississippi State and won by one. It was up 11 against Kansas and the Jayhawks took the lead late. There’s many more instances like this throughout the year, so if Arkansas gets up 10-15 points, the game is not close to over."

"I kind of mentioned it above, but Fland and Thiero are the main injuries of note. Thiero practiced before the second round game but didn’t go.

Zvonimir Ivisic seemed to have a hand injury he sustained in the SEC Tournament but he said last week it wasn’t bothering him.

A UA spokesperson mentioned a few weeks ago that the Hogs have had to use nine different starting lineups this season because of all the injuries they dealt with."

"Arkansas wins this game if it can get its defense to lead to offense, and if it can close out defensive possessions. Live ball turnovers that lead to buckets on the other end, forcing more scoreless droughts than it has.

Rebounding has gotten better lately, but the Hogs also gave up 28 offensive rebounds to St. John’s. The Razorbacks got off easy because St. John’s struggled to shoot, but they’re will have to clean that up against Texas Tech.

Arkansas loses if it gets careless with the ball and allows Texas Tech to take advantage of those scoreless streaks. If the Razorbacks go three minutes without points, which seems to happen a lot, and Texas Tech can rattle off seven or eight unanswered, the Hogs may not be able to climb out of that hole."

"I think it’ll be an extremely fun matchup. Second tournament game in recent years between the two, and of course the two schools’ football teams matched up a few months ago in the Liberty Bowl.

I’ll be the homer here and pick the Hogs, but it won’t be a blowout. Arkansas 71, Texas Tech 69. Just for fun, I’ll guess a game-winning shot."

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