The No. 7 seed Kansas Jayhawks (21-12) will take on the No. 10 seed Arkansas Razorbacks (20-13) in a 7:10 P.M. matchup on Thursday, March 20 on CBS. The is a Western bracket game, although it is in Providence, Rhode Island.
This is likely to be a blowout win for Kansas. This season the Jayhawks finished 6th in the Big 12. The Razorbacks finished 9th in the SEC. Do you agree this will be a blowout win for Kansas?
Kansas Key Players
The Jayhawks have only two players who average more than 10 points a game. They also have two players who average 9.0 points per game. The leading scorer for the Jayhawks is Hunter Dickinson. Dickinson is a senior center who is a 7-foot-2 monster from Alexandria, Virginia. He averages 17.6 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. It is likely the Razorbacks do not have an answer for him. Zeke Mayo is a senior 6-foot-4 guard from Lawrence. He averages 14.5 points per game for the Jayhawks and is a hometown boy.
The third-leading scorer for the Jayhawks is KJ Adams Jr., a 6-foot-7 senior forward. He averages 9.2 points per game. The fourth-leading scorer from the Jayhawks is senior guard Dajuan Harris Jr. The 6-foot-2 player averages 9.2 points per game and is from Columbia, Missouri. Kansas starts those four plus Rylan Griffen, a junior guard. You can see the full roster here.
The Jayhawks rank 65th in the nation in rebounding efficiency. The Razorbacks rank 162nd. That is a big advantage for the No. 7 seed. Arkansas barely rebounds the ball like a team that made the tournament. On defensive efficiency, the Jayhawks rank 30th. The Razorbacks rank 60th. This is another advantage for the Jayhawks. They lead on all three metrics and have a potentially unstoppable player.
Arkansas Key Players
The Razorbacks have four players who average more than 10 points a game. The leading scorer for the Razorbacks is Adou Thiero. Thiero is a junior forward from Pittsburgh. He averages 15.6 points per game. Boogie Fland is a freshman guard from the Bronx, New York. He is the second-leading scorer for Arkansas at 15.1 points per game. That is very good for a young player.
The third-leading scorer for the Razorbacks is Johnell Davis. He is a senior guard from Gary, Indiana. He averages 11.2 points per game. The fourth-leading scorer for the Razorbacks is D.J. Wagner. He is a sophomore guard from Camden, New Jersey. He averages 11.2 points per game. You can view all of the statistics for Arkansas here.
What Is Next?
The winner of the game will play the winner of the St. John’s-Omaha game. St. John’s is likely to win that game. St. John’s is also likely to defeat the Jayhawks if they win against Arkansas. St. John’s is as good as they have been in the last 30 years. However, they did miss out on Fland.
Prediction
The Jayhawks are 21st in the Ken Pom rankings. The Razorbacks rank 40th. This is the closest the two teams rank on any metric. The Jayhawks dominate the Razorbacks on most other metrics. This narrow gap reflects a slight advantage for the Jayhawks. However, when one takes this narrow gap into account, along with the Jayhawks’ advantages in both rebounding and defensive efficiency, they point to a runaway Jayhawk victory. Kansas will probably win this game 80-60.
Conclusion
The game between the Jayhawks and Razorbacks may be a blowout win for Kansas. At least that is the direction in which the metrics point. Kansas has had a much more difficult season than they are accustomed to. This game is sure to please the Jayhawks fans. The NCAA Tournament should be redemption for them.
