By Brant Daughtry

Single Elimination

Arkansas and Buzz Williams is turning into something of a rivalry for Auburn. Two good teams with good coaches and a few matchups that have added fuel to the fire. For a 7-10 matchup, this feels like a come-to-Jesus moment for these programs, at least for this year.

Arkansas lost to Auburn in Neville Arena back in January, and in that game it shot a miserable 2-of-16 from three. They put up 59 points and Auburn held them at arms length for almost the entire game and got a comfortable win by packing the paint. In Bruce Pearl’s own words, that probably won’t work this time around. Nick Smith, number 1 player in the 2022 class, did not play for most of this season due to injury. Since he’s come back, Arkansas has shot 39% from three, compared to the 31% they shot beforehand. Smith is a major difference maker, and the “dare them to shoot threes” defense won’t work this time.

Players to Watch For: 

Guard Rick Smith Jr, #3- As I stated above, Smith has missed much of this season, and Arkansas really missed his three-point shooting. He’s only played in 12 games this year, and five since his injury. Since his return, Arkansas is averaging 80 points a game. They’re a completely different offensive team with him on the floor.

Guard Ricky Council IV, #1- Council has been the rock for Arkansas in Smith’s absence. He’s played in every game for the Razorbacks, and started almost all of them. He averages 34 minutes per game, and is their leading scorer at 16.5 points per game. He’s not quite the three-point shooter Smith is, but he can still score from anywhere, and focusing too much on one will allow the other to take over.

We can pretty much throw the first matchup between these two out the window. Not only is Arkansas a completely different team, but so is Auburn. Frankly, Auburn has figured out how to score too. Shooting has been astronomically better, and all that means is knocking down the open looks. Auburn is better than your typical 7-seed, and Arkansas, according to the NET rankings, is the best 10-seed we’ve seen in the SEC Tournament in nearly a decade. Maybe more. On a neutral floor, this is about as close to a coin toss as you can get.

It’s March.