Arkansas, the No. 4 seed from the West region, survived another scare on Saturday by being heavily reliant on defensive production in a 53-48 win over No. 12 seed New Mexico State.
Next up on the Razorbacks’ path to a championship is No. 1 seed Gonzaga, who they will meet on Thursday in San Francisco, Calif. In an early matchup prediction, ESPN has given Arkansas very little chance to defeat the Bulldogs.
In their latest Basketball Power Index Matchup Predictor, ESPN is giving Gonzaga an 85.8% chance to defeat Arkansas on Thursday to advance to the Elite Eight.
Gonzaga has played well enough to be considered one of the nation’s best all season long with victories over Texas Tech, UCLA, and Texas, and finishing 13-1 in West Coast Conference play. ‘
The Bulldogs recently defeated Memphis in the round of 32 on Saturday, 82-78. Gonzaga trailed Memphis, 41-31 at halftime. That was when freshman Drew Timme put his teammates on his back and led them to a win. Timme led the Gonzaga comeback effort by scoring 21 of his 25 points in the second half.
For the second game in a row, Arkansas needed late free throws to pull away and establish the win. In the first-round game against Vermont, JD Notae was successful on both free throw attempts with 0:09 remaining in the contest to give Arkansas the 75-71 win over the Catamounts. In Saturday’s win over New Mexico State, Chris Lykes was fouled following a dunk by New Mexico Stare to cut the Razorback lead to 50-48 with 0:02 remaining. Lykes would succeed on both attempts, with Au’Diese Toney getting a chance at the line following a personal foul as time expired.
The Razorbacks look to shock the world on Thursday night. Tipoff time has yet to be announced.
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