University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
University of Arkansas
UConn MBB Faces Arkansas In Sweet 16 Matchup
3/22/2023 8:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball
UConn Athletic Communications / March 22, 2023
LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- -There couldn't  be a bigger difference in styles than those of the UConn men's basketball team's opponents in back-to-back games in the NCAA Championship.
In the second round, the fourth-seeded Huskies faced a structured, controlled offensive team in fifth-seeded St. Mary's and overwhelmed the Gaels in the second half on their way to a 70-55 victory.
In Thursday's Sweet 16 contest against eighth-seeded Arkansas at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (7:15 p.m., CBS), the Huskies will meet a free-wheeling, athletic bunch that is always on the move as it flies up and down the court.
UConn's (27-8) style lies somewhere in the middle. To the Huskies, that means they are equally adept at playing either type of game.
"We just really try to stick to what we do, and play to our identity," junior Andre Jackson Jr. said. "It's really a matter of trusting each other, playing for each other. It's hard for a team to be able to guard the three-point line and also guard the dominant forces we have inside with Adama (Sanogo) and then Donovan (Clingan) coming off the bench. We have a lot of different tools, a lot of different guys who can affect the game in different ways. It's definitely hard to prepare for us."
UConn, which has won eight of its last nine games, took care of Iona (87-63) and St. Mary's at the MVP Arena in Albany in the first two rounds to reach the Sweet 16, while Arkansas (22-13) defeated Illinois, 73-63, and upset top-seeded Kansas (72-71) in Des Moines to secure its Sweet 16 berth.
"Arkansas is playing like the top 10 team they were projected to be in the preseason," UConn Coach Dan Hurley said. "(Freshman) Nick Smith is an electrifying player to watch, just in terms of his abilities with the ball. I saw him a bunch in high school so we know what he's capable of."
Smith (12.6 ppg) is just one of the long, quick guards that fill the Razorbacks' roster, which also features Ricky Council IV (16.1), Anthony Black (12.6) and Devonte Davis (11.1).
"I don't that we'll be able to get away with as deep as the St. Mary's guards got with the ball against us in dribble penetration," Hurley said. "These Arkansas guards will finish those plays at the rim. So we have to do a better job of keeping their dribble-drivers out of the paint."
The Razorbacks have their work cut out for them as well, trying to contain UConn junior Adama Sanogo, who is averaging 26.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game in the NCAA Championship, while shooting an amazing .727 overall, and .800 from the foul line.
Besides Sanogo, who averages 17.3 points and 7.5 rebounds overall, the Huskies feature sophomore Jordan Hawkins (15.9 ppg), senior Tristen Newton (10.1 ppg), freshman Alex Karaban (9.4 ppg, 4.3 reb) and Jackson (6.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.4 apg).
Hurley thinks the game will likely come down to which teams win the rebound battle.
"A part of this game is going to be played in a really physical way on the backboard," Hurley said. "For us, I don't know that we have quite the same level of athleticism, so we have to be more fundamental in terms of putting a body on a body, being in inside position and being physical at that point. We pride ourselves in winning the rebound battle, as they do, and it's going to be a war when the ball goes up on the glass, no doubt."
On the line is a berth in the West Regional Championship game, which will be played Saturday at T-Mobile Arena against the winner of second-seeded UCLA and third-seeded Gonzaga. Saturday's winner earns a trip to the Final Four in Houston.
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