Arizona and Arkansas will meet up in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night in one of the most highly-anticipated games of the weekend.
Arizona is one of the favorites to win the national championship, but Darius Acuff Jr. and the Razorbacks will be looking to pull off the upset against the No. 1-seeded Wildcats.
Arkansas vs. Arizona DFS picks
Here are 2 predictions for this game from Underdog‘s DFS pick’em menu:
Meleek Thomas, Arkansas: Higher than 13.5 points
I think this projection is just too low. Meleek Thomas has scored 19+ points in 3 of his last 4 games. Heโs become a huge part of the Arkansas offense, especially as opposing defenses have loaded up on Darius Acuff. Over his last 14 games, Thomas is averaging over 13 field goal attempts and 16.6 points per night. Heโs also been very efficient, shooting 45% from the floor and almost 48% from 3-point range. Arizona is elite defensively, but projection systems still expect Arkansas to score around 79-80 points. Thomas should get a big chunk of the volume and has proven to be efficient over a large sample.ย
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Trevon Brazile, Arkansas: Lower than 8.5 rebounds
Trevon Brazile has been excellent during the NCAA Tournament but I think this projection is a bit too high. For one thing, Malique Ewin is playing significantly more minutes in the postseason (33.5) than he did during conference play (22). Ewin is one of the most productive offensive rebounders in the country and is strong on the defensive glass as well. Meanwhile, Brazileโs minutes likely wonโt tick up too much in the Sweet 16 as heโs already averaging 34 minutes per game. Brazile has been lower than 8.5 rebounds in each of Arkansasโs first 2 NCAA Tournament contests.
Here’s what the live market for this game looks like on Kalshi, a predictions market that’s legal in most US states:
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.