Arkansas will look to continue its hot streak when it faces Hawai’i in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
The Razorbacks cruised to an SEC Tournament title this weekend and have won 5 games in a row overall. It’s been a successful start to the John Calipari era so far, especially considering last year’s surprise run to the Sweet 16.
Hawai’i enters this game as the Big West champ and will be looking to pull off a major upset.
Arkansas vs. Hawai’i picks
Here are 2 picks on Underdog to consider for this game:
Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas: Lower than 26.5 points
I think Darius Acuff Jr. is awesome. Between his scoring and playmaking chops, he might be the best offensive player in the entire country. But I think this projection is too high. Acuff averaged under 25 points per game in SEC play. He’s been on a nuclear hot streak over the past 10 games (50% from 3-point range) and he’s still only cleared 27+ points in 6 of those 10 contests.
Here’s something most college basketball fans won’t realize: Hawai’i is massive. The Rainbow Warriors start a 7-foot center, a 6-foot-9 power forward, a 6-foot-8 small forward and a 6-foot-6 shooting guard. That kind of length is something Acuff won’t have seen much this year, even in SEC play. Hawai’i is 42nd nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom. That’s a better rating than most of the SEC. It wouldn’t be shocking if Hawai’i is able to hold Acuff in check to some degree.
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Isaac Johnson, Hawai’i: Higher than 6.5 rebounds
Isaac Johnson is Hawai’i’s 7-foot starting center. He only averages about 6 boards per game, but that’s because the Rainbow Warriors kept his minutes at around 21 per contest during the regular season. I have to assume he’ll see at least a handful more minutes in an NCAA Tournament setting. Johnson played 25 minutes in the Big West title game and played 31 minutes against a high-major opponent in Arizona State earlier this season.
Johnson will also be facing an Arkansas front court that’s not especially formidable on the glass. The Razorbacks are outside of the top-100 nationally in offensive rebounding rate and outside the top 200 in defensive rebounding rate.
There’s another way fans can get in on the action: Kalshi! Legal in most states, Kalshi allows fans to make predictions on a variety of NCAA Tournament markets:
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
