Arkansas-Gonzaga drawing heavy action to kick off Sweet 16
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[March 24, 2022] Top-seeded
Gonzaga was tested more than expected in the first two rounds of the
NCAA Tournament while reaching the Sweet 16 for the seventh straight
time.
Now the Bulldogs will attempt to play two strong halves when they
face fourth-seeded Arkansas on Thursday night in the West Regional
semifinals at San Francisco.
The Razorbacks (27-8) will run a slew of athletic players against
the Bulldogs (28-3) as they attempt to reach the Elite Eight for the
second straight season. Arkansas lost to eventual national champion
Baylor last season.
Gonzaga is a 9.5-point favorite at DraftKings and BetMGM, where it
has been the heaviest-bet among the eight Sweet 16 games. Arkansas
has drawn the second most action among the remaining teams with 60
percent of the spread bets, while Gonzaga has been backed by 58
percent of the money.
The action has been flipped at DraftKings, where the Bulldogs had
drawn 59 percent of the bets but the Razorbacks had a slight edge
with 52 percent of the spread handle as of Wednesday.
"We're playing a team that a lot of people think is going to win the
national championship," Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman said.
"Nobody is even talking about Arkansas having a chance to win this
game."
The Razorbacks will have to slow a potent Gonzaga attack that scored
109 combined second-half points in wins over 16th-seeded Georgia
State and ninth-seeded Memphis to rebound after lethargic first
halves. In fact, the Bulldogs didn't take the lead for good against
Georgia State until just under 12 1/2 minutes remained.
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"These are all tough in their own ways," Gonzaga coach Mark Few
said. "That 1-16 is a real mental situation where you're trying not
to play like this, because you don't want to be the one that gets
upset by the 16. From here on out they're all tough. They're all
physical, they're all great athletes or great defenses or great
offenses or both."
The player Arkansas needs to corral most is second-team All-American
forward Drew Timme. He averaged 28.5 points in the two wins but it
was like a "Timme Timer" went off at halftime as he scored 43 of his
57 total points after intermission.
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"I would like to stop doing that," Timme said. "I
would like to do a better job in the first half because that's not a
recipe to go far and win a lot of games. Credit to everyone
believing in me and continuing to push me and keep having confidence
in me."
Bulldogs point guard Andrew Nembhard also has been key and averaged
16 points and eight assists in the two wins. Nembhard had 11 assists
against Georgia State and followed up with 23 points two nights
later when Gonzaga held off Memphis.
The Razorbacks defeated 13th-seeded Vermont and 12th-seeded New
Mexico State to return to the Sweet 16.
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Arkansas posted its lowest point total of the season in the 53-48
win over New Mexico State, prevailing despite shooting an anemic
27.5 percent from the field.
However, returning to this point is exactly what Razorbacks forward
Jaylin Williams thought would happen.
"It's a great feeling, but it's like a standard now for us,"
Williams said. "It's our standard to get to where we were last year.
It is a great feeling knowing that we are one of the last teams
standing."
Williams recorded 10 points and 15 rebounds against New Mexico
State, while third-team All-American guard JD Notae scored 18 points
and accumulated a career-best eight steals.
Musselman said his team will need to raise its effort to compete
with the Zags.
"They've been ranked in the top five for the entire season,
deservedly so," Musselman said. "This team is really talented and as
good as anybody in the country so you have to play at an elite level
to give yourself a chance to win."
Few is also concerned. He knows the Razorbacks recovered from an 0-3
start in Southeastern Conference play to be a top-four seed and he
sees the way Arkansas shut down New Mexico State's offense.
"They're very athletic, evenly sized and can really guard," Few
said. "Their defense is kind of what jumps out at you, right off the
page."
Gonzaga won the lone previous meeting, 91-81 in the fifth-place game
at the 2013 Maui Invitational.
--Field Level Media
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