Arkansas earns No. 7 seed in NCAA Tournament
FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas men’s basketball coach Mike Anderson’s team could have been placed in NCAA Tournament venues closer to the state, but the seventh-seeded Razorbacks learned on Sunday’s night’s selection show they are matched in Friday’s first-round East Regional in Detroit.
The Razorbacks (23-11) are one of eight Southeastern Conference teams in this season’s Big Dance. They will face the
10th-seeded Butler Bulldogs
(20-13) of Indianapolis and the Big East.
Tip-off is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. on Tru TV (Resort Channel 67).
The winner between Arkansas and Butler will advance to Sunday’s second round in Detroit against Friday’s winner between No. 2 Purdue (28-6) of the Big Ten Conference or No. 15 Cal State Fullerton (20-11) of the Big West Conference. The winner of Sunday’s game will advance to the East Regional semifinal next week in Boston.
“Obviously, like most teams, we want to be a little closer to home,” Anderson said. “But our fans can travel to Detroit. As a matter of fact, I’ve got some family up there. One of my mom’s sisters live up there and, hopefully, I’ll have the chance to visit her.”
Arkansas senior guard Anton Beard smiled when asked if he has ever been to Detroit.
“I’ve actually got family in Detroit,” Beard said. “My dad’s side of the family is from Detroit. I’m actually going home.”
Besides, even while working to make the NCAA Tournament the “Arkansas standard” as it became in 15 of the 17 years that Anderson assisted Nolan Richardson, Anderson implied the team can call anywhere home when it’s an NCAA Tournament site. Anderson said it is a thrill to hear the Hogs officially announced in the tournament field, regardless of destination.
The Razorbacks have now made the tournament in three of the last four years.
“The one thing you always want to do is hear your name called,” Anderson said. “Now, we get the chance to play for a national championship. So I know our guys are super, super excited about having a chance to play in this event and having a chance to play against an outstanding Butler team.”
Although opening play in the SEC just 1-3, Arkansas’ 10-8 SEC finish and winning two SEC Tournament games in St. Louis before Saturday’s loss to regular-season SEC co-champion Tennessee (25-8) had an at-large bid well in hand before Sunday’s pairings were announced.
The Razorbacks were 8-8 against 11 teams in the field of 68. They played seven other SEC teams in the tournament, as well as tournament-bound non-conference opponents Bucknell, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Houston.
“I thought we played one of the more competitive schedules you ever could play that’s been in place since I’ve been here,” Anderson, in his seventh season coaching the Hogs, said. “And I thought our guys performed really well and won 23 games.”
Anderson said he expects playing well to become playing better in Detroit and advancing where his 2015 and 2017 Razorbacks did not in two previous second-round matchups against North Carolina.
“I don’t want to be just one-stepping and two-stepping,” Anderson said. “So, our mindset is to go in and really get after the first game. The first game is the most important game and we’ve got to get prepared to go against a really good Butler basketball team.”
Arkansas senior Trey Thompson said respecting the opposition is a must, but second to respecting their own abilities.
“I feel like we can make a big run in the tournament,” Thompson said. “We’ve just got to stay focused and locked in. If we come out and play 40 minutes for every game, I feel like we’re a tough team to beat.”
Beard concurred.
“We’ve been working on this all year,” Beard said. “Been preparing, had one of the hardest schedules in Arkansas history and we’re going to be ready for it this time.”
Having won late night SEC Tournament games against South Carolina and Florida Thursday and Friday in St. Louis before Saturday afternoon’s loss to Tennessee, the Razorbacks just met as a team upon Sunday night’s NCAA Tournament selection.
They will practice today and Tuesday at Bud Walton Arena before they fly to Detroit on Wednesday.