Arkansas vs. Arizona Opening Odds, Preview for March Madness Sweet 16

Darius Acuff Jr. and the Arkansas Razorbacks went on a run in the SEC Tournament and have now strung together two straight NCAA Tournament wins. Now, they have to face their toughest challenge to date when they take on the Arizona Wildcats.

Arkansas cruised past Hawaii in the opening round and then managed to hold off High Point in the Round of 32. Meanwhile, Arizona beat Long Island University by 34 points and then took down the Mountain West champions, the Utah State Aggies, by a score of 78-66.

Let's break down the opening odds for Thursday night's SEC vs. Big 12 showdown.

Arkansas vs. Arizona Opening Odds for Sweet 16

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Spread

Arkansas +8.5 (-110)
Arizona -8.5 (-110)

Moneyline

Arkansas +310
Arizona -400

Total

OVER 167.5 (-115)
UNDER 167.5 (-105)

Arizona is the second-biggest favorite in the Sweet 16 with -400 odds to advance to the Elite Eight. Michigan (-580) against Alabama is the biggest favorite of the round.

Arkansas vs. Arizona Preview

Let's try our best not to overreact to Arkansas being in the Sweet 16. They had a relatively easy path to win the SEC Championship, squeaking by both Oklahoma and Ole Miss by just three points before beating Vanderbilt in the final, completely avoiding the Florida Gators. Then, in the NCAA Tournament, they had the easiest path to the Sweet 16, getting to face a 13-seed and a 12-seed in the first two rounds.

The Arizona Wildcats are no joke and will be by far the Razorbacks' biggest challenge. There's a case to be made that Arizona is the best team in the country, and they have the interior defense to completely shut down the Arkansas offense. The Razorbacks rank 50th in the country in two-point shot rate. Now, they have to face an Arizona defense that ranks second in the country in opponent two-point field goal percentage, keeping teams to shooting just 43.7% from two-point range.

Acuff Jr. is going to have to have his best performance of the season if the Razorbacks want to pull off the upset.

Arizona is second on the odds list to win the National Championship at +330, behind only Michigan at +300. Arkansas is 11th on the odds list at +5500.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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