Hogs Run Out of Postseason Cinderellas to Beat Up On

Things just got real.

After walking down a long postseason path littered with the carcasses of Cinderella after Cinderella, the Razorbacks finally face a high-seeded opponent that is supposed to be there in No. 1 Arizona.

Try as they might in a back and forth game late Sunday evening, Utah State just couldn't string together enough shots and defensive stops to extend the streak of ball room gowns to six straight for the Hogs. After all, no team can get that continuously lucky with its draw.

However, as far as facing No. 1 seeds go, Arkansas has drawn the most favorable match-up the Hogs could have hoped for. The Razorbacks find themselves in a battle of superior freshman point guards between Arkansas' Darius Acuff and 6-foot-4, 205 pound star Brayden Burries.

Without seeing a single stat, there is zero doubt Hogs fans will stand behind Acuff with confidence and not bat an eye. On paper, there definitely is an advantage there for Arkansas as the SEC Player of the Year has been destructive throughout the first two rounds.

He literally willed his Hogs to a win over a fearless High Point team and it's shipped-in massive student section with 36 points and six assists late Saturday night. However, if he is going to lead what ESPN has labeled the fourth worst team left in the field over what the network officially deemed the best, Acuff is going to need his supporting cast at the peak of its game on both ends of the floor.

The biggest issue is going to be keeping his teammates on the floor. Arizona is one of the best teams in America at drawing fouls. It's probably the main reason they have only lost two games, a pair of back-to-back games against Texas Tech and Kansas.

The Wildcats don't need a hot night from the floor. Instead, they lull the opposing team and fans watching at home to sleep as they march to the line over and over, killing their prey one small bite at a time.

The Wildcats average over 26 free throws per game this season. However, that stat has taken a dramatic leap in the NCAA Tournament.

Arizona shot a draining 72 free throws, that's 36 per game, during the first weekend. Utah State committed 25 fouls in the second round.

If the Hogs do that, it will be Acuff and the guys from the managers' team, although it should be noted that group has been successful the past couple of years.

Still, no matter how made for TV that would be, they are no substitute for Trevon Brazile, Billy Richmond and Malique Ewin. The good news is the Razorbacks are so athletic that they should be able to avoid a lot of these fouls, especially if they can keep their tempers throughout the game.

Each of the No. 1 seeds has a strong backcourt, which is why almost no models had Arkansas getting past the Sweet 16 regardless of draw once it became clear Arkansas was locked into a four or five seed. Yet, of the four, Arizona has the least athletic overall big men, which provides John Calipari the slightest hope there is a path to victory.

At 7-foot-2, 260 pounds, Montiejus Krivas is a throwback to the 1980s where giants plodded their way across the paint relying on their girth and height to dominate. The good news is he is slow, which will allow various players to draw fouls on him throughout the game.

Also, if he gets caught up guarding Ewin from behind, there will be room for Brazile and Richmond to sneak along the baseline for dunks and lay-ups because his feet aren't fast enough to get around on them in time to do anything other than foul or end up on a poster.

The negative side of this is his discipline when guards drive in. Krivas is patient and does a great job of staying straight up, forming a massive wall that leads to awkward shots and the occasional weak block.

It's going to be a problem for Acuff. Look for the first trip down the floor to test this, resulting in a lob that will set the tone for how the night is going to go.

In the end, this game is going to come down to the combined efforts of Richmond and Meleek Thomas vs. 6-foot-8 freshman Koa Peat. With so many points being determined at the free throw line, one of the few places Arkansas will be able to make up ground will be with Peat.

He has averaged 15 points per game in the tourney and snagged 10 rebounds over Utah State. If Thomas can get on a heater and Richmond can get all over the scorebook, the Hogs will have a chance to pull a huge upset.

That is if Arkansas can keep Arizona off the foul line. It starts and ends there.

If the game is exciting to watch, Arkansas will win. If it is packed with commercials from all the long, slow trips to the foul line, Arizona chokes them out in the end by double digits.

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