Where Razorbacks' Blueprint Starts to Beat Arizona in West Regional

Arkansas knows exactly what they're walking into Thursday night.

Arizona doesn't beat you with highlight reels from the arc. The Wildcats beat you by shoving you under the basket, grabbing every missed shot they can get their hands on and pounding the paint until you break.

John Calipari's Razorbacks have seen that kind of team before. The question is whether they can handle it again.

Arizona carries one of the nastiest frontcourts left in the NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats rank seventh nationally in average height and sit fourth in offensive rebounding percentage according to KenPom.

That's not an accident. That's a program built from the ground up to punish you inside.

A staggering 56.8% of Arizona's points come on 2-point shots — the 14th-highest rate in the country. If you let them play their game, they'll make you pay every single possession.

"They're really big," Calipari said. "High-low basketball, creating highways, offensive rebounds where they shove you under the basket. They're their way, we play how we play. Let's be our best and hope it's good enough. We don't need to try to be somebody else."

That's the mindset. Now the execution has to follow.

Arizona Wildcats forward Koa Peat (10) celebrates after defeating the Utah State Aggies during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena. | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

Arizona's Size Is the Story

The Wildcats' roster reads like a coaching staff's dream when it comes to frontcourt depth.

Koa Peat leads Arizona in scoring at 16 points per game and does most of his damage on the interior. Motiejus Krivas checks in at 7-foot-2 and punishes defenders who try to front him in the post.

Ivan Kharchenkov is a 6-foot-7 forward who's comfortable driving and creating contact in the lane. Anthony Dell'Orso, one of the smaller rotation players, is still listed at 6-foot-6.

Of Arizona's primary eight players, five are 6-foot-8 or taller. That's not just size — that's size with skill, and the Wildcats use every inch of it.

They attack the basket with cuts and drives. They crash the glass with purpose. They execute at a high level because they've been doing this all season long.

The Hogs know they're going to take some lumps inside. They've been through this before.

The wins over Tennessee and Texas Tech showed Arkansas can compete against physically imposing frontcourts.

Losses to Florida, Duke and Michigan State showed what happens when the Razorbacks don't bring their best in the paint. Thursday night, there's no margin for error.

Arkansas Razorbacks forward Nick Pringle during summer practice at the Eddie Sutton Practice Center in Fayetteville, Ark. | Nilsen Roman-Hogs on SI Images

Pringle's Health Could be Deciding Factor

Arkansas enters this matchup with a real question mark at center.

Nick Pringle missed the Hawaii and High Point games with a right hamstring injury, and his availability Thursday could shape the entire defensive game plan.

Malique Ewin filled in pretty well with two double-doubles during Pringle's absence, but the Razorbacks may simply need more size to hold their ground against Arizona's frontcourt.

One option worth watching is a three-big lineup featuring Pringle, Ewin and Trevon Brazile.

Arkansas has used that trio together for just eight minutes this season, but the numbers in those stretches were encouraging.

According to CBBAnalytics, the offensive rating was 133.2 and the defensive rating was 99.2 during that time. The sample size is small and most of those minutes came against Mississippi State and Ole Miss, which weren't exactly the stiffest competition on the SEC schedule.

Still, the combination exists and Calipari could go to it if the matchup demands it.

The Razorbacks are No. 120 in offensive rebounding and No. 203 in defensive rebounding per KenPom.

Facing the fourth-best offensive rebounding team in the country, Arkansas is going to need to outperform both of those numbers in a significant way. That's a tall order, but it's not impossible.

It'll take the kind of discipline on every missed shot and physicality the Hogs haven't always shown this year.

Push Them to the Arc

Here's where Arkansas can steal an advantage that most people aren't talking about. Arizona may shoot 36.4% from 3 — the 44th-best mark in the country — but the Wildcats almost never fire from out there.

They rank No. 363 nationally in perimeter shot attempts. That's third-fewest in the entire country.

Only Texas State and Tarleton State took fewer 3-pointers this season. Let that sink in for a second.

The Wildcats are not comfortable on the perimeter. It's not their identity. It's not their game plan. When they do shoot from deep, the production is concentrated in just a few players.

Brayden Burries leads the way at 39% from three on more than 100 attempts. Dell'Orso has hit 32% on his perimeter looks and Kharchenkov has connected on 32% of his 98 tries.

Those three can make shots when given space. Everyone else on that roster? That's where Arkansas can exploit a real weakness.

If the Hogs can push Arizona away from the paint and force the ball into the hands of perimeter players who aren't Burries, Dell'Orso or Kharchenkov, the percentages start shifting in Arkansas' favor.

Force the wrong Wildcat to take a contested three in a crucial moment and you've changed the math of this game entirely.

That's the blueprint. It won't be easy to execute.

Arizona didn't get to this point by being easy to solve. But the Razorbacks don't need to out-muscle the Wildcats.

They just need to out-think them.

Arizona's Size Is the Story

Pringle's Health Could be Deciding Factor

Push Them to the Arc

Hogs Feed