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After a 73-63 win over Illinois in the first round, the 8-seed Arkansas Razorbacks (21-13) have a chance to beat another 1-seed when they take on the Kansas Jayhawks (28-7). Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament inside Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.
Kansas had no trouble defeating 16-seed Howard on Thursday, as the Jayhawks earned a 96-68 victory over the Bison.
Leading the way for the Jayhawks against Howard were the usual suspects Jalen Wilson (20 points, seven rebounds) and Grady Dick (19 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, three steals).
After seeing much success in a tough Big 12 Conference slate, the Jayhawks have been heavily tested, as they boast a 17-7 regular season record against Quad 1 opponents.
The starting five for the Jayhawks included the Big 12 Player of the Year (Wilson), Defensive Player of the Year (DaJuan Harris Jr.) and Most Improved Player (KJ Adams Jr.). Along with that trio, they have a projected lottery pick in 6-foot-8 freshman Grady Dick.
While Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman didn’t think much about facing Kansas at the time of his postgame press conference after Thursday’s Illinois win, his staff did their due diligence scouting a Jayhawks team that has been playing since February 6. Only lost two games.
“We had — you know, our assistants were all here and watched the (Kansas-Howard) game because we needed to prepare,” Musselman said. “We’re ready for a meeting right now. Everybody — they probably already have the text of the scouting report on their phones. So our staff is ready, but I’m not right now.”
The Razorbacks are 5–8 in the all-time series against Kansas, with the last meeting resulting in a 65–64 win over the Jayhawks on November 25, 2005. The only NCAA tournament meeting between the two resulted in a 93–81 victory for Kansas in the 1991 Elite Eight.
Here’s a quick look at Kansas’ stats, metrics, projected lineup and more ahead of Saturday’s game, which is set to tipoff at 4:15 CT on CBS:
Metrics Comparison (Kansas and Arkansas)
Regular season statistics comparison (national ranking)
Regular season stats per game (Arkansas vs. Kansas)
Kansas projected to start five
#3 – G Dajuan Harris Jr. – R-Jr., 6’1″, 175 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 34.2 minutes, 8.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 2.1 steals, 1.9 turnovers, 0.4 blocks, 47.3 fg%, 41.2 3fg%
#4 – G Grady Dick – Fr., 6’8″, 205 lbs.
2022-23 Stats Per Game: 32.6 Min, 14.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.3 turnovers, 0.3 blocks, 41.1 fg%, 39.9 3fg%
#15 – G Kevin McCullers – R-Sr., 6’6″, 210 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 30.7 minutes, 10.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.0 steals, 2.1 turnovers, 0.7 blocks, 43.5 fg%, 29.5 3fg%
#10 – F Jalen Wilson – R-Jr., 6’8″, 225 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 35.4 minutes, 20.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.0 steals, 2.4 turnovers, 0.5 blocks, 42.5 fg%, 33.8 3fg%
#24 – F KJ Adams Jr. – So, 6’9″, 270 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 27.3 minutes, 10.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.7 steals, 1.6 turnovers, 0.8 blocks, 63.1 fg%
Other Kansas Players to Watch
#1 – G Joseph Yeshufu – Jr., 6′ 0″, 180 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 12.8 minutes, 4.0 points, 1.2 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.5 turnovers, 35.7 fg%, 26.6 3fg%
#0 – G Bobby Pettiford Jr. – So, 6′ 1″, 190 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 12.2 minutes, 2.2 points, 1.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.2 steals, 1.1 turnovers, 55.6 fg%, 30.0 3fg%
#23 – C Ernest Udeh Jr. – Fr., 6’11”, 250 lbs.
2022-23 Stats per game: 8.3 minutes, 2.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.5 turnovers, 0.6 blocks, 79.6 fg%