NCAA Tournament 2023: Ranking all 16 Second Round matchups
By Joey Loose
8. 1 Kansas vs. 8 Arkansas
When the Razorbacks lost both Trevon Brazile and Nick Smith Jr., it looked like a highly-anticipated season would be an underwhelming disaster, but Smith has returned from injury and Arkansas looks tough again. They’re a few days removed from a 73-63 win against Illinois where they dominated with their defense, getting nice performances from Ricky Council IV and Davonte Davis. Though the offense put up 73 points, they’ll need to play better if they want to challenge for a third straight trip to the Elite Eight.
Kansas has fallen flat on its face twice against Texas this month but took care of business with a 96-68 win against Howard in their opening game of the Tournament. The defending champions are five wins away from cutting down those nets again and have a pair of otherworldly players in Jalen Wilson and Gradey Dick. The issue for Kansas is the absence of Bill Self with his recent medical issues; how will the Jayhawks fare against another strong and talented opponent without their leader?
7. 3 Kansas State vs. 6 Kentucky
It may be hard to believe, but Kentucky’s 61-53 win Friday against Providence was their first Tourney win in four years. Oscar Tshiebwe hasn’t played like the national player of the year at times this season, but the Wildcats have done enough to put themselves in this position. Their March has been tainted by some bad efforts against Vanderbilt, but impressive days from Antonio Reeves and Jacob Toppin took them to the second round and have them feeling good to make another run.
For Kansas State, being in this position is a testament to the work that first-year head coach Jerome Tang has put in with this program, building an elite team with Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell at the forefront. These Wildcats secured a 77-65 win over Montana State in the first round but will certainly have their hands more full with Tshiebwe and the Wildcats. This will be quite the battle down low and we’ll see which Wildcats defense gets the important plays late.