Day one of the NCAA Tournament started off a little slow, but in the late afternoon/evening slate of games, the excitement intensified. We saw a couple of upsets on Thursday including Arkansas taking down Kansas in really the first close game of the day.
Arkansas, as it has all season, fought through injuries and a short rotation to give first-year coach John Calipari his first NCAA Tournament win at Arkansas. Adou Thiero missed the first-round game due to an injury, but the Hogs got Boogie Fland back just in time for the star freshman to provide some crucial minutes in the 79-72 win.
St. John’s, on the other hand, won its game with ease. St. John’s did what it was expected to - dominate a mid-major opponent. The Red Storm’s first-round matchup was against Omaha, one of the hottest teams in the country. But Rick Pitino’s stifling defense was too much, and St. John’s cruised to the easy 83-53 win. In his first NCAA Tournament with the Red Storm, Pitino has already equaled the school's best tournament finish since 1999.
How to watch Arkansas vs St. John’s
- Date: Saturday, March 22
- Time: 2:40 pm ET
- Venue: Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island
- How to Watch (TV): CBS
- Steaming: fubo TV
- Arkansas record: 21-13
- St. John’s record: 30-4
Arkansas vs St. John’s odds, spread, and total
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook
Money line:
- Arkansas +235
- St. John's -295
Spread:
- Arkansas +6.5 (-102)
- St. John's -6.5 (-120)
Total:
- 143.5 (O-115/U-105)
Arkansas injury report
- Adou Thiero - Out
St. John's injury report
- N/A
Arkansas and St. John's series history
- Arkansas all-time record vs St. John's: 1-1
Arkansas vs St. John’s prediction
Arkansas’s lack of depth is a real concern in this game. The Razorbacks have been short-handed all season and, though they’ve been playing better as of late, will need everyone healthy to avoid getting suffocated by this punishing St. John’s defense. There’s a good chance that Arkansas will be without leading scorer Adou Thiero (15.6 ppg), so someone else will need to step up and take on the bulk of the offensive load. In game one that was Jonas Aidoo and Johnell Davis.
Offensively, Arkansas needs to make a conscious effort to get to the rim. This is the Razorback's preferred method of scoring, making 70.6 percent, and it's also the area defensively that St. John’s hasn’t completely shut down opposing teams. The Red Storm allow opponents to make nearly 59 percent close to the basket, not an outrageous number overall, but compared to how stingy the Johnnies are everywhere else defensively, this might be a good opening for Calipari’s crew to keep the game close.
The three-headed monster of RJ Luis (18.4 ppg), Zuby Ejiofor (14.6 ppg), and Kadary Richmond (12.7 ppg) does nearly all of the scoring for St. John’s, which can leave this offense vulnerable if they aren’t having a good night. Much like Arkansas, St. John’s does most of its scoring in the paint or at the rim - the Red Storm score 48 percent of their points in the paint. Arkansas averages close to six blocks per game, so St. John’s might need a little time to adjust, but overall should be able to do quite a bit of damage at the rim. A big concern for St. John’s is that if Arkansas can slow them down at the rim, the Johnnies aren’t a good three-point shooting team and most likely won’t be able to make up a deficit quickly. St. John's takes right at 20 three's per game but only makes 30.4 percent from deep.
Neither offense are world beaters, so it will come down to defense. This favors St. John’s in a big way. The Red Storm force a ton of turnovers, 15.6 per game, and don’t let teams get off clean looks. Arkansas has been turnover-prone, coughing the ball up 11.7 per game, so this might spell disaster for the Hogs. St. John’s has been consistently a great defensive team all season, and there’s no reason to expect anything less against a streaky Arkansas offense.