March Madness cranks up the intensity dial this weekend as the Sweet 16 is here. The nation soon will see if Arizona basketball or Arkansas basketball are Final Four material. Arizona has a distraction hovering above, however.
Hubert Davis needs a replacement for North Carolina. Tommy Lloyd rose as a name to watch. Lloyd's resume in winning the Big 12 and delivering a No. 1 seed makes him an obvious appeal for Chapel Hill.
But we'll get the first prediction out of the way: UNC will not distract Lloyd. He'll game-plan against the Razorbacks.
Meanwhile, here are the other bold predictions before these powers clash in San Jose.
Arizona will limit Darius Acuff Jr.
Acuff is rising as a potential top overall pick come June in the NBA Draft. He's averaging 23.3 points per game as the latest John Calipari sharpshooter. Acuff's clutch shooting prevented a High Point upset on Saturday.
Lloyd will create an aggressive plan for the Arkansas star.
He'll likely employ a zone pressure look that allows his forwards and centers to guard him. That means Koa Peat guarding Acuff on multiple occasions. Even 7-foot-2 option and potential Arizona x-factor Motiejus Krivas will cross Acuff, especially down low.
Acuff still will get his touches. Lloyd, though, will force him into uncomfortable shooting scenarios. It also helps Lloyd knows his game well, as a past coach of his.
“Darius is a supreme talent, and he's a great young man,” Lloyd said via Jason Scheer of Wildcat Authority. “Obviously, for those that don't know, I was able to coach him in USA Basketball two summers ago. He was the MVP of our tournament.”
Lloyd called Acuff “a serious guy” who doesn't say much. But knows he's a “supreme competitor.”
Arizona will bottle Arkansas transition game
Calipari teams love to attack fast. He ignited the transition game at every coaching stop, including Kentucky more recently.
Arkansas plays so much better when the fast break gets going. But Arizona faced another cat-quick team already.
Utah State entered Sunday leading the Mountain West Conference in transition points (14.1 per game). The Aggies hit that mark in the upset of Villanova. But Arizona contained USU to just five.
How was ‘Zona able to bottle USU at its strength? Brayden Burries broke it down with ClutchPoints after the Sunday victory.
“The main focus was to make them play a half court set,” Burries said to CP. “They're stronger at being in the transition game. But when we had them in the half court, we could put a body on a body and make them tighter to finish through us.”
Arizona looks ready to execute something similar for Thursday evening.
Arkansas run ends in San Jose
The Razorbacks must turn to their backcourt and pray inside the SAP Center.
The Wildcats' front court is the most intimidating and efficient in this tournament. The guard combo of Burries and Jaden Bradley adds further fits for opponents.
The Southeastern Conference representative looks limited up front. And that dilemma exposes them here.
Get ready for “U of A” chants to dominate inside the home of the NHL's Sharks. And for ‘Zona to cut down the nets on Saturday.
