NFL
By: Randall Slifer
We are back! Arkansas took down Kansas Thursday night to advance to the 2nd round of March Madness. St. John’s did their thing against 15-seed Omaha last night in a convincing matter. We get the March Madness matchup all of America wants, John Calipari vs Rick Pitino. Rick Pitino was only 6 years older than John Calipari back when Pitino was at Kentucky and Calipari was at UMass. Pitino helped Calipari get his job at UMass and they were congealed together before the rivalry started to their Italian heritage. They had different styles and gameplans, but somehow Calipari got the media nickname of “Pitino clone”. Calipari moved over to coach Kentucky after taking Memphis to the final four and Pitino coached Louisville. Calipari and Pitino have played a total of 21 games in college and Calipari leads Pitino 13-9, but they are 2-2 in the March Madness tournament. Calipari and Pitino won one game in the Sweet 16 and Final Four against each other in the tournament. John Calipari and Rick Pitino particularly do not like each other, so there is only one way to describe Saturday’s game: Cinema.
In the Razorbacks game against Kansas, Arkansas came out in the first half and attacked the paint quickly. Jonas Aidoo had a monster first half and finished as the top scorer with 22 points. Boogie Fland was on a minute restriction until Calipari decided to pull that. He ended up with 24 minutes and 6 points, but he was vital with his length on defense with 3 steals. Arkansas led 47-44 in the first half and things were looking good.
Kansas moved from man to zone defense in the second half and Calipari said himself, they did not prepare for zone defense. Kansas had only run zone seven times this year, and even the announcers were baffled by the switch. It ended up working very well and kept Arkansas’ guards stalled out on the perimeter for about eight minutes. It was a brutal eight minutes, let me tell you. Arkansas kept it close enough to where they only lost the lead once for 3 and a half minutes in the second half. Kansas committed six straight turnovers, and Arkansas pulled away in the final 25 seconds.
Looking forward to Saturday’s game, St John’s relies on their dynamic defense to increase their opportunities on offense. According to KenPom and their defensive efficiency rankings, St. John’s is ranked first in the nation. Zuby Ejiofor is a monster of a forward at 6’9 240 pounds. St John’s uses their athleticism to create turnovers accounting for 9 steals a game. Ejiofor has a stocky build at 240 pounds, but he has a high vertical that accounts for 47 blocks in the season. They play a tough, gritty style offense that uses their big forwards and centers to win the game in the paint. St John’s is not a great three-point shooting team, but when they get hot from the three-point line, Arkansas must adjust to take it away. St. Johns will keep shooting if you do not attack it. RJ Luis Jr is a 33% three-point shooter and went 5 for 8 and finished with a leading 22 points.
How does Arkansas reach the Sweet 16 in March Madness? Pitino’s relentless defense holds teams to 66 points per game and forces 16 turnovers a game. Zuby Ejiofor is up for Defensive Player of the Year, and it is well deserved. One key factor Arkansas has an advantage at against St Johns, is size. St. Johns has two 7 foot 1 players, but Iwuchukwu plays an average of 7 minutes while Maker plays an average of 3 minutes. While Ejiofor is dominant, He will have to face 7’2 Ivisic or 6’11 Jonas Aidoo in the paint standing at 6’9. Arkansas can disrupt his lanes and Aidoo does not shy away from physicality. Trevon Brazile was all over the court leading in rebounds and showing the hustle that wins in the month of March. He will be a crucial tool versus St John’s to double Ejiofor on defense when you can trap him, as well as stretch the Razorback offense out to get looks down in the paint. The addition of Boogie Fland has helped depth with 8 players, and the rotation worked well last night with Fland’s minutes not restricted.
St John’s watched Arkansas struggle when Kansas switched to zone, so St John’s will play heavy zone to force us into shooting beyond the arc. John Calipari will have a long day ahead of him to prepare for St John’s zone defense. St John’s play match with zone so they play increasingly aggressively and will lock into man defense when it seems fit but pass off into a new zone when the timing is right. Arkansas will need to strategize their attack on zone and make sure we are using the baseline to open up the paint. There were too many times last night where our forwards would run up to the point, would be covered, and we would pass the ball around the arc until there were 5 seconds left on the shot clock and Wagner had to throw up a dream. If we do not attack the zone, we will lose by thirty just like Omaha.
I personally believe this game is a closer matchup than the 10 and the 2 seeds define each team. Arkansas’ length is a real game-changer against St John’s and the game is going to be won by 2-point baskets, not 3 point. St. John’s is a second-half team, and I believe Arkansas needs to be up by seven to nine points in the first half to cushion themselves into the firepower St. John’s brings in the second half. If Calipari prepares this team right, and we can be efficient in the paint, Arkansas can win this game. Vegas has St. Johns as a 7.5-point favorite and the over/under 144.5. I expect a lower-scoring game because I do not believe any team will get hot beyond the three-point line. St John’s rarely allows teams to score over 75 points, but I believe both teams do not score 75. Arkansas’ tougher SEC journey to March Madness and their length stunts St Johns offense and Arkansas will call them hogs Saturday in a win 73-69.
Reach out to me on Twitter/X on what you think of this matchup or March Madness as a whole! Woo Pig!
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