Overview
- Tipoff is 11 a.m. Central on Saturday at American Airlines Center in Dallas in a neutral-site meeting of 7–2, back-to-back ranked teams.
- The matchup reprises last season’s Sweet 16, when Texas Tech erased a 16-point second-half deficit to beat Arkansas 85-83 in overtime.
- John Calipari broke his usual practice to rewatch the loss and said it made him even more angry about how the game slipped away.
- Karter Knox shifted from calling it a “get back” to describing it as a regular game and a chance to make a statement, while Darius Acuff Jr. said he wants to win for last year’s teammates.
- Texas Tech leans on defense and the 3-point line with J.T. Toppin (20.8 ppg, 11.5 rpg) and Christian Anderson (19.1 ppg), as Arkansas brings a high-scoring attack led by freshmen Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas.