GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) - No. 8 seed Arkansas (25-9) vs. No. 9 seed Seton Hall (21-11)
First round, South Region; Greenville, South Carolina; 1:30 p.m. EDT.
BOTTOM LINE: Two programs that recently returned to the NCAA Tournament after significant droughts meet in the opening round. Seton Hall is in the field for the second straight season after last going in 2006, while Arkansas is in for the second time in three seasons following a six-year absence. They’ve combined to win 13 of 17 games since Feb. 15 to carry late-season momentum into the tournament.
GLASS WORK: The Pirates have the nation’s leading rebounder in Angel Delgado (13.1) and rank 19th nationally in rebounding margin (plus-6.7). That should be a clear advantage against the Razorbacks, who rank 197th in Division I entering Thursday’s games.
DEPTH: Arkansas has the deeper bench. The Razorbacks have nine players seeing double-figure minutes compared to seven for the Pirates. Coach Mike Anderson says his team has to limit the Pirates to one shot and then attack in transition.
DID YOU KNOW: Seton Hall hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2004 thanks to one-and-done appearances in 2006 and last year sandwiched around the long drought.
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