No. 15 Oral Roberts is into the Sweet 16 of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, the second 15 seed ever to do it after Florida Gulf Coast in 2013.
ORU will face the No. 3 seed in Arkansas, who was able to hold off Texas Tech in a thrilling 68-66 victory.
These two teams met in Fayetteville on December 20. ORU led at half, but the Razorbacks offensive rebounding was too much for the Golden Eagles to hold on. Arkansas won 87-76.
How will the rematch go? Let’s break it down.
Odds courtesy of BetMGM
No. 3 Arkansas Razorbacks (-11, 159) vs. No. 15 Oral Roberts Golden Eagles, 7:25 PM EST, Saturday
Yes, these two met in December and Oral Roberts jumped out to a lead, but Arkansas hit on four of their 24 three-point attempts in that one.
The key figure in that game was the Razorbacks massive rebounding advantage. The team was able to out rebound ORU 58-32, including 24 offensive rebounds.
I do expect the Razorbacks to handle the Golden Eagles in the rematch. Arkansas is comfortable going up and down with the No. 15 seed, they play at the 17th fastest tempo in the country, while dominating on the glass once again.
Razorbacks big men Justin Smith and Jaylin Williams should be able to generate a ton of second chances for the team, exploiting Oral Roberts 332nd defensive rebounding rate.
Oral Roberts has gotten heroic efforts from Max Abmas and Kevin Obanor in their two tournament victories, but Eric Musselman has a bevy of defenders to throw on them.
Freshman Davonte Davis is one to keep an eye on. He brought a ton of energy to the Hogs second round victory over Texas Tech, playing 37 minutes.
The 6’3” guard only played nine minutes in the first meeting, but I expect him to be tasked with shadowing Abmas around the court on Saturday.
Sure, Oral Roberts can get hot from three and stay at arm's length, but this Arkansas team wants to run and the Golden Eagles are going to play right into their hands. With extra possessions and a pronounced edge on the glass, I expect the Razorbacks to take care of business.
My play for this game would be on the over. I’m not sure how Oral Roberts plans to stop Arkansas, but either way both teams play at a top-50 pace and there should be plenty of opportunities to score.
This should be a fun game, but ultimately Arkansas keeps chugging along to the Elite 8.
Lean: Over 159
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