The Arkansas Razorbacks men’s basketball team is going dancing in the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year under Head Coach Eric Musselman. The 8-seeded Hogs (20-13, 8-10 SEC) tip off against 9-seeded Illinois (20-12, 11-9 Big 10) at 3:30 p.m. Thursday on TBS. The Hogs are in the West region of the bracket and the game will take place in Des Moines, Iowa, at Wells Fargo Arena.

Coming off back to back Elite Eight appearances in the tournament — coupled with the signing of freshmen McDonald’s All American 5-star recruits Nick Smith Jr., Anthony Black and Jordan Walsh — expectations were high this year. But the Razorbacks suffered injuries. Smith, a Jacksonville native and a projected NBA lottery pick, was out for more than a month with a knee injury. Trevon Brazile, a standout sophomore Missouri transfer (and surely a dunk of the year candidate), suffered a season ending ACL tear in December. Being down two starters for much of the season made it fair to question whether the team would even make the tournament. But despite the chaos and the team’s sometimes erratic play, Musselman’s Hogs still finished the season ranked #21 in the NET rankings.

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I’ve listened to several gambling podcasts and college basketball podcasts this week to prepare for the tournament in hopes of making some serious cash, and I’ve heard many people predict that Hogs could make some noise in this year’s tournament.

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From a metrics standpoint, Arkansas and Illinois look shockingly similar.

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The betting line on the game on the Bet Saracen app has the Razorbacks favored by 2.5 points. I don’t bet on the Hogs, but I’m taking them with extreme confidence in my annual March Madness bracket pool. Arkansas Times editor Lindsey Millar has them cutting down the nets in Houston after defeating Alabama in the finals (Editor’s note: He knows it’s dumb but has always felt that true fans are obligated to pick their team to win it all every time they make the tourney). I’m happy to lose all my bets and tear up my sheets if Millar’s correct.

If the Hogs win today, they’ll likely meet No. 1 seed Kansas on Saturday. Let the madness begin.

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