No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 4 Arkansas NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 predictions: Odds, stats, trends, and best bets

The West Region’s top seed, the Arizona Wildcats take the court in the Sweet 16 Thursday night in San Jose against the No. 4 seeded Arkansas Razorbacks. Arizona enters the matchup with one of the nation’s most efficient offenses AND defenses.

Led by floor general Jaden Bradley and a stellar freshman trio of Brayden Burries , Ivan Kharchenkov , and Koa Peat , the Wildcats are elite at both ends of the court. Arkansas, though, will not blink having won seven games in a row including an SEC Tournament title. This matchup features a clash of styles, as Arkansas, led by freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr.

—who has averaged 30 points over his last five games—thrives in a fast-paced, open court game. However, they will face a stingy Arizona defense that ranks fourth nationally in offensive rebounding rate and can punish teams inside with center Motiejus Krivas . While Arkansas will look to create chaos in transition and Arizona prefers a more methodical approach, the Wildcats will get their points regardless of the tempo as they have scored at least 79 points in 25 of their games…and are 25-0 in those games.

Due to injuries, John Calipari’s Razorbacks have leaned on a tight six-man rotation of late. The status of starting center Nick Pringle (hamstring) and forward Trevon Brazile (upper body) is questionable. Of the two, Brazile is more likely to go but Arkansas truly needs both.