No. 12 Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans vs No. 5 Purdue Boilermakers
Making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011 and just the fifth in school history, Arkansas-Little Rock will have its work cut out in the first round as a No. 12 seed. The Trojans have one of the best records of any team in this year’s field at 29-4 and the Sun Belt regular season and tourney champion will be on upset watch early.
Related Story: Best live streams to watch TV shows, sports online
The Trojans are one of the best defensive teams in the nation, allowing just 59 points per game which ranks third, but they don’t score many points, either. Josh Hagins and Marcus Johnson Jr. are the only two who average in double figures at 12.8 and 12.7 points per game, respectively. However, defense wins championships.
The Big Ten received little to no respect from the NCAA selection committee this season and the Purdue Boilermakers were one of a number of victims of poor seeding. The Boilermakers were the No. 13 team in the country heading into the Big Ten Tournament, made it to the title game and hung with No. 2 Michigan State before losing by four and dropped to a five seed.
A.J. Hammons, Isaac Haas and Caleb Swanigan make up one of the most formidable post presences in the entire country. The trio has been feared by Big Ten opponents all season long and it takes a special team to slow them down. Hammons averages 14.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.4 blocks, Haas puts up 9.9 points and 3.8 boards while Swanigan adds 10.4 points and 8.2 rebounds.
Details for Thursday’s Arkansas-Little Rock vs Purdue game are below:
Date: Thursday, March 17
Start Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
Location: Denver, CO
Stadium: Pepsi Center
TV Info: TBS
Live Stream: March Madness Live
Radio: For Arkansas-Little Rock radio affiliates, click here. For Purdue radio affiliates, click here.
For more March Madness coverage, visit our hub page.