Arizona hasn't been able to bust through the Sweet 16 barrier at the NCAA Tournament. Arkansas hopes it stays that way.
The Arkansas Razorbacks won't be favored to beat the Arizona Wildcats in the West Regional semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night in San Jose. However, Arkansas knows it can take down the big boys. The Hogs memorably beat No. 1 seed Gonzaga as a 4 seed in 2022. The Razorbacks went to the West Regional final before losing to Duke. The setup is similar this time, with fourth-seeded UA playing a No. 1 seed in the Sweet 16.
One advantage Arkansas clearly has in this game is that it has Darius Acuff and Arizona does not. Arkansas has the player who is most likely to be the best performer on the court. If Acuff plays up to his potential, the Hogs should be right there with a chance to win going into the final few minutes of regulation.
One other advantage Arkansas potentially has is that Arizona coaches and players will be carrying a very big burden going into Thursday night in Silicon Valley. Arizona has not gotten past the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament since 2015. It's a dramatic and puzzling 11-year drought for an established college basketball power.
In 2017, Arizona came to San Jose for another West Regional semifinal. The second-seeded Wildcats were shocked by 11th-seeded Xavier. Arizona knew that year's Final Four was in suburban Phoenix (Glendale), and they would have had a huge crowd advantage had they gotten that far. The loss to Xavier was a crusher, in many ways the loss Arizona hasn't yet recovered from nine years later.
In 2022, Arizona was a No. 1 seed but got knocked off in the Sweet 16 by the fifth-seeded Houston Cougars.
In 2024, Arizona was a No. 2 seed in the West. Once again, the Final Four was set for Glendale. Once again, the Wildcats could not get past the Sweet 16. They lost to sixth-seeded Clemson in another heartbreaker. Arizona's offense could not get going in a sluggish, nervy slugfest which has become typical of how Arizona has performed in the Sweet 16. The offense stops performing and the team loses its rhythm and confidence. The questions mount every year. They're always the same, but that repeated drumbeat -- "When are you ever going to get past the Sweet 16?" -- clearly weighs on coaches and players. It's a real barrier Arizona will have to break through.
In 2025, Arizona wasn't favored to advance, but the Wildcats nevertheless lost in the Sweet 16 as a No. 4 seed to top-seeded Duke in the East Regional semifinal round.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd has done nearly everything Wildcat fans possibly could have hoped for. Arizona has been an amazing regular-season team under Lloyd, winning conference regular-season and tournament championships and getting a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed multiple times. The one thing Lloyd hasn't yet done: Get to the Elite Eight and then the Final Four.
It's a burden Arkansas hopes will continue to limit how freely and confidently Arizona plays. A good, strong start by the Hogs might make Arizona doubt itself even more, setting the table for the Razorbacks to earn a spot in Saturday's Elite Eight.