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The 2016 NCAA Tournament has certainly been filled with plenty of surprises and one of those surprises are the Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans who upset the No. 5 seeded Purdue Boilermakers in double overtime on Thursday night. The Trojans now move on to play the Iowa State Cyclones, who took down Iona 94-81, in the Round of 32.
The Cyclones were led by senior forward Georges Niang, who posted 28 points and 6 rebounds, and junior guard Monte Morris, who added 20 points and 8 assists. Iowa State shot 50 percent from the field, 45.5 percent from three and 80 percent from the free-throw line.
In their win over Purdue, the Trojans were led by senior guard Josh Hagins who went off in his first career NCAA Tournament game. He knocked down 10-of-20 shots from the field, 3-0f-7 from the 3-point line and 8-0f-10 from the charity-stripe to finish with 31 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals in a performance for the ages.
What To Watch For
This game will feature an interesting clash of styles. The Trojans are a defensive-minded team who finished third in the nation in points allowed per game at 63. On the other end of the spectrum is Iowa State that scores 81.8 points per game, which is good for 15th in the country.
Arkansas-Little Rock has to clamp down on defense and make sure they get out to shooters. At any time, at least four players in the Cyclones’ lineup will have the ability to knock down threes. That makes it extremely important for the Trojans to close out to the 3-point line.
Iowa State will have to knock down shots when they have them. The Cyclones are one of the worst defensive teams in college basketball which means the Trojans will likely be able to score on them despite their offensive deficiencies. That means Iowa State can’t be slowed by this impressive Arkansas-Little Rock defense.
Prediction
The Trojans showed in their game against Purdue that they aren’t going to back down. They’re fearless, confident and feel like they can play with anyone. On the strength of Hagins, I’m going to roll with the upset as Arkansas-Little Rock disposes of the defensively inept Cyclones and advance to the Sweet 16.
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