When the brackets came out, this Calipari vs. Pitino matchup was one I was really hoping for. Arkansas is more talented than their seed would suggest, and I would be fairly surprised if this game isn't decided in the final minute or two. Take the points.

There aren’t many coaches in America that I want on a two-day turnaround, with a quick scout and implementation of a gameplan, than Rick Pitino. The Johnnies may have gotten off to a slow start against Omaha but they hit enough shots in the second half to think that if Arkansas gives them open looks they can make the Razorbacks pay in a way that Kansas could not in its second-half drought. St. John’s is 11-3-1 against the spread in road or neutral games this season, because defense travels and Pitino gets this group ready for war every time they’re in hostile territory.

Johnnies offense continued to evolve as the season went along and they are in ripe form against a fairly middling Arkansas team. SEC second-class getting picked off pretty early in this tourney, eh? Razorbacks can't rebound well (12th in SEC in reb margin) and facing a team that owns the glass. ARK really suffers to get offensive rebounds and second chance shots and are bad from 3 (33%). STJ allows just 31% from behind arc and are elite defensively overall. Johnies cover 5 straight and 11-3-1 ATS in road/neutral spots. ARK 7-10 ATS in R/N. STJ can bully them some here and are the super team at both ends of the court. SJU averaging 81.6/G over last 5 games.