SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Coach John Calipari has made a career of relying on freshman stars to make long NCAA Tournament runs so the fact that he's doing it again at Arkansas with Darius Acuff and Meleek Thomas should come as little surprise.
For Arizona, it's been a bit of a change for coach Tommy Lloyd, the Wildcats have gone from being a veteran-laden team to one that revolves around a talented freshmen duo of Brayden Burries and Koa Peat.
The Sweet 16 matchup in the West region on Thursday night between the top-seeded Wildcats (34-2) and fourth-seeded Razorbacks (28-8) will be the first game ever played in this round when the top two scorers for both teams are freshmen.
“If you have coaches that are confident in the culture of their program, it doesn’t matter what year you are in school to be able to be a significant contributor," Lloyd said Wednesday. “I know, the way our freshmen play, people remind me all the time, like, did you realize your three freshmen were the leading scorer last game? No, I didn’t realize that. But when I’m writing up lineup cards and whatever, or game plans, I don’t write freshman next to their name, either. I just know they’re really good basketball players.”
The winner of the game between the Wildcats (34-2) and the Razorbacks (28-8) will advance to the regional final to play the winner of the game between second-seeded Purdue (29-8) and No. 11 seed Texas (21-14).
The freshmen have carried a heavy load for both Arizona and Arkansas this season with only Duke getting a higher share of its scoring this season from freshmen among NCAA Tournament teams.
Arizona has had more than half of its scoring — 50.3% — come from freshmen with Burries averaging 16 points per game, Peat at 13.7 and Ivan Kharchenko at 10.7. Arkansas ranks third among tournament teams with 44.2% of its scoring coming from freshman led by Acuff’s 23.3 and Thomas’ 15.6.
The Wildcats won the Big 12 regular season and tournament thanks in large part to the play of Peat and Burries. That carried over to the first weekend of the tournament with Burries scoring 34 points last weekend while making seven of eight 3-pointers, while Beat averaged 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
Acuff scored 36 points in the second-round win over High Point for the second most ever for a freshman to De’Aaron Fox’s 39 for Calipari’s Kentucky team against UCLA in the 2017 Sweet 16. His 60 points so far are the most ever for a freshman in the first two rounds and he joined Billy Donovan and Jimmer Fredette as the only players of any class since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 to average at least 30 points and six assists in the first two rounds.
Thomas scored 40 points the first two games, making Arkansas one of two teams alive in the tournament with two players averaging at least 20 points per game in the first two rounds.
Calipari has made a career of relying on freshmen with talented players such as Fox, Derrick Rose, Anthony Davis, Julius Randle, Devin Booker and Karl-Anthony Towns helping fuel long tournament runs at Memphis and Kentucky.
“I would say just it's the confidence that he instills in his players," Thomas said. "He doesn’t want anybody to be shy of their own game. When we commit and we come, and it’s time to hoop in the summer, you put your game on display. From there on, he'll recognize what you do best and he's going to help you.”
Pope's status
Sean Miller is optimistic Texas guard Jordan Pope can play in a homecoming game despite injuring his ankle late in a second-round win over Gonzaga.
“We’re hopeful that he can,” Miller said. “We’ve given him a lot of rest since our last game, and I think he’s really responding to it.”
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Pope, who was born and raised in nearby Oakland, is averaging 13.1 points per game for Texas this season and hit a key 3-pointer late in a first-round win over BYU.
“Jordan has really grown and emerged as our point guard,” Miller said. “We depend on him in just virtually every category. I think his skill set of shooting, his ability to score at the point guard position, it’s really been vital in our biggest victories this year, including the tournament.”
Familiar face
When the brackets were released, Texas forward Camden Heide couldn't help but notice the possible opponent for the Longhorns if they were able to make it from the First Four to the Sweet 16.
Now Heide gets the chance to face Purdue after spending the past two years playing for the Boilermakers.
“I thought that was cool but I didn't focus on this game being a possibility too much,” Heide said. “But now that it's a reality and happening tomorrow, I'm a lot more focused right now.”
Heide said he has exchanged a couple of texts with some of his old friends but the focus for both teams is on reaching the regional final.
“That’s a guy that we lived with for two, three years,” Purdue guard Fletcher Loyer said. “Spent a lot of time with him, put in a lot of work with him, but now it’s the Sweet 16, so it’s time to go and time to focus on that.”
Title drought
Purdue has a history of success as a program but is still seeking its first championship. The Boilermakers have won 53 games in the NCAA Tournament and reached the title game two years ago but hasn’t won it all.
Purdue has the most tournament wins of any school without a title with its opponent on Thursday not far behind. The Longhorns are tied for the fifth-most tournament wins without a championship with 43.
Miller has made the Sweet 16 eight previous times, the most for any coach who hasn’t made the Final Four.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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