NCAA Tournament: Rebounding will be key for UNC against Arkansas

What must UNC do to beat Arkansas on Sunday and advance to another Sweet 16? We break down the biggest key

Eight teams booked their tickets to the Sweet 16 on Saturday and eight more will look to do the same on Sunday in the NCAA Tournament.

One of those matchups is the North Carolina Tar Heels and Arkansas Razorbacks who will meet in Greenville, South Carolina. The Tar Heels took care of Texas Southern in the first round on Friday and the Razorbacks survived a tough Seton Hall team.

Now both teams are looking to advance.

For the Tar Heels, one of the biggest factors will be rebounding. They are one of the best rebounding teams in the country and have used it to their advantage all season long.

In Friday’s win over the Tigers, UNC dominated the glass.

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The Tar Heels outrebounded the Tigers 54-27 and owned the glass from the start of the game. It helped UNC build an early lead and they never looked back.

But Sunday’s competition will be a little more difficult.

The Razorbacks are no pushovers and will provide the first challenge for the Tar Heels in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

If UNC wants to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third-straight season, they will need to be good on the glass once again.

That starts on the offensive end.

The Tar Heels are statistically the best offensive rebounding team in the country at a rate of 41.3 percent. That is actually up to 44.7 percent in the Tar Heels last 3 games against Miami, Duke and Texas Southern.

UNC is also plus 13 rebounding margin per game, the best in the country.

Meanwhile, the Razorbacks are not very good on the offensive glass. As a team, Arkansas is 83rd in the nation at 30.1 percent.

That’s a big advantage for UNC.

What makes the Tar Heels so difficult to defend against is their dominance inside and ability to get second-chance points.

Led by seniors Isaiah Hicks and Kennedy Meeks, the Tar Heels are a force in the paint. Freshman Tony Bradley Jr. has played his role as well.

Bradley Jr. is among the best offensive rebounders in the country in just his first season with the Tar Heels.

So what must Arkansas do? Well, rebounding well on defense and keeping UNC out of the paint are the biggest ones.

The Tar Heels average 40 points per game in the paint, good for third in the country. Some of those points come from offensive rebounds which lead to second-chance points.

Arkansas gave up 21 offensive rebounds to the Pirates in their first round game. They also allowed the Pirates to outrebound them 46-32 and have their way in the paint.

But somehow Arkansas survived.

If Arkansas wants to pull off the upset and advance, they are going to need big days from Moses Kingsley and Dustin Thomas.

Kinglsey finished with 23 points and 6 rebounds against Seton Hall. Meanwhile, Thomas had a 13-point and 5 rebound game against the Pirates.

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If UNC can control the pace of the game and dominate the boards, we will likely be seeing them in Memphis next week.

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