Basketball (W)

Preview – Arkansas Faces Kansas in Postseason WNIT Great 8

kylie magar March 25, 2023

FAYETTEVILLE – The Arkansas women’s basketball team (24-12, 7-9 Southeastern Conference) will play on the road for the first time in the team’s 2023 Postseason WNIT run, as the Razorbacks face Kansas (22-11, 9-9 Big 12) in the Great 8 on Sunday, March 26. Gametime is set for 2 p.m. inside the historic Allen Fieldhouse with coverage of the contest being broadcast on ESPN+. This game marks the ninth of the all-time series and the winner of this one will punch a ticket to the Fab 4 and play the winner of Washington versus Oregon.

GAME INFORMATION

Date: Sunday, March 26
Time: 2 p.m.
Opponent: Kansas
Location: Allen Fieldhouse
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Razorback Sports Network from Learfield
Buy Tickets HERE
Arkansas Game Notes
Kansas Game Notes
Live Stats

STORYLINES

  • Arkansas moves on to the Great 8 of the Postseason WNIT, marking the fourth time in program history the Razorbacks have advanced to the fourth round of the tournament
  • This is Arkansas’ first appearance in the Great 8 since 2011 when the field was expanded to 64 teams
  • In Arkansas’ eighth WNIT appearance, the Razorbacks are 1-2 in fourth-round games
  • Arkansas will face a Kansas team that is 22-11 and finished the Big-12 at 9-9, which was seventh in the league. The Jayhawks have been rolling in the Postseason WNIT with decisive victories over WKU (86-72), Missouri (75-47) and Nebraska (64-55) at home
  • The Razorbacks will face the Jayhawks for the ninth time in the all-time series that is tied at 4-4. These two teams last played one another in 2017, resulting in a 71-60 loss for Arkansas on the road
  • In Arkansas’ first two WNIT games, the Razorbacks are holding opponents to 50.0 points per game, including beating a program WNIT record twice in defensive points allowed with Louisiana Tech (47) and then SFA (37)
  • The Razorbacks are 24-12, which marks the program’s 22nd 20-win season, third under Mike Neighbors. This ties for most program wins since 2019-20 when that team went 24-8. Another win would mark the most for Arkansas since 1989-90, as that team finished 25-5
  • This marks the longest season in program history at 139 days
  • Arkansas received the automatic qualifying bid to the WNIT as the SEC’s highest finisher among teams not chosen for the NCAA Tournament
  • This WNIT appearance is Arkansas’ 26th in the postseason, while the Razorbacks are 19-6 in WNIT games
  • In the Neighbors era, this is his fifth postseason appearance with Arkansas (three NCAA Tournaments including 2020 and now two WNITs)
  • Only three schools in the SEC have qualified for postseason tournaments in each of the past five seasons with Arkansas being one of them. Tennessee and South Carolina are the other two
  • Arkansas is coming off a quarterfinal appearance at the SEC Tournament for the fourth time in the last five seasons. The Razorbacks defeated Missouri, 85-74, in the second round, but fell to No. 1, eventual SEC Champion South Carolina, 93-65, in the quarterfinals
  • Arkansas finished the SEC slate 7-9 to come in eighth in the league. Historically for the program, seven wins is tied for the fourth most wins in SEC play
  • The team started the season 13-0 and finished the non-conference slate at 13-2, which was the best start for Arkansas since 2013
  • On the All-SEC teams, Erynn Barnum earned a spot on the SEC Second Team, while Saylor Poffenbarger was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team
  • Barnum leads the team in scoring with 15.1 points and a .563 field goal percentage, which led the SEC for majority of the season. She surpassed 1,000 points in her career and became the 18th Razorback to join the 1,000 points/500 rebound club
  • Barnum was one of 10 candidates for the Katrina McClain Award, given to the best power forward in the country
  • Samara Spencer is the second leading scorer with 14.4 points per game and leads the team in assists with 154. Her 4.3 assists per game is the fifth most in the SEC
  • Makayla Daniels leads the team in steals with 56 and averages 12.7 points per game
  • Daniels keeps moving up in career top 10-20 lists, sitting No. 11 in points (1,442), No. 4 in career starts (121), No. 8 in career 3-pointers (175) and No. 13 in career assists (313)
  • Chrissy Carr logs 11.8 points per game and leads the squad with 85 3-pointers
  • Poffenbarger leads the team in rebounding with 6.9 per game and has 39 blocks. She is also the record holder for single-season defensive rebounds with 219, while being the first Hog to pull down 200+ defensive boards in a season (since the stat has been tracked)
  • The team is second in least turnovers committed per game in the SEC with 13.4 per game
  • Arkansas gets to the line 23.47 times per game, which is second in the conference and sixth in the country. The Razorbacks’ 15.78 makes from the free throw line per game is third in the SEC and 12th in the NCAA
  • Arkansas leads the SEC in 3-point attempts per game (27.3), which is ninth in the country, and No. 2 in 3-pointers per game (8.3) in the league. For the program, Arkansas set a record for 3-point attempts in a season (984) and is second in 3-pointers made in a season (298)

 SCOUTING KANSAS

  • The Jayhawks are 22-11, while having finished seventh in the Big 12 with a 9-9 mark. Kansas was the first team left out of the NCAA Tournament
  • Alike Arkansas, almost all five of Kansas’ starters are averaging double digits with the fifth leading scorer just shy of putting up 10 points per game
  • Zakiyah Franklin leads Kansas with 15.8 points per game, while pacing the team in assists with 107 total. She was an All-Big 12 First Team selection
  • A double-double machine with 20 this year, All-Big 12 First Team and All-Defensive Team choice Taiyanna Jackson registers 15.0 points and a team-leading 12.5 rebounds per game. She also has a team’s most 99 blocks
  • Holly Kersgieter was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection and leads the team in steals with 58, while also averaging 13.8 points per game. Wyvette Mayberry logs 11.4 points per game
  • Kansas fell to TCU in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament, 57-52
  • The Jayhawks are rolling in the Postseason WNIT, beating WKU (67-72) and Missouri (75-47), while also coming off a 64-55 victory over Nebraska in the Super 16
  • Brandon Schneider has built something special for the women’s program in Lawrence, as he is in his eighth season at the helm after leading the 2021-22 team to the program’s largest win improvement, the first 20-win season since 2012-13 and an NCAA Tournament First Round win over Georgia Tech (77-58)

HISTORY AGAINST THE JAYHAWKS

  • Sunday’s game marks the ninth of the all-time series and will serve as a tiebreaker, as the two teams are 4-4 in games played head-to-head
  • The last game of the series was played in the non-conference slate in 2017, as the Razorbacks fell 71-60 in Lawrence
  • This series’ first game was played in 1983 on a neutral floor in Minneapolis, as Arkansas won 72-53
  • Arkansas is 1-2 in games played in Lawrence
  • These two teams have played one another in the postseason twice, sharing a 1-1 record after facing each other in the NCAA Tournament in 1998 in Oakland, California (W, 79-63) and 2009 in Manhattan, Kansas (L, 75-59)

 LAST TIME OUT

  • In a game of many runs, Arkansas gutted out a 71-66 win over Texas Tech at home in the Postseason WNIT to advance to the Great 8 for the first time since 2011, while marking the fourth time the Razorbacks have moved on to the fourth round of the tournament
  • Arkansas began the game on a 15-0 run, and although the teams were tied at halftime, the Razorbacks outscored the Lady Raiders 19-14 in the third quarter
  • Senior Daniels was a difference maker, scoring 16 of her team-leading 21 points in the second half. She also pulled down eight rebounds, drew eight fouls to go 8-of-10 from the free throw line and had three assists
  • Carr made two of her four 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter, which were huge, as she finished with 17 points
  • Spencer found her way in double digits in scoring once again with 10 points, while also drawing eight fouls and getting three assists and two steals
  • Jersey Wolfenbarger continues to provide a big spark off the bench, logging eight points off 3-of-5 shooting from the field
  • Arkansas outscored Texas Tech in second-chance points, 16-8, and fast break points, 15-2
  • The Razorbacks logged 11 3-pointers

WNIT HISTORY

  • Arkansas has played in the WNIT /NWIT/AIAW 12 times, with this year marking the program’s 13th appearance
  • The Razorbacks are now 19-6 in the WNIT in its eighth appearance, 4-2 in the NWIT with two appearances and 3-3 in the AIAW Tournament with three appearances
  • In fourth round games played in the WNIT, Arkansas is 1-2
  • Arkansas is a perfect 7-0 in the first round of the WNIT after its win over LA Tech in the first round of the 2023 Postseason WNIT
  • The team’s last appearance in the WNIT came in 2019, where Arkansas made it to the third round. Arkansas defeated Houston (88-80 in OT) and UAB (100-52) before losing to TCU (82-78) in all games played in Fayetteville. The program used the WNIT as a jump starter in which the team went on to qualify for three straight NCAA Tournaments
  • Arkansas won the WNIT in 1999 with its 67-64 win over Wisconsin in the championship game breaking a Bud Walton Arena attendance record at 14,163, which is the fifth best attendance in WNIT history
  • Past WNIT champions are programs that have fared well in the previous years. South Dakota State (2022) was an NCAA Tournament team this year along with Arizona (2019), 2023 No. 1 seed Indiana (2018), Michigan (2017) and UCLA (2015)

UPCOMING

The winner of Sunday’s game will advance to the Fab 4, with those games being played on Tuesday, March 28 and Wednesday, March 29.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about Arkansas Women’s Basketball, follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @RazorbackWBB and on Facebook at Facebook.com/RazorbackWBB. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel, “Kickin’ It In The Neighborhood” for an inside look at the Razorback women’s basketball program and check out The Neighborhood podcasts at CoachNeighbors.com.

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