In Saturday night NCAA Tournament second round action, the New Mexico State Aggies will battle the Arkansas Razorbacks from the KeyBank Center. The 12th seeded Aggies (27-6) won the Western Athletic Conference Tournament and are allowing 65 points per game. On Thursday, New Mexico State built a ten-point halftime lead and held off a late UConn rally to earn a 70-63 victory.
New Mexico State G Teddy Allen converted all 13 free throws and finished with a game-high 37 points. The rest of the starting lineup combined for 26 points on 10-for-20 from the field.
The Arkansas Razorbacks finished Southeastern Conference play with an impressive 13-5 record and rank 48th nationally in scoring (76.9 ppg). On Thursday, Arkansas made the plays down the stretch to earn a 75-71 victory versus Vermont. The fourth-seeded Razorbacks (26-8) outrebounded the Catamounts by a 39-32 margin and converted 20-for-25 from the free-throw line.
Arkansas G Stanley Umude played all 40 minutes and led all scorers with 21 points (6-11 FG). JD Notae added 17 points, seven rebounds, and four assists for the Razorbacks.