BUFFALO, N.Y. — No. 17 Arkansas (seeded fourth) will face Vermont (seeded 13th) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Tipoff is set for 8:20 p.m. and the game will be televised on TNT.
Arkansas earned a No. 4 seed in the West Region after finishing fourth during the SEC regular season and reaching the SEC Tournament semifinal.
Vermont was the America East regular-season (17-1) and tournament champions. Both teams finished the season hot as the Razorbacks won 15 of their last 18 games — including eight wins versus NCAA Quad 1 teams — while the Catamounts won 22 of their last 23.
• This will be the first meeting between Arkansas and Vermont. However, coach Eric Musselman is 1-0 against the Catamounts as his Nevada squad beat Vermont in the CBI semifinal in 2016.
• Arkansas earns its 35th NCAA bid and 2nd straight. Last year, Arkansas advanced to the NCAA Elite 8 before falling to eventual national champion Baylor.
• The Razorbacks own a 45-33 all-time record in NCAA action.
• This is the sixth time in program history Arkansas has earned a No. 4 seed and the 13th time to be among the top-4 seeds since the NCAA began its current seeding process for the 1979 championship. The previous No. 4 seeds came in 1999, 1993, 1990, 1983 and 1982.
• Arkansas is 17-8 in NCAA Tournament first round games.
• Arkansas 0-1 all-time in Buffalo. On Jan. 1, 1944, Arkansas lost to a George Mikan-led DePaul team, 59-30, at Buffalo’s Memorial Auditorium.
NCAA Tournament, Round 1
Arkansas vs. Vermont
Current Records: No. 4 seed Arkansas Razorbacks (25-8) vs. No. 13 seed Vermont Catamounts (28-5)
Date-Time: Thursday, March 17 at approximately 8:30 p.m.
Where: Keybank Center (20,500), Buffalo, N.Y.
TV/Streaming: TNT (Brad Nessler, Brendan Haywood and Evan Washburn).
Radio: There is no online streaming. Listen to Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman on the radio at ESPN Arkansas 99.5 in Fayetteville, 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and central Arkansas, 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home and on satellite radio at Sirius 136 and XM 203.
Sportsbook Info (via BetOnline.ag)
Spread: Arkansas -4.5 (-112), Vermont +4.5 (-108)
Total: 139.5 – Over: -205, Under: -175
Moneyline: Arkansas -105, Vermont -115
