Sweet 16 Odds: Arkansas vs. Oral Roberts Spread, Total for NCAA Tournament 2021

Arkansas is a double-digit favorite over Oral Roberts in this weekend's Sweet 16, which begins Saturday.

The 15th-seeded Eagles have already pulled off two big upsets as nearly a double-digit dog, shocking Ohio State in the opener, then beating Florida.

Arkansas survived a thriller against Texas Tech in the second round. We actually project this line at Razorbacks -12.9.

How & Oral Roberts Match Up

What To Know About Arkansas

The knock on Arkansas through late January was the lack of Quadrant 1 victories. Since then, the Razorbacks have won 11 straight conference games led by the most ebullient head coach in Division I, Eric Musselman.

The coaching job has been an absolute masterpiece after losing two stars to the NBA in Mason Jones and Isaiah Joe. Musselman gets the most out of a roster that entered the season 339th in minutes continuity. The Hogs have been one of the best in SEC in ball security and continually increased productivity in the paint with the return of Justin Smith from injury in mid-January. The season-long statistics do not do the Razorbacks justice for how efficient they have been over their nine-game winning streak leading up to the SEC semis since they got fully healthy.

Freshman Moses Moody was named the all-SEC Team, with Justin Smith being named to the second team all-SEC. How scorching is Razorback basketball? Per Torvik, only Illinois has more wins above bubble in the nation since Feb. 1. There really are no glaring holes for the speedy Hogs who deserve to be in the conversation as a potential final four team. — Collin Wilson

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What To Know About Oral Roberts

Oral Roberts is not known for its defense. In fact, this is probably the worst defense in the field from an advanced metrics standpoint. The Golden Eagles also are extremely vulnerable on the glass on both ends. However, they have an absolutely explosive offense that ranks in the 98th percentile in the half-court, per Synergy.

ORU prefers to play fast, doesn’t turn it over, takes and makes a lot of 3s (38.8%) and is automatic at the free-throw line (82.6%).

Almost all of that firepower comes from two players who will play professionally in some capacity: Max Abmas and Kevin Obanor. Those two will try their best to put up a combined 70 points in the first round. I’m not sure how they could ever get enough stops to pull off an upset, but it will be fun to watch Abmas and Obanor try. — Stuckey