KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When the Arkansas Razorbacks take the court Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, they’ll square off against the Kansas Jayhawks.
On Friday, a pair of Razorbacks said the West Region’s top-seeded Jayhawks remind them of one of Arkansas’s SEC rivals, the Missouri Tigers.
The comparison comes after the Jayhawks turned away Howard University 96-68 and the Razorbacks fended off the University of Illinois 73-63 in their respective first round games.
Arkansas players Jordan Walsh and Kamani Johnson both compared the Jayhawks style to rival Missouri Tigers when asked for a comparison.
Sooooo Arkansas players just compared KU to Mizzou when asked who the Jayhawks remind them of in the SEC 👀 pic.twitter.com/ifAohIlAuI
— Abby Dodge (@Abby_OnAir) March 17, 2023
"They play four guards, their pace is really high," Johnson said. "They shoot the ball a lot and move the ball pretty well."
Both players highlighted star Mizzou forward Kobe Brown as the reason for the similarities.
"When Kobe Brown is at the 5(Center) and the way they move the ball," Johnson said. "They run really well in the transition."
However, Walsh backtracked on that stance a bit calling the Jayhawks a different team than what they have faced in the Southeastern Conference.
"They're a different team but they have some similarities to some SEC schools," Walsh said. "They have their own wrinkles. They have a five man(lineup) who wants to make plays on the perimeter, throwing bullet passes through the defense to someone like Gradey Dick."
Both players also highlighted Texas A&M as another comparison to the Jayhawks, however Kansas will last longer than the Aggies did in the NCAA Tournament as they were blown out by Big Ten Tournament runner-up Penn State Thursday.
The Jayhawks will play on Saturday against the Razorbacks at 4:15 p.m. in Des Moines, Iowa, with the winner advancing to play in the Sweet 16 in Las Vegas.
