No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 13 Vermont preview for March Madness first-round matchup

The NCAA Tournament begins on Tuesday, March 15th with the First Four, and then moves on to the first round on Thursday, March 17 and Friday, March 18. No. 4 seed Arkansas will face No. 13 seed Vermont in the first round on Thursday. Here’s an early look at what we can expect from the Razorbacks and Catamounts in this year’s March Madness Tournament.

Once the odds from DraftKings Sportsbook are made available for this game, we’ll add that information below. We’ll also add the game time and TV channel once it’s settled.

Game date: Thursday, March 17
Game time: 9:20 p.m.
TV channel: TNT
Location: Buffalo, NY

Odds: Arkansas -5.5

No. 4 Arkansas

After leading the Razorbacks to the Elite 8 last season, Eric Musselman has Arkansas in a good position for another deep postseason run. They’ve shown they can beat the top teams as well, knocking off Auburn while they were ranked No. 1. They’re an experienced team as well with JD Notae (senior), Stanley Umude (senior) and Au’Diese Toney (senior) all getting significant minutes.

Record: 25-8, 13-5 SEC
KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency: 40
KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency: 16
Against The Spread: 20-13-0
Over Total: 20-13-0
Odds to win NCAA Championship: +4500

No. 13 Vermont

The Catamounts won the America East conference tournament with minimal issues, cementing their status as the league’s powerhouse program in recent years. Vermont has not been able to parlay the America East success into NCAA tournament wins, which will be the next step for this team. Look for Ryan Davis and Ben Shungu to continue being impact players for this team as it looks to make a run in March.

Record: 28-5, 17-1 America East
KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency: 45
KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency: 74
Against The Spread: 19-13
Over Total: 18-14
Odds to win NCAA Championship: +50000