NCAA Tournament First Round Time Set For Utes Against Arkansas
Mar 14, 2022, 2:19 PM
(Photo courtesy of the Pac-12 Conference)
SALT LAKE CITY –ย After finding out on Sunday that they would be heading to Austin, TX for the first round of the 2022 NCAA women’s basketball tournament, all that was unknown is when the Utes would tip-off against the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Bring on the madness. ๐ #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/MShN5OWThr
— Utah Womenโs Basketball (@UTAHWBB) March 14, 2022
The NCAA announced on the morning of Monday, March 14 that the seventh-seeded Utes will face the Razorbacks at 3:30 p.m. (MST) on Friday, March 18. The game will be played at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin.
Utah is making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2011 when, as a 15-seed, they fell 67-54 to Notre Dame in the first round.
The stage is set. ๐
๐ No. 10 seed Arkansas
๐ 3:30pm MT
๐บ ESPNews
๐ Austin, Texas
๐๏ธ Frank Erwin Center#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/JHJ2QupbiQ— Utah Womenโs Basketball (@UTAHWBB) March 14, 2022
The Utes earned an at-large bid after collecting the 29th 20-win season in program history, finishing the season 20-11. Utah closed out the season on a strong note, winning three games at the Pac-12 Tournament and advancing to its first championship game appearance.
Utah is the highest-scoring team in the Pac-12 (17th NCAA), averaging 76.0 points per game, and is on pace for the third-highest figure in school history and highest since 1980-81.
The Utes also leads the Pac-12 in assists (32nd NCAA; 473), assists per game (47th NCAA; 15.3), three-pointers made (5th NCAA; school-record 291), three-point attempts (6th NCAA; 825), free throws made (11th NCAA; 452) and free throw attempts (37th NCAA; 578).
Their opponent, Arkansas, finished the season with an 18-13 overall and 7-9 in SEC play.
Amber Ramirez is their leading scorer with 15.1 points per game. Makayla Daniels (13.8), Samara Spencer (12.0) and Sasha Goforth (11.7) are the rest of the Arkansas players that average double figures per game. Goforth has 150 rebounds on the season to lead the team. Spencer has dished out the most assists for the Razorbacks with 93.
๐ Letโs Dance ๐
We were picked a 7๏ธโฃ seed and will take on the No. 10 seed Arkansas Razorbacks on Friday, March 18th in Austin, Texas! ๐ #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/Lqk7kvE1Cg
— Utah Womenโs Basketball (@UTAHWBB) March 14, 2022
As a team, Arkansas shot 41% from the field, 32% from the three-point line and 67% from the free throw line.
The game will be broadcast on ESPNews. The winner will play the winner of Two-seed Texas vs. fifteen-seed Fairfield.