No. 6-seeded Arizona squares off against 11th-seeded Belmont in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at EnergySolutions Arena on Thursday. The game tips off at 7:20 p.m. ET and it can be seen on TNT.

In their last outing, despite 15 points from Brandon Ashley, the Wildcats fell to UCLA 66-64 on Mar. 15. He is putting up 7.7 points per game while also averaging 5.3 rebounds per game. For the Bruins, J.J. Mann put up 18 points and seven rebounds in the 70-68 win over Murray State on Mar. 9. He averages 10.5 points per game in addition to a team-best 1.9 steals per game. Belmont ranks first in their conference in effective field goal percentage at 57.0, which also places them third in the country.

Belmont StatSmack

  • The worst team in the Pac-12 has a much higher RPI than the worst team in the Ohio Valley (No. 187 vs. No. 323).
  • The Pac-12 has 3 teams - Oregon (37.4), California (37.2), and Colorado (37.2) - that secure more rebounds per game than the Ohio Valley leader, Morehead State (37.1).
  • Diaper Dandies love Arizona. Arizona has recruited more McDonald's All-Americans out of high school than Belmont (17 vs. 0).
  • The top-ranking players between the two conferences for rebounds, field goals made, free throws made, assists, steals, and blocks are in the Pac-12.
  • Over the past 10 years, Arizona has had more players drafted by the NBA than Belmont (10 vs. zero).
  • Since 1998, Arizona has recruited more Top 10 high school players than Belmont (three vs. zero).
  • Arizona players are more experienced than Belmont players (17,961 minutes played vs. 17,747 minutes played).
  • Arizona is bigger. The average weight of the top 8 players on Arizona is 220 lbs compared to 200 lbs for Belmont.
  • Arizona has more NCAA Tournament appearances over the last 10 years than Belmont (eight vs. five).
  • Belmont has been ducking Arizona for over 30 years.
  • Arizona has a better record in close games than Belmont this season (6-2 vs. 3-3).