Arkansas vs. Hawaii: NCAA Tournament Predictions & Preview

The 2026 NCAA Tournament is officially here! The March Madness Bracket is set, and first-round NCAA Tournament matchups are in place. It’s time to make your picks and predictions for the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament! We’re here to help as we’ll have picks and predictions for each of the first round 2026 NCAA Tournament games. Here are our NCAA Tournament predictions and preview for Arkansas vs. Hawai’i.

2026 NCAA Tournament Predictions & Preview: Arkansas vs. Hawai’i

Here are the odds for this opening-round matchup of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Let’s dive into our preview and predictions for this NCAA Tournament matchup.

Arkansas 2026 NCAA Tournament Preview

John Calipari’s second year in Fayetteville has produced something genuinely special. Darius Acuff Jr. won both SEC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors, becoming just the third player in conference history to sweep both awards, alongside Anthony Davis and Brandon Miller. That's good company.

The freshman point guard averaged 22.2 points and 6.4 assists with a low turnover rate. He then backed it up with 37 points on 21 shot attempts against Oklahoma in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals to put any doubts about his ankle to rest. Texas coach Sean Miller called Acuff the best point guard he had ever been on a court with. That’s not hyperbole. Acuff is a generational offensive talent who can score from anywhere, create for others, and make the correct late-game read against any defense. If you don't know his name now, you will soon Trevon Brazile gives Arkansas a veteran safety valve in the frontcourt Brazile is a senior who delivered 28 points against Texas and hit a clutch overtime three to beat Missouri without Acuff in the lineup. Meleek Thomas is a fellow McDonald’s All-American freshman who gives this roster a second dangerous creator off the wing, shooting nearly 42% from deep. The Razorbacks take care of the ball at the best rate in the country with a 12% turnover rate, leading to an offense ranking top five in adjusted efficiency. Another interesting note is that no offense has been better in the second half of the season than Arkansas. Look for some second-half overs for any matchup Calipari's squad may find themselves in.

The problem areas are the defense and the glass. Arkansas got blown out by 34 at Florida when the Gators controlled the paint completely. Karter Knox is out for the season with a meniscus injury that has shortened the rotation. Calipari scheduled a tough non-con slate, facing three of the top-10 teams in the country. It's a benefit to prepare them for tournament basketball, but Arkansas lost all four games. Against elite frontcourts that can take away paint penetration and exploit the rebounding margins, the Razorbacks have shown flaws.

But this team is better and more talented than the Sweet 16 squad from a year ago that was a shot away from the Elite Eight. Assuming Acuff is healthy, he has the potential to put the team on his back more than potentially any other player in this tournament. The defense will need to be better, especially around the hoop, but it's hard to find a squad with a wider range of outcomes than the Razorbacks.

Hawai’i 2026 NCAA Tournament Preview

This is the last ride for a program that leaves the Big West for the Mountain West next season, and coach Eran Ganot made sure it ended with a championship. Hawaii beat UC Irvine 71-64 in the Big West title game on Saturday, earning the program’s first conference tournament crown since Ganot’s debut season in 2016. The Rainbow Warriors finished 24-8 overall after posting their third 20-win season in the past four years, and the identity is defense. KenPom rates Hawaii’s adjusted defensive efficiency at 42nd nationally. The team ranks 10th in defensive rebounding, 16th in opponent effective field goal percentage, 29th in opponent three-point percentage, and ranks third in the country in opponent assist rate per game. They are physical and disruptive with their no-help defense and simply do not give teams easy looks, forcing a lot of not-at-the-rim twos.

Isaac Johnson is the center of gravity on both ends. The 7-foot senior led the team in scoring at 14.1 points per game and rebounding with 5.8 boards a game, shot 88 percent from the free throw line, drained 31 threes, blocked 30 shots, and was named Tournament MVP after dropping 22 in the championship game. Dre Bullock, the team's second leading scorer, was a second-team All-Big West selection and hit the buzzer-beater at Cal State Fullerton that clinched the team’s top-two seed. Hunter Erickson stepped in as the primary ball-handler after the team lost two point guards to season-ending injuries and never let the operation slip. Hawaii's offense is a big question, ranking outside the top-200 nationally, but they get to the charity stripe at a top-30 clip nationally. The Rainbow Warriors went 6-2 in non-con play and jump to 82nd nationally on Torvik when storting for such games. They also had the second easiest non-conference strength of schedule, it's tough to schedule when you live on an island, but it's hard to say their schedule prepared them for the big leagues that comes with tournament play. Getting to the line and winning the defensive glass is their formula. We'll see if it works in March.

More NCAA Tournament Predictions & Previews

#1 Duke vs. #16 Siena
#8 Ohio State vs. #9 TCU
#5 St. John’s vs. #12 Northern Iowa
#4 Kansas vs. #13 Cal Baptist
#6 Louisville vs. #11 South Florida
#3 Michigan State vs. #14 North Dakota State
#7 UCLA vs. #10 UCF
#2 UConn vs. #15 Furman

#1 Arizona vs. #16 LIU
#8 Villanova vs. #9 Utah State
#5 Wisconsin vs. #12 High Point
#4 Arkansas vs. #13 Hawai’i
#11 Texas vs. North Carolina State
#3 Gonzaga vs. #14 Kennesaw State
#7 Miami (FL) vs. #10 Missouri
#2 Purdue vs. #15 Queens

#16 UMBC vs. Howard
#8 Georgia vs. #9 Saint Louis
#5 Texas Tech vs. #12 Akron
#4 Alabama vs. #13 Hofstra
#11 Miami OH vs. SMU
#3 Virginia vs. #14 Wright State
#7 Kentucky vs. #10 Santa Clara
#2 Iowa State vs. #15 Tennessee State

#16 Prairie View A&M vs. Lehigh
#8 Clemson vs. #9 Iowa
#5 Vanderbilt vs. #12 McNeese
#4 Nebraska vs. #13 Troy
#6 North Carolina vs. #11 VCU
#3 Illinois vs. #14 Penn
#7 Saint Mary’s vs. #10 Texas A&M
#2 Houston vs. #15 Idaho

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