Arkansas

Arkansas vs. Texas Tech Prediction, Odds, Key Players to Watch for NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

Published

1 year ago

March 26, 2025

Arkansas vs. Texas Tech Prediction, Odds, Key Players to Watch for NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

No. 10 seed Arkansas is the lone double digit seed into the second weekend of the 2025 NCAA Tournament after stunning No. 2 seed St. John’s.

The Razorbacks are in the Sweet 16, set to face No. 3 seed Texas Tech in the West Region semifinals on Thursday night in San Francisco, California. The Red Raiders are paced by an elite offense that has Big 12 Player of the Year J.T. Toppin patrolling the rim on both sides of the floor.

Can Arkansas pull another upset? Or will Texas Tech continue to emerge as a Final Four threat?

Here’s our betting preview.

Spread

Moneyline

Total: 147.5 (Over -115/Under -105)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.

Arkansas

DJ Wagner: The Kentucky transfer has given the Razorbacks some on-ball juice in the NCAA Tournament, providing downhill penetration as well as sound shot creation for others as he has 10 assists over the pair of postseason wins. Can Wagner shine again against a formidable Texas Tech defense?

Texas Tech

JT Toppin: The Big 12 Player of the Year has been unstoppable in the NCAA Tournament, averaging more than 18 points per game with nearly 12 rebounds and two blocks. He is an elite finisher around the rim and an imposing threat defending it and cleaning the glass.

I like Texas Tech to take care of business in the Sweet 16 against an Arkansas team that faced two incredibly limited offenses in the first two rounds.

The Razorbacks got to the second weekend in close games, two teams that were poor shooting teams, primarily from the perimeter with Kansas ranked 77th in effective field goal percentage and St. John’s ranked 262nd.

Arkansas has been able to lean on its overall talent and pedigree to outlast those teams, but that won’t be the case against a spaced out Texas Tech offense that is 29th in the country in effective field goal percentage.

Texas Tech is a loaded two-way roster with superior shot making, but also the physicality on the defensive side of the ball around Toppin and veteran forward Darrion Williams that ranks top 100 in the country in defensive rebounding rate.

The Razorbacks will need to run on the Red Raiders to get easy buckets in transition, but the team is an elite transition denial team and forces teams to operate in the halfcourt, which will shift this game towards the favorite, who is in line to cover the spread.

PICK: Texas Tech -5.5 (-118, Available at FanDuel Sportsbook)

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Arkansas

Arkansas Governor joins national A.I. workforce initiative

Published

6 hours ago

June 25, 2026

Press Room

Arkansas Governor joins national A.I. workforce initiative

LITTLE ROCK, AR (KATV) — Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has joined a new national artificial intelligence initiative that launched Thursday, June 25.

RAISE US, started by former Governor Eric Holcomb of Indiana and Gina Raimondo, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce is a nonpartisan national organization that will partner with governors, employers, workers and training organizations to help the workforce transition to an AI economy.

“As artificial intelligence transforms America’s economy, we have one clear message: technology should empower people, not replace them. By leveraging our Arkansas LAUNCH initiative, and with the resources and expertise provided by RAISE US, Arkansas will turn that mission into reality. We want the Natural State to be a leader on education, workforce training, and up-skilling, and this new partnership gives us the tools we need to build a model for the entire nation.”

The organization will design and pilot incentives to retrain workers, new approaches to support job transitions, and training models tied to employer demand.

RAISE US launches with more than two dozen American companies and philanthropies and initial state partnerships in Connecticut, Maryland and Utah.

“America has a technology strategy for leading the global AI competition. It does not yet have a people strategy — and we cannot lead without one,” Raimondo, who will serve as CEO of RAISE US, said.

“If we build the best AI systems in the world and leave millions of Americans behind, we won’t have won anything; we’ll have automated our own decline. I believe AI will create new jobs and industries over time, but the transition could be disruptive, and it’s already underway. We shouldn’t fearmonger, but we can’t pretend our training and worker support systems are ready either. It’s time for innovative and practical solutions. This moment demands ambition, urgency, and creativity. We’ve assembled the country’s top companies, best economists, and bipartisan governors at a scale rarely seen — all to advance new ideas and incentives, pilot them with governors and business, and scale what works.”

Governor Sanders is partnering with RAISE US to support Arkansas LAUNCH, an AI-powered career navigation platform that connects students and jobseekers to personalized learning and employer-linked career pathways.

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