Dave Van Horn did his best to keep his opinion to himself Monday afternoon.
The NCAA Fayetteville Regional times hadn’t been announced, so Arkansas’ coach said he didn’t want to jump the gun. But when a member of the media suggested that playing a night game was best because it would help Arkansas pack the park with fans on a Friday night, Van Horn couldn’t help himself. He disagreed.
“Why would you want to play at night?” said Van Horn, who revealed his preference to play during the day. “Like I said, we’ll sell the tickets. Trust me. You get more rest don’t you? Win or lose, you get more rest. You don’t have to sit around all day and twiddle your thumbs.”
Van Horn got his wish a little while ago, when Arkansas announced that the Hogs would playing Grambling at 2:05 p.m. on Friday. No. 2 seed Washington State and No. 3 seed Kansas State will meet in the nightcap at 7:05. The winners will advance to play Saturday night at 7:05. The losing teams will play at 2:05 in an elimination game.
On the surface, having the home team play in the early afternoon seems counterproductive. Fans may have trouble getting off work at 2 p.m. on Friday to make the trip out to Baum Stadium to support the Hogs. But dig a little deeper and it’s clear that Van Horn’s reasons for wanting an afternoon game are pretty simple.
Playing an afternoon game gives his team a chance to get on the field first instead of waiting all day for the NCAA Tournament opener. If the Razorbacks win, they’ll have more than 24 hours to prepare for their next game. If they lose, they’ll still be the team with more rest heading into the elimination game. And when you’re dealing with the potential of playing four or five games in three or four days, any extra rest could prove very, very valuable.
With that said, here’s a look at the entire Fayetteville Regional schedule:
Friday, June 4
Game 1 – Arkansas vs. Grambling – 2:05 p.m.
Game 2 – Washington State vs. Kansas State – 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, June 5
Game 3 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 – 2:05 p.m.
Game 4 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 – 7:05 p.m.
Sunday, June 6
Game 5 – Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 – 2:05 p.m.
Game 6 – Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 – 7:05 p.m.
Monday, June 7 (if necessary)
Game 7 – Same teams as in Game 6 – 7:05 p.m.
