Arizona secured a dominant 109-88 victory over Arkansas in the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16. The Wildcats’ offensive performance propelled them past the Sweet 16 for the first time in over a decade.
Wildcats’ Record-Setting Offence
Brayden Burries and Koa Peat each scored 21 points in Arizona’s win. Arizona’s balanced attack set a record. Ivan Kharchenkov scored 15 points. Jaden Bradley, Motiejus Krivas and Tobe Awaka each had 14 points.
Arizona became the first team in NCAA tournament history with six players scoring at least 14 points in a game. Arizona shot 64% (37-of-58). This was the highest field goal percentage by any team in the Sweet 16 or later since Villanova in the 2016 Final Four (71% vs. Oklahoma).
“This is the most fun I’ve had playing basketball, honestly,” said Peat. “I love my teammates. Just seeing them be successful, it just makes me happy. Then they find me as well. So we went out there and played our Arizona brand of basketball. I thought everything fell in place, and I thought the whole team played really good today and a lot of guys stepped up.”
Burries said, “I feel like that’s what makes us so special, is because anybody can go off on a given day. Everybody contributes in their own way.”
Arkansas’ Struggles
The 21-point loss is the largest for Arkansas coach John Calipari in the NCAA tournament. Thursday marked his 85th game as a coach in the tournament. Freshman Darius Acuff Jr. scored 28 points for Arkansas. He scored 88 points in three tournament games.
Acuff Jr. did not get enough help against Arizona. The frustration for Arkansas boiled over in the second half when Nick Pringle and Calipari both got technical fouls and Billy Richmond was ejected after getting a flagrant.
Looking Ahead to the Elite Eight
Arizona are one win away from reaching their first Final Four since 2001. They will take a 12-game winning streak into the West Region final against second-seeded Purdue on Saturday night. The Boilermakers beat Texas 79-77 in the first game.
“I thought our guys were great offensively today,” said coach Tommy Lloyd. “The great thing about basketball and the tough thing about basketball is, unfortunately, that doesn’t automatically translate to Saturday. We’ve got to find a way to kind of recreate that rhythm we had tonight.”
- Arizona shot 64% from the field.
- Six Arizona players scored at least 14 points.
- Arkansas coach John Calipari suffered his largest NCAA tournament loss.
Lloyd has won a record 147 games in his first five seasons as a head coach but has been unable to find tournament success before this season. Arizona had lost three times in the Sweet 16 and once in the first round as a No. 2 seed in Lloyd’s first four seasons.
The Wildcats have outscored the opposition by 67 points in three double-digit wins in this year’s tournament outside of a couple of tense moments in the second round against Utah State.