SALT LAKE CITY – Self-proclaimed bracketologists across the country asked a question that permeated the entire realm of college basketball before this year’s NCAA Tournament began: Can we trust Arizona?
March hasn’t exactly been kind to one of the sport’s most storied programs in recent years. Despite consistently having a roster worthy of deep and meaningful tournament runs, Arizona has seen its postseason dreams shattered at the hands of higher seeds.
A year ago, he was the second seed at 15th Princeton.
In 2018, he was the No. 4 seed against No. 13 Buffalo.
These No. 2 Wildcats have passed the test, at least through the first two rounds of this March. While they still have questions to answer about whether they can be trusted to make this March a memorable one, Arizona advanced to the Sweet 16 in the West Region on Saturday afternoon in Salt Lake City with a 78-68 victory over the No. 10 Dayton.
Arizona will face the winner of No. 3 Baylor and No. 6 Clemson in Los Angeles next week.
The Wildcats outscored the Flyers with a balanced approach from several of their key rotation players. They showed that they are much more than The Caleb Love Show. Four players scored in double figures, led by Love, who finished with a team-high 19 points after a stellar first half (5 of 7 field goals) followed by a glacial second half (1 of 8). .
With Love’s shot, guards Pelle Larsson, Jaden Bradley and KJ Lewis helped spark a second-half run that kept a desperate Dayton team at bay. After the Flyers cut Arizona’s lead to three midway through the second half, Larsson and Lewis went on a quick 7-0 run to put a comfortable distance between Arizona and Dayton. The trio also tormented the Dayton All-American with their defensive help against Flyers star DaRon Holmes II.
Holmes II, the Atlantic’s 10th Player of the Year, excelled with 23 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
