Arizona showed why it's a favorite to win theNCAA tournamentagainst Arkansas.
TheNo. 1 Wildcats throttled the No. 4 Razorbacks 109-86 in the Sweet 16to advance to theElite Eight on Saturday against No. 2 Purduein the West region. Arizona was absolutely unstoppable on offense as the Razorbacks could not do a single thing to slow down the onslaught.
The Wildcats shot 64% in the first half as they led by 11 at the break. They immediately extended that lead in the second half.
The lead grew to 18 points less than three minutes into the second half and broke the 20-point mark less than seven minutes into the half. Arkansas did its best on the offensive end to cut into the deficit. But it's hard to cut into a lead when you can't prevent the other team from scoring. Arizona shot 64% from the field in the second half too.
Arizona got baskets at the rim, in the lane and outside the arc — though they didn't need the 3-point shot at all to make the blowout happen. Just eight of Arizona's 58 field-goal attempts came from 3-point range. The Wildcats bullied their way to the basket as often as they could. And Arkansas was happy to oblige.
All five Arizona starters scored at least 14 points as the Wildcats had 80 points with 10:36 to go. The Wildcats entered the game averaging 86 points per contest.
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Arizona's first Elite Eight in 11 years
All five Arizona starters scored in double figures as the Wildcats had 80 points with 10:36 to go. The Wildcats entered the game averaging 86 points per contest.
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Despite being one of the best programs in college basketball over the past decade, it's been a while since Arizona has been to the Elite Eight.
The Wildcats haven't been this far in the NCAA tournament in 11 years. In that span, Arizona has made seven previous tournaments and made the Sweet 16 four times. But the run always ended at that point.
And there were a couple of embarrassing first-round losses mixed in too. In 2016, Arizona lost to No. 11 Wichita State as a No. 6 seed. In 2018, the Wildcats were blown out by No. 13 Buffalo as a No. 4 seed.
The most embarrassing game came in coach Tommy Lloyd's second season, however. The Wildcats were a No. 2 seed in the 2023 NCAA tournament but lost 59-55 in the first round to No. 15 Princeton.
Since then, Arizona made the Sweet 16 in three straight seasons, but never sniffed a Final Four. Until now.
Freshman guard Brayden Burries had 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting while freshman forward Koa Peat scored 21 as he was 8-of-11 from the field.
Arkansas got frustrated
As the game was out of reach,Arkansas was very unhappy. Billy Richmond II was ejected in the second half for a Flagrant 2 foul for an off-ball push on Ivan Kharchenkov with just over seven minutes to go.
Fewer than two minutes later, Arkansas coach John Calipari got a technical foul for something that he said while Arizona was shooting free throws with a 22-point lead.
It was an ignominious end for a Razorbacks team that won its first two games in the NCAA tournament by a combined 45 points behind the star power of freshman point guard Darius Acuff. But it's hard to beat a team that has 100 points with over five minutes to go. And Arkansas realized that.