Arizona locks Sweet 16
Arizona advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 78–66 win over Utah State — the Wildcats notched their 34th win of the season as Motiejus Krivas steadied the interior late (arizonawildcats.com). The Wildcats now head to San Jose to play No. 4 Arkansas on Thursday at 6:45 p.m. MST with the regional winner set to meet Purdue or Texas next (tucson.com) (dknetwork.draftkings.com).
Jaden Bradley led Arizona with 18 points, scoring 12 of those after halftime to push the Wildcats through the second half. (msn.com) Freshman guard Brayden Burries finished with 16 points while drilling 3-for-3 from long range and pulling down nine rebounds. (espn.ph) Koa Peat posted a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double for Arizona, part of a dominant interior performance. (arizonawildcats.com) Arizona finished the game with a 54–26 rebounding advantage, turned those rebounds into 21 second‑chance points and made 27 of 39 free throws. (arizonawildcats.com) The Wildcats entered the matchup as the tournament’s top seed and it marked Arizona’s fourth trip to the Sweet 16 in five seasons under coach Tommy Lloyd. (msn.com) Arkansas reached this round by beating Hawai'i 97–78 in the first round and topping High Point 94–88 in the second round, and Arkansas holds a 6–2 edge in the all‑time series against Arizona with the teams’ most recent meeting occurring in 1995. (espn.com)
