SALT LAKE CITY — The self-appointed bracketologists around the country all asked a question that permeated throughout the realm of college basketball before this year’s NCAA Tournament started: can we trust Arizona?
March hasn’t exactly been kind to one of the most storied programs in the sport in recent years. Despite consistently having a roster worthy of deep, meaningful runs in the tournament, Arizona has seen its postseason dreams upended at the hands of higher seeds.
A year ago, it was as a No. 2 seed to No. 15 Princeton.
In 2018, it was as a 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 memorable, Arizona advanced to the Sweet 16 in the West Region Saturday afternoon in Salt Lake City with a 78-68 win over No. 10 Dayton.
Arizona will face the winner of No. 3 Baylor and No. 6 Clemson in Los Angeles next week.
The Wildcats toppled the Flyers with a balanced approach from a number of its key rotational players. They proved 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 from the field) was followed by an ice-cold second (1-of-8).
With Love’s shot off, guards Pelle Larsson, Jaden Bradley and KJ Lewis helped fuel a second-half run that kept a desperate Dayton team at bay. After the Flyers cut the Arizona lead to within three midway through the second half, Larsson and Lewis fueled a swift 7-0 run to put a comfortable distance between Arizona and Dayton. The trio also pestered Dayton’s All-American with their help defense on Flyers star DaRon Holmes II.
Holmes II, the co-Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, was a standout with a game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds.
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