The Arizona Wildcats, the No. 1 seed in the West Region, devoured No. 16 Long Island 92-58 in pushing onto the second round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on Friday in San Diego. Leading the Wildcats (33-2) with 18 points, Brayden Burries 6 of 10 from the floor with four triples and five rebounds. Tommy Lloyd and Arizona greet No. 8 Villanova/No. 9 Utah State in the second round on Sunday to decide a Sweet 16 ticket. Here are three takeaways from Friday’s action:
No Surprise, Arizona Was Bigger and Stronger
There were no doubts about Long Island’s juxtaposition to mighty Arizona entering Friday’s matchup, and the Wildcats did away with any long-shot dreams the Sharks might’ve had.
Arizona basically owned the boards with 52 total rebounds, including 10 boards by Ivan Kharchenkov on his way to a double-double with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Mason Porter-Brown led Long Island with 15 points.
Koa Peat Continues to Impress Post-Injury
After a late-season return, Koa Peat is looking as active as ever out there.
The Chandler, Arizona, native tallied 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting with seven total rebounds, matching 7-foot-2 Motiejus Krivas on the glass, and bringing down a fun lob from Jaden Bradley for two on Friday. Peat returned to the lineup full-time earlier this month and looks to be full-speed as Arizona advances into the second round.
Peat and Burries, playing in their first-ever NCAA Tournament, look about as good as you’d expect this late into the season.
Neutralizing the Enemy
Led by Bradley (four steals) on the defensive end, Arizona came out and pressured Long Island from the jump and looked relentless up 27 through the first half. Much of that lead had to do with how effective Kharchenkov and others were in the paint.
Long Island only committed 11 total turnovers, though, as the Wildcats stayed vigilant for 36 defensive rebounds by the end of the afternoon. Everybody got in the pool, too, with Burries and Bradley lending their frontcourt a hand with five or more boards apiece.
