The Arizona Wildcats are heading to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in five seasons under Tommy Lloyd after beating Utah State 78-66. The Wildcats, as the No. 1 seed in the West, had control most of the game, although Utah State made a push late in the second half to make Arizona sweat down the stretch. Arizona needed to close the game out with a couple of clutch buckets in the final few minutes, with Brayden Burries knocking down a huge three with just over two minutes to play to put Arizona up 73-64. Utah State would go on to miss back-to-back open looks from three-point range to take them out of the game, and Arizona would sail over the final 60 seconds for the win.
Big 12 Player of the Year Jayden Bradley led the Wildcats with a team-best 18 points on 6-16 shooting, along with 16 points and nine rebounds from Brayden Burries. Also, Arizona got a pair of double-doubles from Koa Peat (14 points, 10 rebounds), plus Moteijus Krivas (11 points, 14 rebounds).
The Wildcats dominated on the boards, outrebounding Utah State 54-26, along with 22 offensive rebounds on the night. Arizona also took 39 free throws compared to just 11 for Utah State. The Wildcats finished 27-39 (69%) from the charity stripe.
Arizona, the winners of the Big 12 regular season title, and Big 12 Tournament, are now advancing where they will take on No. 4 Arkansas next week in the Regional Semifinal. The Wildcats are trying to reach an Elite 8 for the first time since 2015, and a trip to the Final Four for the first time since 2001, when they finished as the National Runner-Up.
