Caleb Love scored 19 points while both Pelle Larson and Keshad Johnson added 13 apiece as No. 2 Arizona won 78-68 over Dayton, advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Jaden Bradley pitched in with 12 points and three blocks off the bench in the Wildcats’ second win in March Madness. Arizona previously beat No. 15 seed Long Beach State 85-65 on Thursday.
Goodyear native DaRon Holmes II led Dayton in scoring with 23 points. Koby Brea collected 14 and Kobe Elvis had 13 as the Flyers were eliminated.
Arizona led by as much as 17 points in the first half, 37-20. Love heated up for 13 points in the first 11:22 of the game.
Holmes II, Brea and Elvis would respond by combining for 25 of Dayton’s 35 second-half points.
With time ticking down, Dayton minimized their deficit to 71-64 with 55.1 seconds left in the game.
“We weren’t as aggressive as we wanted to be at the start,” Elvis said. “Ultimately when we started with the pressure, we had some success.”
But to secure the Wildcats’ victory, they went 7-for-8 at the free-throw line. Arizona was 14-for-20 overall from the stripe.
“Staying calm in those moments when they’re making a run, not panicking. We stuck to the plan, and we got the job done,” Love said.
The Wildcats shot 28-for-53 (52.8%) and 8-for-18 (44.4%) from three. Dayton was 24-for-59 (40.7%) and 7-for-24 (29.4%) from behind the arc.
After losing in the Round of 64 last year to No. 15 Princeton, Arizona has rebounded as they are back in the Sweet 16. In their past eight second-round games, the Wildcats are 8-0.
Arizona has won its last EIGHT Second Round games. pic.twitter.com/HC40gejrgn
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 23, 2024
Arizona will now face the winner of the No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 6 Clemson game tomorrow. The Wildcats’ next matchup will be on March 28 in Los Angeles, with the time TBD.
See you in LA 🌴 pic.twitter.com/HBnEkfhRLb
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) March 23, 2024
Grand Canyon secures its first NCAA Tournament win in history
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers Phoenix Sports News for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
