Arizona puts X on spot in Elite Eight
LOS ANGELES — Arizona kept its end of the bargain.
After seeing that top-seeded Wisconsin had won one West region semifinal to start the night, the second-seeded Wildcats made sure to win the other and gain the rematch it’s been waiting for. Arizona held No. 6 Xavier without a field goal for a stretch of 7:35 late in the game to pull out a 68-60 victory Thursday night before 18,809 at Staples Center.
Arizona (34-3) and Wisconsin (34-3) will play for the West Region championship for a second straight year. Last season’s meeting — proceeded by a Los Angeles area earthquake — was an epic overtime battle in which the Badgers prevailed, 64-63. The Wildcats are in their 10th Elite Eight.
Xavier (23-14) was a tough out to the end, representing the Big East well. The Musketeers were the last of the six Big East teams to make the NCAA Tournament field and the only one to advance as far as the Sweet 16.
The Musketeers were even ahead, 51-47, when Dee Davis scored on a driving layup with 9:03 to play. That’s when Arizona shut Xavier down. It got
eight free throw attempts and made six over the next 7:35. Myles Davis made a three-pointer with 1:28 to play to get the Muskies within 64-60. In that 17-5 Arizona run, T.J. McConnell had seven points, Kaleb Tarczewski had six points and Brandon Ashley had four points.
Myles Davis missed a pair of shots and Dee Davis missed a shot down the stretch for Xavier while Arizona closed out the win out by going 4-for-4 on the free throw line in the last 32.9 seconds. Arizona finished the night 17-for-19 at the stripe. McConnell finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Tarczewski had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Stanley Johnson had 12 points. For Xavier, Matt Stainbrook had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Jalen Reynolds and Dee Davis each scored 12 points.
Xavier held the lead for only 15 seconds during the first 20 minutes but scored the last four points of the half to make it to intermission in a 28-28 tie.
Arizona had Xavier on its heels at the outset, scoring the first six points while the Musketeers made a pair of turnovers. Xavier didn’t score until 2:16 into the game on a Dee Davis drive.
Stainbrook scored inside for a 14-13 Xavier lead with 11:05 to go the break. Johnson’s jumper at 10:50 put Arizona back up.