Xavier vs Arizona
Xavier vs Arizona, Breaking down No. 2 seed Arizona's 68-60 victory against No. 6 seed Xavier in the NCAA West Regional semifinals at Staples Center Thursday night.
THE BIG PICTURE: Arizona played Wisconsin — and lost by one point in overtime – in the West Regional final last year in Anaheim. The Wildcats (34-3) will try to reverse that when they take on Wisconsin again Saturday in another West Regional final. Wildcats coach Sean Miller, in his sixth season at Arizona after five years at Xavier, is headed to his fourth Elite Eight — one with Xavier, three with Arizona. He's lost in his previous three. Miller said after the game the Wildcats thought about the loss to Wisconsin in last year's Elite Eight all summer.
WHAT WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT: How Matt Stainbrook, the goggle-wearing, MBA-aspiring, Uber-driving Xavier center, who looks like he's going to collapse from exhaustion on any given possession, took it to Arizona's quicker, springier front line, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. He did seem to fade, though, down the stretch. His last basket came with 11:41 left.
"He's a great basketball player," said Arizona center Kaleb Tarczewski. "His size, he does a great job of using it. His team does a great job of getting him the ball in positions where he can be successful. With him, it's tough because he's not only a good scorer, but he's also a great passer, and that was something that we knew we had a game plan for tonight."
THE DECIDING PLAY: Arizona forward Brandon Ashley, who had an otherwise fairly quiet game, calmly sank a huge 15-foot jumper that gave the Wildcats a 62-57 lead with 2:46 left.
BREAKOUT PLAYER: Arizona point guard T.J. McConnell, the Wildcats' fourth-leading scorer this season, scored a team-high 17 points and added seven rebounds and five assists.
"Over the season T.J. has really developed into the rock on our team, the leader," said Tarczewski. "He's someone that in clutch situations, everyone on our team is confident with him having the hands and the ball in his hands. He's just a great basketball player, and like I said, we're all confident in him. He always makes the right play."
TOP PLAY: There is nothing like posterizing a 7-footer. That's what Xavier's Jalen Reynolds did in the second half with a two-handed dunk right in the face of Tarczewski. The slam gave Xavier a 46-43 lead with 11:10 left.
KEY STAT: Xavier, which came into the game shooting 35.6% from three-point range, made just three of 17 from beyond the arc (17.6%).
AND-1: Though Tarczewski got dunked on by Reynolds and outscored by Stainbrook, he still had a double-double (12 points, 12 rebounds). And he gets to play on Saturday.
THE BIG PICTURE: Arizona played Wisconsin — and lost by one point in overtime – in the West Regional final last year in Anaheim. The Wildcats (34-3) will try to reverse that when they take on Wisconsin again Saturday in another West Regional final. Wildcats coach Sean Miller, in his sixth season at Arizona after five years at Xavier, is headed to his fourth Elite Eight — one with Xavier, three with Arizona. He's lost in his previous three. Miller said after the game the Wildcats thought about the loss to Wisconsin in last year's Elite Eight all summer.
WHAT WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT: How Matt Stainbrook, the goggle-wearing, MBA-aspiring, Uber-driving Xavier center, who looks like he's going to collapse from exhaustion on any given possession, took it to Arizona's quicker, springier front line, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. He did seem to fade, though, down the stretch. His last basket came with 11:41 left.
"He's a great basketball player," said Arizona center Kaleb Tarczewski. "His size, he does a great job of using it. His team does a great job of getting him the ball in positions where he can be successful. With him, it's tough because he's not only a good scorer, but he's also a great passer, and that was something that we knew we had a game plan for tonight."
THE DECIDING PLAY: Arizona forward Brandon Ashley, who had an otherwise fairly quiet game, calmly sank a huge 15-foot jumper that gave the Wildcats a 62-57 lead with 2:46 left.
BREAKOUT PLAYER: Arizona point guard T.J. McConnell, the Wildcats' fourth-leading scorer this season, scored a team-high 17 points and added seven rebounds and five assists.
"Over the season T.J. has really developed into the rock on our team, the leader," said Tarczewski. "He's someone that in clutch situations, everyone on our team is confident with him having the hands and the ball in his hands. He's just a great basketball player, and like I said, we're all confident in him. He always makes the right play."
TOP PLAY: There is nothing like posterizing a 7-footer. That's what Xavier's Jalen Reynolds did in the second half with a two-handed dunk right in the face of Tarczewski. The slam gave Xavier a 46-43 lead with 11:10 left.
KEY STAT: Xavier, which came into the game shooting 35.6% from three-point range, made just three of 17 from beyond the arc (17.6%).
AND-1: Though Tarczewski got dunked on by Reynolds and outscored by Stainbrook, he still had a double-double (12 points, 12 rebounds). And he gets to play on Saturday.
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Xavier vs Arizona
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