Arizona advances to the Elite Eight

March Madness

NCAA  Basketball Tournament


The Arizona Wildcats (34-3) advance to the West Region Final with a 68-60 win tonight over Xavier and will meet a familiar foe, the Wisconsin Badgers (34-3) on Saturday at 3:09 p.m. at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The Wildcats may need to find a spa in Los Angeles tomorrow and rest up after their bruising Sweet Sixteen victory over the underdog Musketeers (23-14). It wasn't easy as the Wildcats out rebounded Xavier by two, 33-31 and found themselves tied at the end of the first half, 28-28.

In the second half, it was point guard T.J. McConnell to the rescue, along with big man Kaleb Tarczewski. Both players struggled in the first half, but in the final 20 minutes they went to work -- McConnell finished the night with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Tarczewski contributed a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

The Arizona defense finally wore down the Musketeers, allowing Xavier to score one field goal during a nine-minute stretch, while the Wildcats went on a 19-7 run to close it out.

Freshman Stanley Johnson scored 12 points -- 10 in the first half, while grabbing six rebounds and Gabe York hit three 3-pointers as Arizona shot a shade under 41 percent (22 of 54) from the field. Arizona did well at the charity stripe, canning 17 of 19 attempts.

And now it's on to the Elite Eight, one win away from the Final Four.

Go get 'em, Wildcats!