No. 1 Arizona dominates No. 16 Long Island 92-58 in NCAA Tournament First Round

SAN DIEGO – After a dominant regular season, Tommy Lloyd and the Wildcats started off play in March Madness exactly the same. No. 1 seed Arizona got off to a hot and never looked back, cruising to a 92-58 victory over No. 16 Long Island and advancing to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.

Arizona’s trio of freshmen silenced any doubt of whether or not they were ready to play in the tournament, finishing as the Wildcats’ top three scorers on the day. Brayden Burries, who led the team with 18 points, got off to a blistering hot start, connecting on his first three field goals, all of which were from downtown. He finished the day 6-10 from the field, including 4-5 from beyond the arc. He also added five rebounds, two assists, and a block in 28 minutes.

Koa Peat contributed 15 more points for the Wildcats, connecting on 5-12 from the field, along with seven rebounds, two assists, and a block. Ivan Kharchenkov finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, knocking down 5-7 from the field, including 1-2 from 3-point range. It is Kharchenkov’s first double-double since the season opener against Florida and the first for an Arizona freshman in the tournament since 2018 (Deandre Ayton).

On the day, Arizona’s size and physicality were no match for LIU. The Wildcats shots 53.3% from the field, while limiting the Sharks to 32.4% from the floor. Arizona also dominated LIU on the glass, finishing with a 52-31 advantage in rebounding. The Wildcats set up camp in the paint, out-scoring the Sharks 50-26 in the paint, and used their +4 offensive rebounding advantage to out-score LIU 22-13 in second chance points.

The Wildcats’ lone bugaboo on the day came at the free throw line, where they shot 22-33 (66.7%).

Arizona opened the game on a 12-2 run, with back-to-back triples from Brayden Burries and Jaden Bradley forcing an early timeout by Rod Strickland and LIU. A pair of triples by Jamal Fuller and Mason Porter-Brown cut Arizona’s lead to 10 with 13 minutes to play in the first half, before the Wildcats ramped up the pressure on both ends of the floor. Arizona used an 18-2 run over five minutes, that included a Kharchenkov triple and back-to-back dunks from Koa Peat and Brayden Burries, to transform its 29-18 lead into a 47-20 lead with four minutes in the first half. The Wildcats would take a 53-29 lead into the locker room.

The Wildcats came out of the locker room on an 8-0 run, which was kickstarted by a no-look behind the back pass from Mo Krivas to Koa Peat, but let LIU dig into the lead early in the second half. The Sharks used a 16-6 run to trim the score from 61-29 to 67-45, as Greg Gordon heated up, scoring six of his 12 points during the run. But with 10 minutes left to play, Arizona ramped the intensity back up, going on an 11-0 run over the next four minutes to retake a 33-point lead. Over the final six minutes, the Wildcats closed the game out 8-8 from the free throw line, before Sidi Gueye ended the game with an emphatic one-handed jam.

Arizona will face the winner of the No. 8 Villanova and No. 9 Utah State on Sunday in San Diego. With a win, the Wildcats will advance to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in five years under Tommy Lloyd.