A drama-filled and surprise opening weekend ended with arguably the best NCAA tournament game thus far, one that propelled No. 1 Arizona, just barely, into the Sweet 16.
–
The first-seeded Wildcats needed overtime and a series of revealing plays to subdue ninth-seeded TCU, who answered almost every shot with their own hay. The back-and-forth competition ended with an 85-80 win for Arizona in a South Region matchup in San Diego.
–
Most of the Wildcats’ heroics were delivered by guard Bennedict Mathurin and center Christian Koloko, who combined for 58 of their points, 22 of their 45 rebounds, six of their 16 assists and three of their four blocks. Pac-12 Player of the Year Mathurin overcame poor shooting to start the game with a dominant performance down the stretch, which included a vicious dunk over TCU center Eddie Lampkin and a game-tying 3-pointer with 14 seconds remaining in regulation time.
–
For his part, Lampkin had a stellar start for the Horned Frogs. He scored a career-high 20 points and repeatedly made tough baskets over Koloko that caused Lampkin to deride the 7-foot-1 center as too small to guard.
–
TCU forward Chuck O’Bannon Jr. also had a career-high 23 points, and teammate Mike Miles contributed 20.
–
Down by nine with just under eight minutes to go, TCU regained the lead less than four minutes later, creating a seesaw affair the rest of the way. The Horned Frogs were coming off their first NCAA tournament win since 1987 and were looking to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1968.
–
Instead, Arizona moves on to face No. 5 Houston, which ousted No. 4 Illinois earlier in the day.
–
–
Read more Sports News in Spanish
–
