Bennedict Mathurin finished his evening scoring 15 points and grabbing four rebounds, meanwhile, Dalen Terry added 17 points and six rebounds of his own; ...
As for Arizona, it will be an interesting off-season as Mathurin will depart for the NBA, and the Wildcats will have to do a bit of roster shuffling. Unfortunately for Arizona, that would be the closest that the Wildcats would get in this one, as for every run the Wildcats tried to make, the Cougars had a response. Despite Arizona’s best attempts to stay in this one in the first half, the Wildcats looked sloppy and a bit out of sorts as Houston’s defensive toughness and veteran leadership ultimately proved to be the difference-maker here.
A pair of 30-win teams face off in San Antonio on Thursday night in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament as Houston takes on Arizona.
And then he wasn’t sure he was going to stay when the school made a coaching change. Lloyd said that shows just how important Kriisa is to the Wildcats. Kriisa’s more than just a showboating player with all those between-the-legs passes and the white headband that suggests a playful, playground spirit to his game. “Kerr’s a lot of bark and sometimes a little bite,” Lloyd said Wednesday. “Obviously, you guys see the personality and the antics. He later posted a photo on social media showing massive bruising with deep blue, and purple and yellow hues. Illinois. Arizona needed overtime to beat TCU, 85-80, on Sunday.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Tommy Lloyd knew exactly what to expect from Houston; the Arizona men's basketball coach used the word "effort" three times in his ...
But we're not going to win a game in the 80s." "We're going to win a game in the 60s. Houston is now 40 minutes from its second straight Final Four -- going against a Villanova team on Saturday that is 40 minutes from its third Final Four in the last six NCAA tournaments. After Mathurin hit a 3 to cut the Cougars' lead to three, Shead hit a pair of free throws and Edwards buried a 3. Arizona tried to speed things up at times defensively, trapping ball handlers, running two defenders at the ball in order to force a rushed shot or turnover. "He just had to grow with our team," Sampson said. "The best thing they did was fast breaks, and they only had nine fast-break points." Late free throws from Koloko cut the deficit to six points going into the break. "They do the things they're good at at such a high level. "You're better served if you play them a couple times," Lloyd said after the game. The Cougars are annually one of the best defensive teams in the country, but they're also an elite offensive rebounding unit. Houston's reputation since Kelvin Sampson took over in 2014 has been built on defense, toughness and aggressiveness -- at both ends of the floor.
Arizona became the second No. 1 seed to lose Thursday night, falling at the hands of a physical Houston team.
Just a couple of hours after overall No. 1 seed Gonzaga went down in a heap in the West Region against No. 4 seed Arkansas, No. 5 seed Houston sent No. 1 Arizona spiraling out of the South with a 72-60 victory. The early projection on Houston-Villanova again sees the Cougars as a two-point favorite, this time at 65-63, with Houston given a 57% chance to win. Even beyond point guard Kerr Kriisa battling through an ankle injury at the most inopportune time, the Wildcats made just 7-of-18 layups and were still within six points with the ball following a Houston turnover with about two minutes left. But the Wildcats gave the ball back via turnover themselves, and Edwards hit a huge 3-pointer to push the lead back to nine. Should Terry and Koloko both return alongside Kriisa and Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona is staring at another top-five team and national title contender. Now, he'll wait to see what kind of roster he'll have. Houston coach Kelvin Sampson likely didn't get enough credit in the National Coach of the Year discussions. Even with Thursday night's loss, Tommy Lloyd's first season at Arizona was an unqualified success. With the Wildcats' loss, three of the field's four No. 1 seeds have been bounced before the regional finals. That certainly opened the door for Houston's backcourt depth. That became an even bigger problem as guards Jamal Shead (21 points) and Kyler Edwards (19) continued to hit key jumpers. Mark's sophomore classmate, Shead, has stepped into that role well.
The UA shot 33.3 percent as a team, its third-lowest rate of the season and tied for the fourth-worst in an NCAA Tournament game in program history. Its 60 ...
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Larsson and Justin Kier cut the deficit to 19-15 with 9:10 left in the first half. Arizona started off slow, as it has many times this season, missing 10 of its first 12 shots and turning it over three times in the first six minutes, falling behind 14-4. A Kerr Kriisa 3 got the UA within eight with 3:44 left, but Houston got a dunk from Josh Carlton 25 seconds later. The Cougars got the lead back up to 10 not long after, and Edwards’ corner 3 made it 59-47 with 7:46 to go. Its 60 points were tied for the seventh-fewest in an NCAA game and only one above its season-low in scoring. Houston also converted 12 offensive rebounds into 19 second-chance points, and the 10-point lead they built early in the first half was never relinquished.
Arizona and Houston meet in the NCAA Tournament Thursday for the first time since a Cougars player stepped on a Wildcats player's face.
We apologize to the University of Arizona, its basketball team and to the Tucson community for what occurred Saturday evening. Aubrey will be suspended for Wednesday night's game, and we now consider the matter to be closed." "I have never been in an incident like this before, and I have nothing but respect for him as a great player. "I love the game too much to do something like that intentionally. "I know that God knows what is in my heart, but I am hopeful that Chase will understand and forgive." I never meant to step on him," Coleman said in a statement issued by the school after the incident.