|
 Point guard T.J. McConnell scored 13 of his 17 points in the second
half, sparking the second-seeded Wildcats to a 68-60 victory over
the sixth-seeded Musketeers in an NCAA West Regional semifinal
Thursday night at Staples Center.
Forward Stanley Johnson and center Kaleb Tarczewski each scored 12
points for the Wildcats (34-3), and Tarczewski added 12 rebounds.
Arizona will meet top-seeded Wisconsin (34-3) on Saturday in a
rematch of last year's West final. Once again, a berth in the Final
Four will be on the line.
"After we lost to them, it gave us a long time to think about it,"
said McConnell, whose club fell to the Badgers in overtime last
season in nearby Anaheim. "We watched them go to a Final Four and
lose at the buzzer to Kentucky. We thought that should have been us,
but that's driven all of us to work as hard as we did over the
summer and as hard as we did this season to be as good as we are.
"We have great respect for Wisconsin, but you know we're going to
come out ready and play Arizona basketball."
Added Tarczewski, "Even though last year our loss to them was
devastating for all of us on the team, it kind of provides a level
of familiarity with how they play. They're a very similar team to
the one they had last year, so our game plan might be a little
different this year, but like I said, the level of familiarity will
hopefully kind of sway our way.
"We're all looking forward to being in the Elite Eight. It's an
accomplishment."
Center Matt Stainbrook had 17 points and 10 boards for Xavier, which
gave the Wildcats trouble throughout the contest before wilting in
the final 90 seconds.
Xavier (23-14) had the edge in a tightly contested second half until
the Wildcats rallied late in the game. Arizona held a seven-point
lead with about two minutes remaining before the Musketeers cut the
deficit to 64-60 after a 3-point basket by sophomore guard Myles
Davis with 1:31 left. However, Xavier never scored again.
"We missed shots; simple as that," said Xavier point guard Dee
Davis, who scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. "We just got to make
plays, and we didn't do that. They did, they hit free throws. We had
some silly fouls that favored them. Obviously, we didn't close the
game the way we wanted to, but we played hard. I couldn't ask for
anything more from my team."
Rugged forward Jalen Reynolds came off the Xavier bench to score 12
points.
McConnell iced the win with two free throws with 32.9 seconds
remaining. Forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson added two more to cap the
scoring.
[to top of second column] |
Two free throws by McConnell tied the score at 53 with 6:11
remaining before Tarczewski made a pair of foul shots for the lead
at 5:27, and the Wildcats never trailed again.
Dee Davis made one of two free throws with 4:28 left, but
McConnell's 3-point bucket put the Wildcats up 58-54.
Tarczewski picked up his fourth personal after fouling Stainbrook
with 3:51 remaining. The 6-foot-10 Stainbrook made one of two fouls
shots before fouling Arizona forward Brandon Ashley on the other
end. Ashley converted his two foul shots for a 60-55 Wildcats lead
with 3:36 left.
Ashley hit a jumper to make it 62-57 for Arizona with 2:46 left. It
was all the Wildcats needed.
"We lost to a great team," Xavier coach Chris Mack said, "a team
that has a very good chance to win a national championship."
It didn't look that way at first. The score was 28-28 at
intermission as the teams completed a sluggish first half. The
Wildcats led by as much as six early on, but the Musketeers rallied.
Xavier also held Arizona without a field goal during the final 3:51
of the half.
The Wildcats made just two shots from the floor over the last 7:55
before halftime.
For the game, Arizona shot 40.7 percent from the floor, and Xavier
finished at 43.1 percent. The Wildcats finished seven of 22 from
3-point range, while the Musketeers made just three of 17.
NOTES: Xavier coach Chris Mack was an assistant to Arizona's Sean
Miller when the latter was head coach for the Musketeers. The two
men remain close friends. Miller guided Xavier to four NCAA
Tournament trips in his five seasons as coach. ... This was the
first meeting between the schools. ... The Musketeers advanced to
the Sweet 16 with wins over Ole Miss and Georgia State. The Wildcats
knocked off Texas Southern and Ohio State last weekend.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
