"This is who they are: a swashbuckling team” - NCAA analyst in awe of Arizona’s stylish entry to Sweet 16
The Arizona Wildcats' 85-80 overtime win over the TCU Horned Frogs on Sunday moved them to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Despite the difficulty for a No. 1 seed to beat a No. 9 seed, The Athletic's Dana O'Neil believes their swashbuckling style was typical for the team.
Although Arizona (33-3) was ranked second in the final poll of the college basketball regular season, some doubted the Wildcats because of their strength of schedule.
Their three losses came against fellow Q1 teams. Still, two losses came against NCAA Tournament teams: fifth-ranked Tennessee and 11th-ranked UCLA (which is also in the Sweet 16). The other loss was in late February to Colorado, which made the National Invitation Tournament.
The Wildcats kept finding ways to win games, while other top teams lost games against top teams. Arizona's style led to many spectacular and dominant performances and was how they won another game in March Madness.
Arizona moved onto the Sweet 16 in a way that only the Wildcats could ...
"This is who they are, a swashbuckling team that is so wonderfully young to not fret that sometimes you need to buckle down to win." — @DanaONeilWriter
theathletic.com/3199725/2022/0…
The game against TCU was the ultimate buckle-down performance from the Wildcats (21-13). They found a way to win against a team playing at an elite level.
While the Wildcats will need to continue to play at that level if they want to win the national championship, the team is capable. More importantly, their playmakers have shown they are willing and able to take over at the end of a game.
Arizona's stars style on TCU to reach the Sweet 16
Bennedict Mathurin and Christian Koloko took over at the end of the game against TCU to help advance their team to the Sweet 16. The two players aim to hear their names in the first round in the 2022 NBA draft, but they first want to win a national championship.
The two scored every basket for their team after the 10-minute mark in the second half and every point in overtime, except for two 3-pointers in the second half set up by Mathurin's assists. They put the team on their backs with two spectacular performances.
@ArizonaMBB 
Bennedict Mathurin ‣ 30 PTS, 8 REB
WHAT A PERFORMANCE FROM THIS DUO ♨️ @ArizonaMBB
⭐ Bennedict Mathurin ‣ 30 PTS, 8 REB
⭐ Christian Koloko ‣ 28 PTS, 12 REB, 12-13 FG https://t.co/lQhRfIVgHs
Arizona is in the Sweet 16 because their two best players scored 58 of the its 85 points, and they got 20 of the team's 42 rebounds. The Athletic's Dana O'Neil accurately assessed who Arizona is, and who they are is Mathurin and Koloko playing at an elite level.
Arizona will face 15th-ranked Houston (31-5), a No. 5 seed, on Thursday in San Antonio, Texas. Sixth-ranked Villanova (28-7), a No. 2 seed, faces Michigan (19-14), a No. 11 seed, in the other South region semifinal.