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Second-Half Explosion: Arizona Blasts Past Purdue 79-64 into Final Four
The top-seeded Arizona Wildcats punched their ticket to the Final Four for the first time in 25 years, pulling away from No. 2 Purdue with a 79-64 victory in the NCAA Tournament West Region final on Saturday night in San Jose. Arizona trailed 38-31 at halftime but exploded for 48 points in the second half while holding the Boilermakers to just 26. Freshman Koa Peat led the way with 20 points and added seven rebounds and three assists, while the Wildcats improved to 36-2 overall.
Arizona turned up the defensive intensity after the break and got strong contributions across the board. They outscored Purdue 48-26 in the final 20 minutes, capitalizing on better ball movement and forcing the Boilermakers into a cold shooting stretch. Purdue, which came in at 30-9, struggled to find consistent offense after a solid first half, as Arizona's length and pressure took over the game at the SAP Center.
With the big win secured, Arizona now advances to the Final Four in Indianapolis, where they'll face the winner of the Michigan-Tennessee matchup in next weekend's national semifinals. This veteran-young hybrid squad has looked unstoppable during its current 13-game winning streak, and a trip to the championship game is well within reach if they bring the same balanced effort and second-half dominance.
Arizona is back in the Final Four for the first time in 25 years?
I was glad I was home from work in time to be able to watch it live.
Here we go, on this episode of What Reed Sees: Purdue Elite Eight Edition!
Pros
I am very happy to see Arizona placing more of a focus on getting Krivas deep 1v1 post touches. This should not happen when he has the size advantage. (+)
Having Kaufman-Renn already on the bench with two fouls is a going to be a huge advantage for Arizona. He is their dirty work guy inside. (++)
Update: Doing it again at the beginning of the 2nd half doesn't hurt either!
This team came out in the 2nd half and flipped the switch. Everything that Purdue was doing to them? They turned around and did it to them. Crashing the glass, rebounding the ball, attacking the basket, creating space in the paint. Now THEY are the aggressors! (++)
Cons
All of these bad passes are leading to TOs and extra shot attempts for Purdue! These boys better tighten up, get these passes in order and get their **** together before Smith/Foyer get hot and blow this game open! (-)
I am wondering how many 3PTs is Lloyd going to allow Purdue to hit before he might reconsider the defense? Smith is getting way too much space off the PNR action. The defender is not able to recover fast enough going over the top, and Krivas is too far to even consider a contest. Figure it out coach! (-)
Burries has to find a way to get himself going without forcing the issue. You can tell he wants to put his stamp on this game. The problem (for now) is he is picking the wrong times and choosing the wrong spots if you ask me. (-)
Comments
Smith/Foyer are the only two prospects on Purdue that "worry" me. I say force Smith to score, and run Foyer off the 3PT line!
Update: We still have another half to go, but Smith is hot from deep. Foyer is a non-factor right now. I am hoping Smith runs out of gas because he is shooting well enough to keep Purdue in this game.
I am wondering if the amount of screens that Smith are going to run off of is going to be a problem for Arizona defenders? He is operating under a Stephen Curry type of offense where he will run off of 2-3 screens before he even touches the ball, and goes through 1-2 PNR actions before a shot goes up. Arizona has multiple defenders to throw at Smith, but my point remains.
Conclusion
I was worried more about that Sweet 16 matchup between Arkansas/Wisconsin than I was with this Elite Eight matchup. Purdue did do their job in the 1st half and gave me enough to wonder if they could actually win! Arizona stepped on that notion in the 2nd half. Now we wait to see who Arizona is going to play in their first Final Four in 25 years! Is it going to be Michigan, or Tennessee?
#BearDown
This now makes Lloyd the 2nd best coach in program history!
He was able to do something that Miller was not in his 15 years or so at Arizona.
Miller had three Elite Eights on his resume?
Lloyd has three Sweet 16s, and a Final Four, and the further this team goes in the tournament just solidifies how dark that ink is that I am writing his name in!
#BearDown
With t. lloyd coaching less, the sky is the limit for this Arizona team! https://x.com/i/status/2038284851938480171
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