NCAA Tournament: Arizona trying to get past Sweet 16 hurdle

SAN JOSE, Calif.—It’s called the Sweet Sixteen, but for Arizona it’s provided nothing but a sour taste the past decade.

Since reaching the Elite Eight three times in five years under Sean Miller, the Wildcats have made it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament on four other occasions. Three of those have been under Tommy Lloyd.

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Each of those trips to the Sweet 16 ended there, starting with Miller’s final appearance with the UA in 2017—in the same arena as this year!—and then in 2022, 2024 and 2025 with Miller. Only last season, against Duke, were the Wildcats not the higher-seeded team.

So much for being sweet.

Top-seeded Arizona (34-2) is a 7.5-point favorite over No. 4 Arkansas (28-8), per FanDuel Sportsbook. That’s ironically the same line as the 2017 Sweet 16 game at the SAP Center against Xavier.

“I don’t really think the past is a predictor of the future,” said Tobe Awaka, who like Jaden Bradley is appearing in his fourth Sweet 16. “I think we’re just worried about what’s next up on our plate, which is Arkansas. We’re going to prepare to the best of our ability, follow the game plan, follow the scout, and hopefully if we do what we do, we’ll be successful.”

The Wildcats have won 11 in a row since their mini losing streak, but Arkansas is also hot with seven straight wins. That’s among the many similarities Razorbacks coach John Calpari notices between the teams.

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“This is one of those games, folks, where we do some things a little better than them, they do some things a little better than us,” Calipari said. “Tommy has done a great job with his team. They play to their strengths just like we do. Can we do better at what we do as they do better at what they—it’s kind of like the same thing. It’s their will against our will, and who’s going to hold out the longest.”

Calipari, in his second year at Arkansas after a 15-year run at Kentucky, has one of the most dynamic freshmen in the country in…

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Publish date : 2026-03-26 00:30:00

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