NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates
SAN JOSE, CA — Arizona’s drought is over.
The No. 1 seeded Wildcats continued their March Madness run with a 79-64 comeback win over No. 2 seed Purdue in the Elite Eight, advancing to its first Final Four in 25 years.
Advertisement
It was a back-and-forth opening to the game with both sides trading punches, but Purdue jumped ahead thanks to a run just before halftime to take a seven-point lead, the first time the Wildcats had trailed in the NCAA Tournament.
While it sounded the alarms of the heavy Arizona presence and brought up trauma of March past, it wasn’t a position that scared these ‘Cats. This season, they were 5-0 when trailing at halftime.
Make it 6-0.
Arizona came out with a sense of urgency out of the locker room, and Purdue couldn’t maintain its hot shooting. A 16-3 run gave the Wildcats the lead back, which they held the rest of the way as they overwhelmed Purdue down the stretch.
Advertisement
Finally, Arizona has broken the March curse that hovered over the program for the majority of the 21st century with one of the most impressive runs of the tournament so far, winning all four games by more than 10 points.
Last appearing in the Final Four in 2001 under the great Lute Olsen, the Wildcats had fallen short of reaching the stage every time since then despite being one of the winningest programs in the country. Arizona had lost six consecutive Elite Eight appearances, with two of them as a No. 1 seed.
While the Wildcats have featured several NBA stars over the years that had championship potential, this well-balanced unit was the one to end the spell. All it took was winning a program-record 36 games to do it.
1 / 37
See best of March Madness 2026, from mascots and fans to celebrities
Iowa State Cyclones fans cheer against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Enterprise Center on March 22, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.
1 / 37
See best of March Madness 2026, from mascots and fans to celebrities
Iowa State Cyclones fans cheer against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/finally-arizona-blitzes-purdue-second-030509199.html
Author :
Publish date : 2026-03-29 03:05:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
