SAN JOSE, Calif. — Arizona State Breaks Through to the Elite Eight
Arizona State has finally overcome its Sweet 16 hurdle under coach Tommy Lloyd, achieving a resounding 109-88 victory over Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament West semifinals last night. Brayden Burries led the charge with 23 points, supported by a strong offensive line.
Other notable performances came from fellow freshmen Core Pete, who contributed 21 points, and Ivan Kharchenkov, adding 15. The top-seeded Wildcats (35-2) have now won 12 consecutive games, tying the school’s seasonal win record, and they’re heading to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2015.
Next up, Arizona will face No. 2 seed Purdue on Saturday night in a bid for a spot in the Final Four. Purdue managed to edge out Texas with a close score of 79-77 in the early game.
In a historic achievement, Jayden Bradley, Motillas Krivas, and Toby Awaka all scored 14 points, making Arizona the first team in NCAA Tournament history to have six players score 14 or more points in a single game.
Despite a record of 147 wins in his first five seasons, Lloyd hadn’t seen tournament success until this year. Arizona previously fell in the Sweet 16 three times and suffered a first-round exit as a No. 2 seed in his earlier years.
This season, aside from a few nervous moments against Utah State in the second round, the Wildcats have shown dominance in the tournament, outscoring opponents by a whopping 67 points across three double-digit victories.
Freshman Darius Acuff Jr. made a mark with 28 points against fourth-seeded Arkansas (28-9). This might have been the last college game for the standout freshman, who has managed 88 points in three tournament outings. Unfortunately, he didn’t receive sufficient support against the deeper Wildcats lineup.
As frustration mounted for the Razorbacks in the second half, both Nick Pringle and coach John Calipari received technical fouls, and Billy Richmond was ejected after two flagrant fouls against Kharchenkov.
Although the Razorbacks made it to the Sweet 16 for the fifth time in six years, they fell short once more, with hopes of reaching their first Final Four since 1995 still unfulfilled.
Arizona’s offense was nearly flawless in the first half, boasting a shooting percentage of 64 percent and sinking 15 of 17 free throws. They managed to protect the ball effectively against the Razorbacks’ defense, leading to a 54-43 advantage—a score that ranks among the top five for points in the first half of a Sweet 16 game.
The Wildcats pushed their lead to 18 points early in the second half, thanks to a 3-point play by Burries that drew approval from Warriors coach and former Wildcats star Steve Kerr. From that point, Arkansas never seemed poised to challenge again.
