SAN DIEGO—During the first full day of the NCAA Tournament, top seeds Duke and Michigan got scares from their underdog opponents. The Blue Devils nearly lost to a team that played only five guys.
Arizona had no such difficulties.
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The top-seeded Wildcats came flying out of the gates and never let up, blowing out No. 16 Long Island 92-58. It was the largest NCAA tourney win for Arizona (33-2) since 1998 when it beat Nicholls by 39.
Brayden Burries had 18 points, most by a UA freshman in the postseason since Lauri Markkanen had 20 in 2017, Koa Peat added 15, Ivan Kharchenkov 14 and Tobe Awaka 11. Kharchenkov also had a career-high 10 rebounds, becoming just the fifth freshman in school history to record a double-double in the NCAA Tournament and first since Deandre Ayton in 2018.
Arizona shot 53.3 percent, going 6 of 13 from 3-point range, and held Long Island (24-11) to 32.4 percent shooting including 14 of 39 inside the arc. The Wildcats blocked 10 shots, third-most in school history and most since a record 12 against Weber State in 2014, and finished plus-21 on the boards while winning the paint battle 50-26.
No UA starter played more than 28 minutes, with freshman Sidi Gueye making the most of his late run by contributing four points—including a monster one-handed dunk—with two rebounds and two blocks in seven minutes.
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Arizona led 53-29 at halftime, its largest lead at the break in an NCAA game since 1998. The Wildcats made their first four shots of the second half, while LIU started 1 of 10 and didn’t make a 2-pointer for more than six minutes.
Up as much as 32, the UA got a little sloppy with the ball and went nearly five minutes without a field goal. It didn’t take one during a 3-minute span that also included three turnovers, letting the Sharks get within 67-45 with 10:12 left.
But then the ship got righted, with the Wildcats going on an 11-0 run with baskets from four different players.
Arizona jumped out to a 12-2 start, with back-to-back 3s by Burries and Jaden Bradley forcing LIU coach Rod Strickland to call timeout just over three minutes in. Burries hit three 3s in the first seven minutes, the last putting the Wildcats up 22-9 as they started 8 of 10 from the field.
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The only thing that wasn’t going right for the UA was foul shooting, as it started 4 of 9 from the line and finished 22 of 33 compared to 6 of 10 for the Long Island.
LIU, like Arizona a team that doesn’t rely on the outside shot, made 4 of its first 7 from 3 including back-to-back corner triples from Mason Porter-Brown to get within 29-18. The Sharks had two chances to get back within single digits but came up empty, then Xinyi Lu was called for a flagrant foul on Motiejus Krivas for a hard shot to the back of his neck going down the court.
A 3 byKharchenkov made it a 20-point lead with 7:21 left in the first half, and Burries’ fourth 3 from the logo made it 45-20.
Arizona now awaits the winner between No. 8 Villanova and No. 9 Utah State in Saturday’s second round.
