Arizona Basketball: Wildcats March over UND into the Second Round

The Arizona Wildcats win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, 100-82 against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks.

The Madness is here! In the first round, the Arizona Wildcats faced an opponent that made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament, after winning the Big Sky tournament. Early on, the North Dakota Fighting Hawks were showing no sign of nerves, taking a 10-9 lead, and cutting Arizona’s lead to just seven in the second half.

However, the Wildcats were just too strong in the end, winning 100-82. Lauri Markkanen and Rawle Alkins led the team in scoring with 20 points each.

With this win, the Wildcats moved onto to the second round. Getting that first victory out of the way can sometimes be difficult, especially with a young team – not these Cats! All season long this team has played with that savage life mentality and tonight was no different. They were able to handle a smaller and quicker team, that eventually ran out of gas.

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For the Fighting Hawks, they had nothing to be ashamed about. Early on they played well against the highest ranked opponent they have ever faced – not too bad!  Senior guard Quinton Hooker, who finished the game with 25 points, showed a lot of heart and did what he could to give his team a fighting chance.

In the first half, the Wildcats went on a 7-0 run to take a 18-12 lead and never really looked back. Markkanen put on an offensive show in the first half, with 16 points:

Both Alkins and Allonzo Trier, continued their impressive play as well in the half. Alkins finished the game with 20 points and four rebounds. Trier ended up with 18 points and six rebounds.

The Wildcats had the height advantage over the Fighting Hawks, dominating the boards in both halves. They finished the game with a 40-31 rebounding edge and 54-34 edge in 2nd chance points – that will win you some games!

In the second half, it was more of the same. Stat sheet domination! Bench play, free throws, offensive field goal percentage, Arizona did it all! The bench ended up with 20 points and provided solid play from all four players: Chance Comanche, Parker Jackson Cartwright, Kobi Simmons and Keanu Pinder. It was great to see Simmons back on the court, getting some solid minutes and offensive touches.

The Wildcats ended up scoring 100 points which is the most they’ve scored this season:

The Fighting Hawks, led by Hooker and Drick Bernstine (who had 20 points and played 38 minutes each), were able to get within seven points of the Wildcats, late in the second half. But the Wildcats were able to go on another run to put the game out of reach.

After the game, the Savages talked about pre-game jitters:

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Up next for the Wildcats will be the St. Mary’s Gaels. Winner advances to the Sweet 16! Everyone at Zona Zealots wishes the Cats much luck as they continue their march onto the Final Four in Phoenix. BEAR DOWN!

Game Notes

• Date: Saturday, March 18, 2017
• Where: Salt Lake City, Utah
• Tip-off: 4:45 p.m. MST/PST
• TV Channel: CBS