NCAA Tournament: The Arizona Wildcats are set to play the Wisconsin Badgers this Saturday “when” they get past Xavier on Thursday. At least Ken Pomeroy has us feeling pretty positive!
Ken Pomeroy (KenPom.com) is a basketball statistician who reports on college basketball teams and performs analytics on each team and player, he is often quoted in texts and articles, like we are about to do.
Following is his Sweet 16 Log5 analysis and his ranking of the top six teams and their odds for moving on, Arizona is ranked No. 2. The Wildcats have an 83.% chance to make the Elite Eight, a 53.5% chance to earn a spot in the final four and a one in five chance to be the Champs! Not to shabby. Pre-Tournament, the Wildcats odds of winning the NCAA Championship were one in seven, so their odds are now better.
www,kenpom.com Sweet 16 Log5 odds
Here is more news you can use from around the internet:
ESPN:
How they got to the Sweet 16: Arizona, by Chantel Jennings ESPN Pac-12 reporter
‘Coach Sean Miller feels confident heading to L.A. “We’ve weathered a couple of storms,” Miller said. “I think we’ve learned in this region, this tournament … that we have to make sure we’re sharp and ready to go.”’
Arizona ousts Ohio State, advances to Sweet 16 for 3rd straight year, by Associated Press
“Arizona’s T.J. McConnell became just the sixth player in NCAA tournament history to record at least 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals in a game in the Wildcats’ 73-58 win over Ohio State.”
Bleacher Report:
March Madness 2015: Real-Time Picks, Updated Odds to Make the Final Four
By Kerry Miller, College Basketball National Columnist“The starting frontcourt was surprisingly invisible in the latter of the two games, but T.J. McConnell and Gabe York each scored 19 while Arizona’s defense drove D’Angelo Russell insane.”
Fansided:
March Madness: Arizona Wildcats ZonaZoo is the No. 1 Student Section! by Shereen Rayan
March Madness: Arizona Wildcats’ Final Four History, by Brendan Kennealy
“It has been 14 seasons since the last time the Arizona Wildcats have reached the NCAA Championship Game, but this year’s team may be the best squad since then and they have high hopes of reaching the Final Four and beyond.”
Rant Sports (RantSports.com):
Arizona Wildcats’ Defense Make Them A Contender in NCAA Tournament By Brendan Patel
“The Arizona Wildcats have been a highly ranked team all year long, and have several players that will likely be playing professionally next season, including potential lottery pick Stanley Johnson.”
Mar 21, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Stanley Johnson (5) dribbles the basketball against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the second half in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Godofredo Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
CBS Sports:
“Arizona PG T.J. McConnell steals the show in a game built up as a battle between super freshmen D’Angelo Russell and Stanley Johnson.”
Reseeding the Sweet 16: Duke, Zona, Wisconsin, Zaga on UK’s heels, by Matt Norlander | College Basketball Writer
“With the first weekend behind us, let’s re-rank this Sweet 16. We’ll examine how these teams looked the past two games in addition to the regular-season resume to re-seed them 1-16.”
Twitter:
Arizona is in the Sweet 16 with all of these other schools:
And then there were 16... pic.twitter.com/55H8TqGPf7
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 23, 2015
NCAA March Madness chose Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to represent Arizona:
Presenting the #Sweet16! pic.twitter.com/esUnembbvN
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 23, 2015
ESPN took its turn to announce which school’s teams made the Sweet 16 and chose T.J. McConnell to represent Arizona:
Derrick Williams made another splash dunk last night:
Rudy Gay with an accurate Alley and Derrick Williams an emphatic OOP for the #AssistOfTheNight! http://t.co/GQ6XgxaQFd
— NBA (@NBA) March 23, 2015
AJ Johnson reminds us about how great the Pac-12 Conference is via ESPN Stats and Info’s twitter account:
tell me again how great your conference is...#BearDown @ZonaZealots @pac12 pic.twitter.com/bhg90wLKlY
— 𝔄𝔍 𝔍𝔬𝔥𝔫𝔰𝔬𝔫 (@AZWildcatAlways) March 23, 2015
Javier Morales reminds us that this Wisconsin rematch is a revenge match, and not just for the current players, for the former players that want this win more than anyone:
Need I remind you Nick Johnson's Twitter profile pic remains the seconds after the loss vs. Wisconsin last year . pic.twitter.com/Z0awHvrewj
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) March 23, 2015
120 Sports – Video and recap of Arizona’s win over Ohio State:
Next: The Best Student Section is Arizona’s ZonaZoo! Find out how to let the Nation know!