After building a 51-33 lead early in the second half, Arizona allowed Utah State to get back into the game for multiple reasons before winning 78-66. Utah State head coach Jarrod Calhoun perfectly utilized the press that bothered Arizona for long stretches of the second half.
After Arizona took the 51-33 lead, the Wildcats went 7:47 without a field goal. A Brayden Burries jumper extended the Arizona lead to 51-33 with 14:43 left in the second half. Arizona went scoreless for 2:55 with Utah State scoring six consecutive points. Burries made two free throws to extend the Arizona lead to 53-39 with 11:48 left.
Arizona did not score again from the field until a Jaden Bradley FG with 6:55 remaining to extend the lead to 58-51. Utah State followed up the Bradley score with a three-point shot from Drake Allen to cut their deficit to 58-54. That was the closest Utah State got since it was 19-16 in the first half.
Utah State got back in the game by using the press that forced 11 Arizona turnovers in the second half. After making nine of its 31 shots in the first half, Arizona made 13 out of 25 after halftime. The turnovers hurt significantly, though. Utah State was 14-34 in the second half and made seven out of 20 three-point attempts.
Taking care of the ball
The 11 turnovers were slightly above the Arizona season average of 10.8, 116th nationally. Arizona had a season high of 18 turnovers versus Abilene Christian on December 16. Long Island forced 10 Arizona turnovers in the first round NCAA Tournament game. Arizona had single digits in turnovers in three out of four games entering the NCAA Tournament.
Arizona has been dominant all season in the lane. Against Utah State, Arizona had a 54-25 rebounding advantage. Utah State outscored Arizona 28-22 in points in the paint. The Aggies had an 18-8 advantage in points in the paint in the first half before the Wildcats flipped the total to 14-10 in the second half.
Arizona's game is to dominate inside. Travon Brazile at 6'9 and 215 pounds averages 13.2 points per game, 7.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.7 blocks. Tobe Awaka outweighs Brazil by 35 pounds and Motiejas Krivas has a 45-pound edge on Brazile. Arkansas is not deep, but 6'10, 220 Malique Ewin averages 9.9 PPG, 5.7 RPG and 1.1 blocks off the bench,
Arizona advances to its third straight Sweet 16 and fourth in the five years of the Tommy Lloyd era!
— Ryan Wohl (@ryan__wohl) March 23, 2026
Crazy stat: Arizona out-rebounded Utah State 54-26. It was ugly at times, but Arizona made clutch plays in the biggest moments.
The Wildcats are now one win away from their…
Arizona inside size advantage
Tobe Awaka outweighs Brazil by 35 pounds and Motiejas Krivas has a 45-pound edge on Brazile. Awaka and Krivas need to assert themselves more inside. Awaka finished with four points and four rebounds in 13:07 against Utah State. Krivas had 11 points on two out of seven from the field with 14 rebounds, two assists and three blocks against Utah State.
After scoring one point with five rebounds in the first half, Krivas had 10 points and nine rebounds after halftime. Utah State had a 9-3 advantage in points off turnovers, 5-2 in fastbreak points and 27-10 in bench scoring. Arizona has relied on Awaka and Dell'Orso to be productive all season.
Arkansas has used a seven-player rotation since Karter Knox was sidelined with a knee injury in February. Arizona needs to dominate scoring in the paint, cut down on their turnovers and get better production off the bench from Dwayne Aristode, Awaka and Dell'Orso off the bench. Arkansas should be the biggest test Arizona has through its first three NCAA Tournament games.