Speaking to sideline reporter Lauren Shehadi after the game, Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd said that if you are not gritty, you're a word that rhymes with gritty. Arizona had just enough offense and survived a second-half comeback by Utah State by pulling away late to advance to the NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinal.
The Wildcats tied a school record by advancing to the regional semifinal in three consecutive years for the third time with a 78-66 win over Utah State. Arizona lost in the West regional semifinals to sixth-seeded Clemson in 2024 and as a four seed to top-seeded Duke in the East Regional Semifinals in 2025.
Arizona was sluggish in the first half offensively but led 33-24 at halftime. The Wildcats extended their lead to 51-33 with 14:48 left in the second half on a Brayden Burries jumper. Utah State went on a 14-4 run to cut its deficit to 55-47 with 9:54 left.
The Aggies continued to rally and trailed 60-56 with 5:55 left, which was the closest they got since the first few minutes of the game. Arizona had an 8-0 late in the game before Utah State scored the final two points and Arizona survived.
Decisive Arizona run
Brayden Burries had arguably the biggest shot of the game for Arizona. Leading 70-64, Burries made a long three-point shot with two seconds left on the shot clock to extend the Arizona lead to nine. That sparked the decisive 8-0 Arizona run to put the game away.
After a difficult first half, Jaden Bradley led Arizona with 18 points, Koa Peat kept Arizona ahead in the first half and finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, Motiejus Krivas had 11 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks and Burries had 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
Arizona won the game by making 27 out of 39 free throws to eight out of 11 for Utah State. The Aggies got back into the game in the second half by pressing the Wildcats as Arizona finished with 11 turnovers to four for Utah State.
Arizona held Utah State to 39.1 percent shooting and eight out of 32 on three-point attempts. The Wildcats should have eliminated the myth about their three-point shooting by making seven out of 16 against Utah State. Arizona finished with 22 offensive rebounds to eight for Utah State and had a 32-18 edge overall.
The Wildcats also had 21 second-chance points to 13 for the Aggies. Arizona plays Arkansas in the second round with a 6:45 tip-off on CBS. Brian Anderson is the play-by-play announcer, former Ohio State and NBA player Jim Jackson is the analysts and Allie LaForce is the sideline reporter.