Arizona completely dominated Arkansas offensively in a 109-88-win in the West Regional Semifinals on Thursday night in San Jose. Arizona had a 54-43 halftime lead and outscored Arkansas 55-45 in the second half in the dominant performance.
Six Wildcats finished in double figures and Anthony Dell'Orso added eight as Tommy Lloyd primarily played a seven-player rotation. Dwayne Aristode played five minutes before Lloyd emptied the bench with about a minute remaining in the game.
Arizona had arguably its best offensive game of the season. The 109 points were a season high and Arizona shot 63.8 percent from the field, which was the second-best in 2025-26 and their highest against a power-conference opponent.
Arizona never trailed for the third consecutive game. The Wildcats gradually pulled away in the first half. A 9-2 Arizona run created separation to extend the lead to 26-15. Arizona used its usual formula, outscoring Arkansas 60-50 in points in paint, out-rebounding the Razorbacks 30-28 and going 30-39 from the free throw line.
Arizona setting standards
Per host Adam Lefkoe on Inside March Madness on TruTV, Arizona became the first team in NCAA Tournament history to shoot over 60 percent from the field and on three-point attempts (they made 5-8) and to make 30 free throws.
Brayden Burries led Arizona with 23 points on seven out of 11 from the field and had five rebounds. Koa Peat scored 21 with three rebounds, Ivan Kharchenkov scored 15 with three rebounds and five assists and Tobe Awaka, Jaden Bradley and Motiejus Krivas each scored 14 points.
Darius Acuff scored 28 points to lead all scorers on 8-19 from the field while shooting1-5 on three-point attempts. Acuff was exceptional in the first two rounds, but it never felt like he was going to take the game over as he did in leading Arkansas to the West Regional Semifinal.
Arizona will play Purdue in the West Regional Final on Saturday at 5:49 Mountain Standard Time. Purdue beat Texas and Sean Miller 79-77 in the first West Regional Semifinal on Thursday night. Trey Kaufman-Reen tipped in a miss by Braden Smith with 0.7 seconds remaining to give Purdue the victory.