Arizona outscored Purdue 48-26 in the second half in a dominant final 20 minutes to earn a 79-64 victory and its first Final Four berth since 2001. Purdue outscored Arizona 26-12 to close the first half and take a 38-31 halftime lead.
Arizona completely flipped the switch in the second half. Purdue had eight offensive rebounds in the first half to four for Arizona and made seven of its 14 three-point shots. Purdue made one of its eight three-point attempts in the second half and both teams had six offensive rebounds in the second half.
Arizona tightened up defensively in the second half, used offensive balance, dominated inside scoring again and had a huge advantage from the free-throw line to advance. Simply put, Arizona returned to playing what has led to a 36-2 record this season to earn its first Final Four berth since 2001.
Arizona had 40 points in the paint to 24 for Purdue and made 20 out of their 22 free throws to eight of 13 for Purdue. Four Arizona players finished in double figures, led by Koa Peat with 20 points and seven rebounds, Ivan Kharchenov scored 18 with seven boards and Jaden Bradley and Brayden Burries each had 14.
Mo Krivas had six points but was dominant on the boards with 12 rebounds and five offensive to neutralize Purdue center, Oscar Cluff. Cluff finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Arizona was dominant defensively on Purdue's three leading scorers, Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer.
Loyer, Kaufman-Renn and Smith combined for 32 points on 12 for 38 from the field. The three Purdue stars entered the game on Saturday, averaging 42.8 points per game. Loyer, Kaufman-Renn and Smith made five shots in 19 attempts in the second half.
Arizona will play the winner of Michigan and Tennessee in the Final Four next Saturday. Michigan plays Tennessee at the United Center in Chicago at 11:15 Mountain Standard Time on Sunday in the Midwest Regional Final. ESPN Analytics projects Michigan with a 68.3 percent chance to beat Tennessee.