Another Tournament run cut short as Arizona Basketball falls to Clemson

LOS ANGELES, CA – Another promising season comes to an abrupt end as Arizona Basketball (27-9, 15-5) falls to Clemson (24-11, 11-9) by a 77-72 final.

Another promising season is followed by yet another sad March. Despite a favorable path in getting to that elusive fifth Final Four, Arizona Basketball saw its season cut short as they took on Clemson in the Sweet 16 on Thursday evening.

Returning to action in Wildcat-friendly Southern California, it unfortunately was a game to forget for the Cats as Arizona fell by a 77-72 final.

Plagued by a porous shooting effort in which the Cats were just 25-67 from the field including 5-28 (17.9 percent) from three, Arizona's offense had zero offensive rhythm.

Despite Jaden Bradley finishing with a team-high 18 points followed by Oumar Ballo's 15 points, and Caleb Love's 13 points, it wasn't nearly enough as the Cats were bested by Clemson.

Despite falling behind by as many as 13 at one point, Arizona Basketball hung tough but couldn't pull off the comeback.

Looking to get to its first Elite Eight since Tommy Lloyd took over, Arizona had another significant challenge on its hands as it took on Clemson on Thursday.

And unfortunately for us, it wasn't a game to remember. Arizona would find itself in a deep hole early, falling behind by 13 when Clemson connected on a transition three from Chauncey Wiggins to make it 27-14 in favor of the Tigers with 7:19 to play in the first half.

Unfortunately, the woes would continue too as the Cats struggled to take care of the basketball and find any sort of offensive rhythm.

Needing some sort of spark, Arizona would finally get the answer they needed when Jaden Bradley came in around the 6:07 mark, helping the Cats respond with a 17-10 run to pull within six with 0:56 to play.

But unfortunately, the Cats would get a bit sloppy to end the half, allowing Clemson to end the break with a 39-31 advantage.

Desperate for an answer, Arizona would get one in the second half, responding with a 15-6 run to take the lead briefly when a steal and transition layup from Love gave the Cats the lead at 46-45 albeit briefly.

Unfortunately, that would be the highlight of the second half. For every run made by the Cats, Clemson had a response, never losing control or surrendering its lead.

Arizona would have a chance late, pulling within two with 49 seconds to play, but unable to get a stop, Clemson ran away with the game, securing the 77-72 win.

With the loss, the Wildcats finish its season 27-9 (15-5) on the year and will turn its focus to what will be yet another long and sad off-season with another disappointing end in March.

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