Two Final Four berths were sealed Saturday in Indianapolis as Arizona and Illinois rallied in the second half to win their Elite Eight games.
Arizona 79, Purdue 64 Arizona advanced to its first Final Four since 2001 behind a mix of freshman scoring and veteran leadership. Freshmen Brayden Burries (14), Ivan Kharchenkov (18) and Koa Peat (20) combined for 52 points, while senior guard Jaden Bradley added 14. Arizona opened the game with a 19-12 advantage before Purdue briefly swung momentum by inserting 7-foot-4 sophomore Daniel Jacobsen — whose minutes had been minimal earlier in the tournament — late in the first half. Arizona, though, reasserted control early in the second half and pulled away.
The Wildcats set a school record with 36 wins this season, a mark that surpassed a long-standing record from 1988. Under fifth-year coach Tommy Lloyd, Arizona has blended efficient interior scoring, offensive rebounding and tough paint defense with aggressive guard penetration to dominate late in games.
Paint scoring has been central to Arizona’s identity all season. The Wildcats finished among the national leaders in paint points, averaged roughly 20 free throw attempts per game and ha
