Los Angeles—Arizona got another year of what could have been. In the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 on Thursday night in Los Angeles, the second-seeded Wildcats fell behind No. 6 Clemson in the first half, recovered, but then gave the Tigers the advantage again.
UA (27-9) dropped its third straight Sweet 16 appearance after going 5 of 28 from the 3-point line, with top scorer Caleb Love missing all nine triples in a 5-of-18 outing. Only three Wildcats scored in double figures and shot 37.3 percent, slipping to 0-6 when fewer than four scored 10 points.
UA (27-9) dropped its third straight Sweet 16 appearance after going 5 of 28 from the 3-point line, with top scorer Caleb Love missing all nine triples in a 5-of-18 outing. Only three Wildcats scored in double figures and shot 37.3 percent, slipping to 0-6 when fewer than four scored 10 points.
Oumar Ballo scored 15 points and 15 rebounds, Love had 13, and Jaden Bradley led the UA with 18 points off the bench, including 16 in the second half. Starting players Kylan Boswell, Keshad Johnson, and Pelle Larsson shot 6/23.
Arizona scored five of six points and forced three Clemson turnovers in a 12-4 surge to tie it at 43 after trailing 39-31 at halftime. A Love layup gave the Wildcats their first lead, 46-45, waking up the Tigers.
Jack Clark Jr.'s 3 gave them the lead again, which they soon increased to 53-48. After Bradley made back-to-back trips to the line with 9:55 left, the UA tied it at 56, but Clemson raced off five straight, including a banked-in 3 by Ian Schieffelin. After a blazing start, Arizona missed 18 of 19 shots and scored only at the line. Johnson made a 3 to halt the field goal drought and pull the UA within 65-61 with 4:21 left. Clemson led by seven.
With 3:26 left, Clemson missed seven straight and equaled the UA's poor shooting, closing to 66-63 on a Bradley slam off a steal. Larsson missed a 3-pointer with 2:47 left, and after PJ Hall made two free throws, the Tigers scored off a back-cut following a timeout to put it 72-67 with 1:05 left.
Bradley's second 3-pointer trimmed it to 72-70 with 49.4 seconds left, but Chase Hunter drove, lay up a reverse, and was fouled to give Clemson one last answer. His free throw brought it back to five, and after Love scored on a runner, the Wildcats mishandled the inbounds and let Dillon Hunter score to win it.
Arizona started poorly, missing its first six attempts and turning it over three times before scoring. Clemson took advantage to take a double-digit lead with 11:18 in the first half, stretching it to 13 on a Chauncey Wiggins 3 off a UA error and prompted Tommy Lloyd to call timeout at 27-14 with 7:19 left.
The Wildcats temporarily went on a 6-0 run by driving and drawing fouls to pull within 31-24 with 5:10 left, but the Tigers scored twice to get it back to 11. Ballo dunks and another UA surge trimmed the margin to six in the final minute before Clemson made its first foul shots and Love airballed a deep 3 to close the half.
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