Top-seeded Arizona used Brayden Burries’ playmaking ability, Motiejus Krivas’ dominating inside presence and Jaden Bradley’s scoring down the stretch to hold off No. 9 Utah State for the 78-66 win Sunday in the NCAA Tournament second-round game at San Diego.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd told truTV after the game, which included Arizona nearly blowing an 18-point second-half lead. “We’re a gritty group. We always say, ‘If we’re not gritty …’ What’s the word that rhymes with ‘gritty?’
“Today, these guys came out, and they were spirited. They did great job getting us off to a good start, and they did a great job holding off a really good Utah State team.”
The Wildcats (34-2) will play No. 4 Arkansas (28-8) on Thursday night at San Jose in its 22nd Sweet 16 appearance (third consecutively) in program history. Tipoff time is 6:45 p.m., Tucson time.
Got some legends in the house today. pic.twitter.com/YHiZnG5gmA
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) March 23, 2026
After Arizona shot a season-low 29% from the field against Utah State, the Wildcats made 52% in the second half.
Despite the improved shooting, Utah State took advantage of Arizona’s turnovers to cut a 51-33 deficit with 14:14 left to four points three different times, the last on a 3-pointer by Drake Allen with 5:03 left.
That shot by Allen cut Arizona’s lead to 63-59.
Bradley proceeded to make a layup and one of two free-throw attempts, Krivas made four straight free throws and Burries swished a contested 3-pointer toward the end of the shot clock and then converted one of two at the free-throw line to put Arizona ahead 74-64 with 1:13 left.
Ivan Kharchenkov then made two free throws and Krivas muscled his way for a tip-in in the last minute.
“We’ve got hoopers,” said Lloyd, who has now led Arizona to four Sweet 16 appearances in his five years as head coach. “We’ve got guys that believe in each other. We’ve got great character in this program. We’ve got a great coaching staff. I’m just really proud of everybody.”
The Wildcats are heading to the Sweet 16 to face off against Arkansas! pic.twitter.com/7VsDWlMZNO
— ESPN (@espn) March 23, 2026
Bradley, the Big 12 Player of the Year and conference tournament Most Valuable Player, is one of those “hoopers.” He made 5 of 7 shots from the field for 12 points during clutch time in the second half after going 1 of 9 afield in the first half. He finished with a team-high 18 points.
“Just trusted in my work,” Bradley told truTV of his performance late in the game. “My teammates did a great job down the end. They kind of figured out what they’re doing. That’s a tough team to play against. Tough defense.
“I was just trusting in my work and showing it.”
Despite Arizona’s cold shooting in the first half, the Wildcats still led 33-24 at halftime thanks to a 10-point discrepancy at the free-throw line, indicative of their aggressive style of play.
Arizona made 11 of 17 shots from the line in the first half, while the Aggies were 1 of 2. Arizona finished 27 of 39 from the free-throw line while Utah State was 8 of 11.
Bradley, Kharchenkov and Krivas were a combined 2 of 19 (10.5%) from the field in the first half.
Burries, Koa Peat, and Dwayne Aristode, all freshmen, kept Arizona’s offensive execution afloat in the first half, combining to make 6 of 8 from the field.
Peat had 11 points (3 of 5 from the field, 5 of 7 from 3-point range) in the first half. He finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Krivas also had a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Burries made the two shots he attempted, including a 3-pointer, but he sat 13 minutes in the half after drawing two fouls. He had 16 points and nine rebounds in the game.
Arizona outrebounded Utah State 54-26 but were outscored 28-22 in the paint because of their early inability to finish.
Arizona led the entire game after taking a 10-2 lead through the first four minutes.
After Utah State cut the lead to 19-16 with 8:44 left in the half, Arizona went on an 8-0 run — five of the points on free throws — to go ahead 27-16 with 6:13 remaining.
Arizona went through a stretch of missing nine straight shots and 12 of 13 from the field from 8:04 left in the half to 1:41 remaining.
Kharchenkov made his first basket with a 1:41 left in the half on a putback.
Arizona increased the lead to 51-33 with 14:41 left after starting hot in the second half, making seven of its first 11 shots with Bradley, Burries and Kharchenkov each 2 of 3 and Peat making the shot he attempted at that point.
Utah State went on an 11-3 run to cut the lead to 54-44 with 10:53 left.
The Aggies continued to cut into Arizona’s lead, taking advantage of six turnovers in one stretch, to make it 58-54 Arizona with 6:34 remaining.
Arizona went almost eight minutes without a made field goal in that stretch.
Bradley to the rescue at that point. The senior captain scored six consecutive points for the Wildcats to put them ahead 66-59 with 4:07 left.
Arizona has won 10 straight games when it has played in the second round, the longest streak in the nation.
The Wildcats will try to get to their first Elite 8 appearance in the Lloyd era when it plays the Razorbacks on Thursday.
Arizona is 11-10 in Sweet 16 games, including four straight losses dating to a win over Xavier in the 2015 tournanment.
Arkansas blew out Hawaii in the first round and edged High Point squad in the second at Portland, while Arizona has wins over Long Island and Utah State in its route to the West Regional semifinal.
The game will be played inside the SAP Center, home of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks.
John Calipari is making his 25th appearance at the NCAA Tournament, and this is his second time in March Madness with the Hogs. He has a record of 61-23 in the national bracket.
He has never coached against Arizona in March Madness.
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