By Garin Turner
After the First Four games tomorrow, the round of 64 begins on Thursday. #1 Arizona Wildcats (32-2) will face #16 Long Island University Sharks (24-10) at 12:35 PM EST on TNT. The winner will face Villanova/Utah State.
Arizona’s road to the tournament
Arizona won the Big 12 in the regular season and the Big 12 tournament. The Wildcats got off to a 23-0 start that included ranked wins against Florida (3), UCLA (15), UConn (3), Auburn (20), Alabama (12) and BYU (13). They lost back-to-back games to Kansas (9) and Texas Tech (16). Since then, Arizona is on a nine-game winning streak with ranked wins over Kansas (14), Iowa State (6), Iowa State again (7) and then Houston (5) in the Big 12 Championship game 79-74.
Long Island’s Road to the tournament
Long Island got off to a up and down start to the season. They lost its opener to Notre Dame before going on a three-game winning streak. They would then trade a lot of wins and losses at one point sitting at 6-7. They would go on to win 11 of their next 12 games to push their record to 17-8. Long Island’s last defeat came on Feb. 21 against Mercyhurst, 91-83. Since then, The Sharks are on a five-game winning streak. They won both the Northeast Conference regular season championship and the NEC Tournament.
The Match Up
Arizona is favored by 31.5 points and should take care of Long Island with little problems. This will be the Sharks toughest game of the year having just played two ranked teams this year (Illinois and Georgia, both losses). Arizona has the advantage everywhere you look. The Wildcats average 86.1 points a game to Long Island’s 74.1. Field goal percentage is close with Arizona at 50% and Long Island at 48%. Rebounds are 42-35 a game in favor of the Wildcats. Assists 16-13. Steals are tied at 7.8 and the Sharks actually hold the edge in blocks at 5.4 to 4.2.
Arizona Season Leaders
Points: Brayden Burries; 15.9
Rebounds: Tobe Awaka; 9.5
Assists: Jaden Bradley; 4.5
Long Island Season Leaders
Points: Jamal Fuller; 16.4
Rebounds: Greg Gordon; 5.5
Assists: Malachi Davis; 3.4
Verdict: Big 12 Player of the year Jaden Bradley and his teammates won’t have much trouble here. Arizona 95, Long Island University 45.
(Image Credit: Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Athletics)
