Caleb Love Scores 19, Leads Arizona past Dayton, 78-68, for Second Sweet 16 Trip in 3 Seasons

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Caleb Love scored 19 factors and second-seeded Arizona reached the Candy 16 for the second time in three seasons, beating No. 7 seed Dayton 78-68 within the second spherical of the NCAA Event on Saturday.

The Wildcats (27-8), who additionally reached a regional semifinal in 2022 in coach Tommy Lloyd‘s first season, will face both the West Area’s No. 6 seed, Clemson, or third-seeded Baylor in Los Angeles on Thursday night time.

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Keshad Johnson and Pelle Larsson every had 13 factors and 7 rebounds for Arizona. Larsson additionally had six assists, and Jaden Bradley scored 12 factors off the bench. The Wildcats shot 53% from the sphere and made eight 3-pointers.

DaRon Holmes II had 23 factors and 11 rebounds for the Flyers (25-8), who had been denied their first Candy 16 look since 2014. Koby Brea added 14 factors and Kobe Elvis scored 13 for Dayton, which trailed by 17 factors within the first half however stayed inside placing distance almost to the tip.

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Arizona staved off a possible rally when Bradley capped a 10-0 run with a 3-pointer to offer the Wildcats a 66-51 lead with 6:51 remaining. Two front-end misses by Holmes on one-and-one journeys to the road thwarted Dayton’s comeback bid.

Dayton trimmed the deficit to single digits a number of occasions, drawing inside 71-64 on a pair of free throws from Nate Santos with 55.1 seconds left. The Wildcats went 7 of 8 from the road within the closing minute to place the sport away.

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Dayton initially struggled to regulate to Arizona’s speedy offense and defensive size. The Wildcats allowed solely two baskets over a ten 1/2-minute stretch within the first half. The Flyers missed 15 of 17 pictures as they fell right into a deep gap.

Determining the right way to cease Love was additionally a chore for Dayton.

Love scored 5 of Arizona’s first 10 baskets and had 13 factors within the first 12 minutes. The senior guard, who reached the nationwide title sport two years in the past whereas taking part in for North Carolina, knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to spark a 10-2 run that put the Wildcats up 30-16 with 7:37 left within the first half.

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Arizona prolonged its result in 17 factors earlier than Dayton tightened its on-ball protection. The Flyers turned up the stress on the Wildcat guards and compelled 4 turnovers over a two-minute stretch, powering a 10-0 spurt that lower Arizona’s lead all the way down to 40-33 at halftime. Holmes and Brea bookended the run with 3-pointers.

Arizona shot 64% from the sphere within the first half, but in addition had 11 turnovers.

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Arizona will likely be in search of its first Elite Eight look since 2015.