The first weekend of the men’s NCAA tournament ended with a bang on Sunday night, with No. 1 seed Arizona surviving a wild upset bid by No. 9 TCU, 85–80, in overtime. In the process, it punched the final ticket to the Sweet 16.
The Horned Frogs were gunning to become the second team to take down a No. 1 seed in the second round, as UNC did with Baylor on Saturday. But Bennedict Mathurin had other ideas, pouring in 30 points and 10 rebounds and refusing to let the Wildcats lose.
Arizona, a popular Final Four and national title pick, could never quite get separation from the TCU in what was a tight affair all night in San Diego. The Wildcats eventually found themselves on the ropes in the final minute before Mathurin drained a three with 14 seconds remaining to tie things up.
The ‘Cats then nearly won it in regulation on an absurd sequence in the final seconds. As TCU’s Mike Miles tried to create space for an attempt at a game-winner, he lost the ball after contact with a defender at halfcourt that controversially drew no foul call. Arizona’s Dalen Terry then scooped up the ball, took a dribble and dunked it—but a half-second after the buzzer sounded, sending things to overtime.
The OT period belonged to Mathurin and center Christian Koloko, with the duo scoring all 10 of Arizona’s points. Koloko finished with 28 on the night, including going a stunning 12 for 13 from the field and sealing the win on a rim-rocking putback dunk.
Miles, Chuck O’Bannon Jr. and Eddie Lampkin led the way in TCU’s valiant upset bid, combining for 63 of its 80 points.
With the dramatic win, Arizona advances to take on No. 5 seed Houston in the Sweet 16 in San Antonio. The victor will advance to the Elite Eight to take on the winner of Michigan–Villanova.
