Arizona Beats Oregon 87-83, Advances to Sweet 16 in NCAA Tournament

Photo : AP

Caleb Love played a great game, scoring 29 points and grabbing nine rebounds as Arizona won against Oregon 87-83 on Sunday night. With this win, Arizona moved to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. Arizona, which is the fourth-seeded team, will now play against Duke in the next round in Newark, New Jersey. For Caleb Love, this game is special because three years ago, when he played for North Carolina, he helped beat Duke in a big game that sent their famous coach, Mike Krzyzewski, into retirement.

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Arizona’s Tobe Awaka also played well, scoring 12 points and getting 14 rebounds. Arizona has now reached the Sweet 16 two years in a row. Last year, they lost at this stage to Clemson. Oregon, the fifth-seeded team, finished their season with a record of 25-10. Jackson Shelstad was their top scorer with 25 points, while TJ Bamba added 17. Oregon started the game strong and had a big lead early, but Arizona stayed calm and came back to win.

At the start of the game, Oregon played very well and quickly took a 19-4 lead within the first five minutes. Arizona did not give up and went on a scoring run, cutting the lead to 26-23. Arizona finally took the lead when Jaden Bradley made a layup to put them ahead 32-31 with 4:45 left in the first half. By halftime, Arizona had a small lead of 42-38.

Arizona showed great patience throughout the game. Caleb Love said after the match that the team did not panic even when they were losing at the beginning. He said they stayed calm and only focused on winning. With 2:37 left in the game, Love made a powerful dunk that gave Arizona a 77-70 lead. But Oregon did not give up. Keeshawn Barthelemy made a three-pointer, and Nate Bittle scored to bring the game close again at 80-78 with just 49.2 seconds left.

In the last few seconds, Oregon put pressure on Arizona. Shelstad made a layup to bring the score to 81-80 with only 10 seconds left. Then, Shelstad and Anthony Dell’Orso took free throws, keeping Oregon close. But Shelstad missed an important free throw at the end, and Arizona was able to win the game. Oregon struggled with their free throws, making only 12 out of 22. Their coach, Dana Altman, was disappointed and said that this was the first game all season that they lost because of free throws.

Earlier in the second half, Dell’Orso hit a three-pointer to give Arizona a 54-43 lead. He then grabbed the front of his jersey and showed the "Arizona" logo to the crowd, making the fans cheer loudly. Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said that the team did a great job staying focused and not letting emotions take over, which helped them win.

This was the first time that Arizona and Oregon played against each other in the NCAA Tournament, even though they have been rivals in the Pac-12 for many years. Oregon has now reached the second round of the tournament nine times under coach Dana Altman, but they have not made it to the Sweet 16 since 2021. This game also showed how much college basketball is changing. Arizona, Oregon, and many other teams from the Pac-12 will move to different conferences next season. Arizona will join the Big 12, while Oregon will move to the Big Ten along with Washington, UCLA, and USC. Only three teams from the former Pac-12 made it to this year’s NCAA Tournament, and Arizona is now the only one left after UCLA was knocked out.

Washington State and Oregon State are the only teams left in the Pac-12 and are now trying to rebuild the conference. The new version of the Pac-12 is expected to start again by the 2026-27 season. The league will bring in new teams like Gonzaga and Colorado State, both of which also played in this year’s tournament.

Arizona won their only national championship in 1997 under their famous coach Lute Olson. That year, they beat Kentucky in the final, with star players like Mike Bibby and Jason Terry leading the way. They also made it to the final in 2001 but lost to Duke. Oregon won their only championship a long time ago in 1939, when they were called the "Tall Firs" because their players were taller than most teams.

Now, Arizona will prepare for their next big game against Duke. For Caleb Love, this will be a personal challenge, as he once helped defeat Duke in a big game while playing for North Carolina. Arizona’s fans will be excited to see if their team can keep winning and move closer to another championship.