It has finally arrived. Survive and advance. Do or die. Win or go home. The NCAA Tournament is here and Arizona's road to what it hopes is a Final Four begins tonight in Boise, Idaho. The fourth-seeded Wildcats are set to take on 13th-seeded Buffalo at Taco Bell Arena. Arizona will face Kentucky on Saturday with a win.
Follow along as the Wildcats look to win their first NCAA Tournament game Thursday night.
Starters
1st half
- Massinburg hits a 3-pointer to open the scoring after Ayton missed a jumper to start the game; Alkins takes it to the hoop to get Arizona on the board; Massinburg hits another 3-pointer to give Buffalo the early 6-2 lead; Alkins gets the loose ball and goes coast to coast for the bucket; Harris gets the easy layup in transition as the Wildcats were slow to get back and UB leads it by four points still [SCORE UPDATE: Buffalo 8 Arizona 4 - 15:51 1st half]
- Harris gets a bucket out of the timeout and it's a 6-point lead for the Bulls; Ayton gets a chance to work down low and he gets an easy two points; Harris is someone Sean Miller talked a lot about and he gets another transition layup to make it 12-6 in favor of the Bulls; Keanu Pinder with a dunk off the Emmanuel Akot miss and the lead is down to four points for UB; Harris hits a 3-pointer for the Bulls to push it to a 7-point lead for his team; Pinder with another dunk to cut into the lead; Clark hits a mid-range jumper to push the lead back up to 7 points for Buffalo; PJC hits the layup off the lob from Akot [SCORE UPDATE: Buffalo 17 Arizona 12 - 11:54 1st half]
- Clark with a with a layup out of the timeout as the lead is back up to 7 points; Ristic hits a jumper off the assist from Randolph; Arizona letting Clark cut right to the hoop and he has another bucket and the lead is back up to 7 points; Randolph gets in on the scoring as he hits a 3-pointer and cuts it to a 4-point lead for Buffalo; Alkins cuts it to a 2-point lead for UB with another bucket; Alkins gets the put back off the Randolph miss and it's all tied up with about 8 minutes to go; Ristic gets a layup and Arizona has the lead, the first for the Wildcats in this game; Ikenna Smart hits a jumper to tie it up [SCORE UPDATE: Buffalo 23 Arizona 23 - 7:23 1st half]
- Davonta Jordan with the steal off Ayton's pass and he gets an easy bucket for Buffalo; Ayton fouled and he makes one of two from the line; Pinder gets another bucket and Arizona is up by one point as Pinder now has 6 points for UA; Wes Clark with a layup and he puts Buffalo up by one point again as he has 8 points for the Bulls; Alkins to Ayton for the easy dunk and the lead again; UA builds up its biggest lead of the game with a steal and leak out bucket for Allonzo Trier forcing a Buffalo timeout [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 30 Buffalo 27 - 4:11 1st half]
- That defense has been not good at times tonight and Harris gets another easy bucket at the hoop to cut it within one point now as the Wildcats lead it 30-29; PJC turns it over and Harris hits a transition 3-pointer to help Buffalo take back the lead and go up two points; Ristic gets fouled and rattles home both free throws to tie it up once again; Ristic find Ayton inside for a bucket and Arizona takes the lead back; Montell McRae, who shoots under 30 percent from 3-point range hits a 3-pointer and Buffalo has the lead back up one with under two minutes to go; Trier fouled by Harris and he hits both free throws as UA goes back on top; Clark is working PJC this half and he gets to the hoop for another basket and the one-point lead forcing an Arizona timeout; Ristic with the tough basket underneath and UA grabs the lead back; Clark hits the 3-pointer off the left wing and UB is back up two points; Trier can't get the final bucket to fall and UA heads into the locker room down by two
Half: Buffalo 40 Arizona 38
Follow along as the Wildcats look to win their first NCAA Tournament game Thursday night.
Starters
1st half
- Massinburg hits a 3-pointer to open the scoring after Ayton missed a jumper to start the game; Alkins takes it to the hoop to get Arizona on the board; Massinburg hits another 3-pointer to give Buffalo the early 6-2 lead; Alkins gets the loose ball and goes coast to coast for the bucket; Harris gets the easy layup in transition as the Wildcats were slow to get back and UB leads it by four points still [SCORE UPDATE: Buffalo 8 Arizona 4 - 15:51 1st half]
- Harris gets a bucket out of the timeout and it's a 6-point lead for the Bulls; Ayton gets a chance to work down low and he gets an easy two points; Harris is someone Sean Miller talked a lot about and he gets another transition layup to make it 12-6 in favor of the Bulls; Keanu Pinder with a dunk off the Emmanuel Akot miss and the lead is down to four points for UB; Harris hits a 3-pointer for the Bulls to push it to a 7-point lead for his team; Pinder with another dunk to cut into the lead; Clark hits a mid-range jumper to push the lead back up to 7 points for Buffalo; PJC hits the layup off the lob from Akot [SCORE UPDATE: Buffalo 17 Arizona 12 - 11:54 1st half]
- Clark with a with a layup out of the timeout as the lead is back up to 7 points; Ristic hits a jumper off the assist from Randolph; Arizona letting Clark cut right to the hoop and he has another bucket and the lead is back up to 7 points; Randolph gets in on the scoring as he hits a 3-pointer and cuts it to a 4-point lead for Buffalo; Alkins cuts it to a 2-point lead for UB with another bucket; Alkins gets the put back off the Randolph miss and it's all tied up with about 8 minutes to go; Ristic gets a layup and Arizona has the lead, the first for the Wildcats in this game; Ikenna Smart hits a jumper to tie it up [SCORE UPDATE: Buffalo 23 Arizona 23 - 7:23 1st half]
- Davonta Jordan with the steal off Ayton's pass and he gets an easy bucket for Buffalo; Ayton fouled and he makes one of two from the line; Pinder gets another bucket and Arizona is up by one point as Pinder now has 6 points for UA; Wes Clark with a layup and he puts Buffalo up by one point again as he has 8 points for the Bulls; Alkins to Ayton for the easy dunk and the lead again; UA builds up its biggest lead of the game with a steal and leak out bucket for Allonzo Trier forcing a Buffalo timeout [SCORE UPDATE: Arizona 30 Buffalo 27 - 4:11 1st half]
- That defense has been not good at times tonight and Harris gets another easy bucket at the hoop to cut it within one point now as the Wildcats lead it 30-29; PJC turns it over and Harris hits a transition 3-pointer to help Buffalo take back the lead and go up two points; Ristic gets fouled and rattles home both free throws to tie it up once again; Ristic find Ayton inside for a bucket and Arizona takes the lead back; Montell McRae, who shoots under 30 percent from 3-point range hits a 3-pointer and Buffalo has the lead back up one with under two minutes to go; Trier fouled by Harris and he hits both free throws as UA goes back on top; Clark is working PJC this half and he gets to the hoop for another basket and the one-point lead forcing an Arizona timeout; Ristic with the tough basket underneath and UA grabs the lead back; Clark hits the 3-pointer off the left wing and UB is back up two points; Trier can't get the final bucket to fall and UA heads into the locker room down by two
Half: Buffalo 40 Arizona 38
