SAN JOSE—Ahead of playing in the Sweet 16, where Arizona had lost four straight times, Ivan Kharchenkov said he doesn’t believe in curses. Why would he, since they no longer apply in Wildcat Country.
The UA is headed to its first Final Four since 2001 after beating Purdue 79-64 in the West Region finals on Saturday night. Arizona (36-2) will face either Michigan or Tennessee in the national semifinals on April 4 in Indianapolis.
Koa Peat had 20 points, breaking Mike Bibby’s school freshman record for
an Elite Eight game, Ivan Kharchenkov had 18 points and eight rebounds and both Jaden Bradley and Brayden Burries added 14 for the Wildcats, which trailed by seven at halftime but took the lead for good with 14:34 to go.
The 7-point halftime hole was the biggest Arizona has faced in an NCAA Tournament game and won.
Purdue (30-9) hit seven 3-pointers in the first half but was just 1 of 8 in the second half, shooting 32.1 percent overall after halftime and 38.1 percent for the game. Arizona was 46.6 percent for the game and 51.6 percent in the second half, also making 20 of 22 free throws and outscoring the Boilermakers 40-24 in the paint.
The UA trailed 38-31 at halftime, getting outscored 26-12 over the final 12-plus minutes of the first half. Arizona started to get foul pressure and began to run its offense.
A 7-0 run, capped by aBradley drive, tied it at 42, and Bradley made two more to give the UA back the lead at 44-43 with 14:34 left.
After Purdue ended a nearly 5-minute field goal drought,Kharchenkov hit two free throws and then Motiejus Krivas stripped Flecther Loyer under the basket, setting up a runout that ended with Anthony Dell’Orso canning a 3 in front of the UA bench. Purdue called timeout with Arizona up 51-45 and 12:06 to go.
Peat scored inside to give the Wildcats a 59-49 lead with 8:46 remaining. Purdue cut it to six and may have had a chance to make it a 1-score game after Peat missed a bunny, but Krivas grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it out to Burries for a 3.
Burries then intercepted a Smith pass and Kharchenkov scored on the other end, forcing Matt Painter to call his second run-stopping timeout. But Arizona kept scoring, getting the lead to 13 on a Peat dunk with 5:35 to go.
Purdue had a chance to get within eight but Loyer’s corner 3 went halfway down and out, and on the other end Burries was fouled. After the final media timeout he made both free throws, then Burries’ steal set up Kharchenkov for a layup and a 72-57 lead with 3:12 left.
A 3-pointer by Smith put Purdue up 10-9, the first time Arizona trailed in the tourney. But the Wildcats quickly responded with a 10-2 run to go up seven.
Purdue used offensive rebounds and a timely steal by Oscar Cluff at midcourt to retake the lead at 23-21 on a 3-pointer by Gicarrio Harris, part of a 7-0 run to build a 4-point lead. Back-to-back 3s by Smith and CJ Cox upped the margin to 33-27 with 2:33 left in the first half.
Smith hit another 3 to make it a 7-point deficit, only the ninth time this season Arizona had trailed by at least three scores.
