Arizona uses inside game instead of 3-point shooting to reach Elite Eight meeting with Purdue
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Arizona has thrived under coach Tommy Lloyd with a style of offense that goes against modern trends.
The strategy of spreading it out and launching 3-pointers that has dominated all levels of basketball in recent years hasn’t quite made it to the Wildcats, who have gotten to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament as a throwback team that relies on pounding the ball inside and getting to the foul line.
While that may be different from how so many other teams play these days, it sure does work with top-seeded Arizona (35-2) headed into the West Region final on Saturday night against second-seeded Purdue (30-8) with a chance to make the Final Four for the first time in 25 years.
In a season that set records for 3-pointers attempted and made across college basketball, Arizona ranks 360th out of 365 Division I teams with 16 attempts per game from long range — more than seven fewer per game than the average team. The Wildcats attempted just eight 3s — making five — in 109-88 win over Arkansas in the Sweet 16 for the fewest attempts in any tournament game since a Purdue team led by big man Zach Edey had seven in a title-game loss to Connecticut in 2024.
“I’m playing a brand of basketball that I think is effective for how our team’s built,” Lloyd said. “What’s cool about coaching and cool about the game of basketball is there are so many different ways to play. I have no disrespect — I don’t look down on any style of play. We just play a style of basketball that’s really effective for how we’re built.”
That style was on display in the Sweet 16, when the Wildcats became the first team in 15 years to make at least 30 2-point shots and 30 free throws in an NCAA Tournament game as they overpowered Arkansas and tied for the third-most points scored in a Sweet 16 game.
Arizona shot 64% from the floor, averaged a staggering 1.40 points per possession and scored 90 points either from the foul line or the paint, thanks to an imposing front line that features freshman Koa Peat and bruisers Motiejus Krivas and Tobe Awaka.
“We always talk about taking advantage of our big fellas down there,” guard Jaden Bradley said. “I feel we’ve got some of the best bigs in the country in the nation with Big Mo and Tobe. We really put a big emphasis on passing in the post and getting the ball in the post, kind of just taking a breath, kind of reset our offense. … They’re just a force down there.”
But it’s the balance of Arizona’s offense that makes it so tough. Freshman guard Brayden Burries leads the team in scoring at 16.2 points per game and Bradley — the Big 12 Player of the Year — chips in with 13.3.
That balance was crucial on Thursday, when Arizona became the first team in NCAA Tournament history to have six players score at least 14 points in a game.
“We’re tough to guard,” Awaka said. “We throw a lot of things at teams that make it difficult. Whatever they throw at us, we’re able to combat that. Our lineup is super versatile. We can play big, we can play small. It’s just a testament to who we are as a team, the crew that the coaches have assembled.”
Purdue didn’t rely heavily on the 3 in the Sweet 16, either. Fletcher Loyer made two from long range in the first 1:09 and the Boilermakers went 2 for 18 the rest of the way.
But they still managed to pull out the win on a last-second tip-in from Trey Kaufman-Renn.
“Our offense has got to carry us here, but in the NCAA Tournament, that’s not the case,” coach Matt Painter said. “You’re not going to shoot well in six straight games. You’re just not. That’s just not happening. Who are you when you don’t shoot well? … We’ve had some games like this, and it really affected us, even though in some of our losses we played well offensively. It’s good to see us be able to grind this out.”
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