WATCH: Arizona Wildcats blow chance to win game vs. TCU in regulation
The No. 1 seed Arizona Wildcats were in a fierce battle with the No. 9 seed TCU Horned Frogs in the Round of 32 in Sunday night’s NCAA Tournament matchup. The Horned Frogs continued to make big shot after big shot down the stretch, pushing the Wildcats down to the wire. Late in the game, Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin was able to tie the game at 75-75 with a clutch three-pointer with 14 seconds left at the end of regulation.
Then, TCU’s Mike Miles turned the ball over with three seconds remaining. And Arizona’s Dalen Terry took the ball to the hoop in the closing seconds with a chance to win it. The problem is, he dunked the ball right after time expired. If he would have layed it up, he could have won the game at the end of regulation.
Watch it.
The game went to overtime, tied 75-75, because of the mistake.
Luckily for Arizona fans, their team was able to pull the game out in overtime, 85-80. They had some clutch plays down the stretch from two of their stars, 2022 Pac-12 Player of the Year Bennedict Mathurin and their center, Christian Koloko. Mathurin and Koloko scored 58 of their team’s 85 points in the game. Mathurin proved why he won so many accolades this season, making clutch plays at several moments for his team. He drilled 11-of-13 free throws and his team proved to need nearly every single one of those. Mathurin also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out four assists.
Koloko scored 28 points, corralled 12 rebounds, and had three blocks. He also had the final bucket in the game, after Mathurin missed a three-pointer with 14 seconds left in overtime, Koloko soared above everyone and dunked the ball with authority, eliciting a roar from the Arizona faithful in attendance. His dunk made the score 85-80 with 11 seconds left in overtime and that’s how it would end after TCU missed a few final shots.
The Wildcats only connected on 5-of-27 attempts (18.5 percent) from three-point range.
Arizona will need to play much better if they wish to get past Houston in the Sweet 16. The Cougars have some incredible athletes on their roster and they looked ferocious on the glass in their win against the Illinois Fighting Illini.