SAN DIEGO — The Arizona Wildcats were untested in a wire-to-wire 92-58 victory over LIU in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
In the 34-point thrashing, the Wildcats were firing on all cylinders, whether it was attacking the basket, owning the rebounding battle or draining 3-pointers.
Brayden Burries, a San Bernardino native playing about 100 miles from his hometown, put on a dazzling display in his first NCAA Tournament game. The freshman finished with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-5 from deep, across 28 minutes.
Burries tallied the most points by an Arizona freshman in an NCAA Tournament debut since Lauri Markkanen had 16 against Saint Mary’s in the second round in 2017. He was six points shy of the record set by Marcus Williams (24) in 2006.
Burries connected on his first three field goals, all 3-pointers, to set the tone as Arizona jumped out to an early 22-9 lead.
An ensuing 9-0 Arizona run put the Wildcats up by 27, which included a dunk and 31-footer from Burries as the shot clock was expiring.
Logo Brayden.pic.twitter.com/WAZXOo2rfE
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) March 20, 2026
In addition to Burries, the Wildcats once-again exhibited the depth and team-first basketball they have been known for all season.
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In their NCAA Tournament debuts, freshman Koa Peat scored 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting while Ivan Kharchenkov added 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting and a career-high 10 rebounds. It was the fifth double-double by an Arizona freshman in the NCAA Tournament and first since 2018 (Deandre Ayton).
Against an LIU team that on paper offered little resistance against Arizona, the Wildcats aced their first test without any issues, unlike No. 1 overall seed Duke a day earlier.
LIU, known for playing four guards on heavy minutes, was outsized and outmatched from the onset.
The only bugaboo for the Wildcats on the afternoon came at the foul line. Arizona shot 22-of-33 at the line, tied for its seventh-worst mark on the season.
Next up for the Wildcats, Arizona will play the winner of No. 8 Villanova and No. 9 Utah State on Sunday in San Diego.
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