Arizona reaches its first Final Four in 25 years with 79-64 win over Purdue

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Coach Tommy Lloyd climbed the ladder, cut the last strand of the net and waved to the Arizona fans while they chanted, “Tommy! Tommy!”

Lloyd and the Wildcats are back in the Final Four for the first time since Lute Olson's heyday 25 years ago as Arizona once again looks like a threat to win it all.

Freshman Koa Peat scored 20 points with his strength inside and Arizona's defense bottled up Purdue in the second half to give the top-seeded Wildcats a 79-64 victory in the NCAA Tournament's West Region final on Saturday night.

“Just being a kid from Arizona, to take this team to a Final Four, man, it’s a blessing,” said Peat, who was named the region’s Most Outstanding Player. “I’m proud of these guys. We worked for this. We’re not done yet.”

After years of disappointment in March, Lloyd has gotten Arizona (36-2) back to being a championship contender thanks to a talented freshman class led by Peat to go along with veterans like Big 12 Player of the Year Jaden Bradley.

The Wildcats showed they can win in almost any style. They used a nearly flawless performance on offense to beat Arkansas in the Sweet 16 and then shut down one of the nation's most efficient offenses against second-seeded Purdue (30-9) in front of a large crowd of Arizona fans.

“Making it to the Final Four is big,” Bradley said. “We appreciate Tucson, the supporters, and everybody behind the scenes. We just are happy that we get to reward them with this.”

Arizona frustrated the NCAA record-holder in assists, Braden Smith, and prevented his fellow four-year seniors Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer from getting into a rhythm. Purdue was held to its second-lowest point total of the season and shot just 38% from the field.

Arizona used an 16-3 run early in the second half to erase a seven-point halftime deficit and take a six-point lead on a 3-pointer from Anthony Dell’Orso. The Wildcats stayed in control from there. Brayden Burries hit a 3-pointer, and after a turnover by Smith, Ivan Kharchenkov made a layup for an 11-point lead.

Peat put the exclamation point on the win with dunk that made it 68-55 with less than six minutes remaining, sending the Wildcats to Indianapolis next week on a 13-game winning streak.

Peat became just the sixth freshman to score at least 20 points to help his team win in both the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.

“They call him Mr. Arizona,” Lloyd said. “Koa is special, and I know you guys hear it, but you got to hear it again. Four state championships at the same high school. Didn’t go to a prep school. Four gold medals with USA Basketball. No one in FIBA history has ever done that. And helped lead Arizona to a Final Four.”

The trip to the Final Four is a long-awaited one for the Wildcats, who last made it to that stage in 2001 when they lost the title game to Duke under Olson. They had lost five straight times in the Elite Eight since — tied for the second-longest skid ever in that round — under the three coaches who followed Olson after he retired in 2007.

Lloyd replaced Sean Miller in 2021, and this year's Wildcats have set the school's single-season record for wins en route to the Final Four.

“Without Lute — without Sean doing what he did for those 12 years he was here, I wouldn’t be able to do what we did today. I fully understand that,” Lloyd said. “Those guys, this is for them too. You know, I have no problem sharing the success of this team with the coaches that came before me.”

Kharchenkov scored 18 points for Arizona, while Bradley and Burries each scored 14.

Purdue withstood an early push from Arizona and quieted the large contingent of Wildcats fans with a strong finish to the first half. Smith returned from a rare five-minute stint on the bench to hit his third 3-pointer of the half. He set up C.J. Cox for a 3 and then drew an offensive foul before firing up the Boilermakers fans. Purdue led 38-31 to match Arizona’s largest halftime deficit of the season.

But the Boilermakers wilted in the second half as the senior trio that began their careers losing in the opening round as a No. 1 seed to Fairleigh Dickinson in 2023 and lost the title game the following year to UConn couldn't get back to the Final Four.

Smith scored 13 points, Kaufman-Renn had 10 and Loyer just eight. The three combined to shoot 12 for 38 from the field.

“They’re obviously very talented,” Smith said. “They’re the No. 3 defensive team in the country. They rebound at a high, high level. I think that’s kind of where they got us. We would make a couple of plays, get a couple of blocks and then got it right back and were able to score. Obviously we didn’t make as much shots as we did in the first half in the second half. Then obviously those add up.”