A look at the Xavier-Arizona Sweet 16 game
NO. 6 XAVIER VS. NO. 2 ARIZONA
■ SITE: Staples Center, Los Angeles
■ TV: 7:17 p.m., TBS (7)
■ LINE: Arizona -11; total 136
■ STORYLINE: Arizona, in the Sweet 16 for the third straight season, brings a 13-game winning streak into the game as coach Sean Miller stands two victories away from reaching the Final Four for the first time. Xavier has won five of its last six games and is in the Sweet 16 for the third time in six seasons under coach Chris Mack. The Musketeers advanced by shooting 81.3 percent from the field in the second half to post a 75-67 victory over Georgia State.
Arizona freshman small forward Stanley Johnson is expected to leave for the NBA, but is in need of a much better performance after scoring four points on 1-for-12 shooting in Saturday’s 73-58 win against Ohio State. “His intent was very good. It’s just the ball didn’t go in a couple times for him early,” Miller said. “He started to press a couple times later, it wasn’t his night.”
■ ABOUT XAVIER (23-13): Beating the Wildcats will be a tough chore, but center Matt Stainbrook said the seasonlong journey has toughened the Musketeers for this moment. “We had a learning curve, and over the season we’ve done a good job of learning from our mistakes and getting a lot better,” Stainbrook said. “I think it’s great that the Big East has been able to test us with some really tough teams, and I think the fact that we’ve grown as a team together has made us really special at this point.” Forward Jalen Reynolds is coming off a big game in which he scored 21 points on 8-for-9 shooting against Georgia State.
■ ABOUT ARIZONA (33-3): Point guard T.J. McConnell had an exceptional game against Ohio State with 19 points, six rebounds, six assists and five steals, but he wasn’t the lone hero. Backup guard Gabe York also was superb with 19 points and five 3-pointers, and the Musketeers surely will pay close attention to him. “I wanted to be aggressive but also know that my teammates were going to find me in transition or throughout the zone with however many seconds were left on the shot clock,” York explained. “I just did a great job of knocking down shots.”
■ TIP-INS:
1. The winner faces Wisconsin or North Carolina on Saturday for a Final Four berth.
2. The Musketeers have reached the Sweet 16 for the sixth time since 2004.
3. The Wildcats average 21.1 points per game from their bench.
■ PREDICTION: Arizona 79, Xavier 75
