We haven’t really gotten into this Saturday, being focused on the Michigan game, but the NCAA released its top 16 seeds throughout the day. Michigan, Duke, Arizona and Iowa State were the No. 1 seeds — then, naturally, Michigan and Iowa State lost.
Luckily for Iowa State, No. 2 seeds Houston and Illinois also did the same (if you didn’t see the end of the Illinois-UCLA game, you really owe it to yourself to see it).
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So who is the most impressive of the four No. 1 seeds?
Well, Duke undeniably looked really good against Michigan. The Blue Devils ran a prodigious offense and cut about a third of normal production. It was truly a resounding victory. Duke played with real maturity and heart. Beating Michigan hasn’t been easy this season. Shooting, keeping the score close has been a challenge for most teams.
As impressive as that was, what Arizona did yesterday was even more remarkable.
The Wildcats traveled to No. 2 Houston without injured ace Koa Peat and Dwayne Aristode, who was ill. And on top of that, Houston cut leading scorer Brayden Burries, keeping him just 1-5 from the field.
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Arizona won that game 73-66, despite shooting 3-12 from the bonusphere (25%), 25-56 overall (45%), and just 20-31 from the foul line (65%).
However, they held Houston to 8-26 from deep (31%) and 20-56 overall (36%). The Cougars hit 18-22 from the line (82%), which kept them in this situation.
Arizona also harassed the super frosh Kingston Flemings in a 6-17 (35.3%) outing.
In other words, the Wildcats overcame tremendous adversity to win against a very tough team, and did it on the road with a world-class defense.
This win, in our opinion, makes Arizona the team to beat in March. This is probably the most impressive victory of the season, regardless of country.
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There’s a long way to go and great teams, including Duke and Michigan, and March is a dangerous month. Being a favorite doesn’t always go as planned.
That said, no one else can claim such victory. Keep an eye on the cats.
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