Arizona basketball thwarts Dayton to advance to March Madness NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

Arizona Republic

The Arizona Wildcats are in the Sweet 16.

Tommy Lloyd's team thwarted No. 7 seed Dayton in the second round in Salt Lake City on Saturday, defeating the Flyers, 78-68 at the Delta Center to advance to the Round of 16 next week.

Arizona, the No. 2 seed in the West Region, will play the winner of No. 6 Clemson vs. No. 3 Baylor in the next round. Arizona is two wins away from the Final Four, which will be played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

The Wildcats advanced behind a hot shooting game against Dayton.

Arizona shot 28-for-53 from the field and 8-for-18 from 3-point range.

Caleb Love led Arizona with 19 points, while Keshad Johnson and Pelle Larsson each had 13.

Dayton was led by DaRon Holmes II, a former Arizona high school star, who had a game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds.

The Wildcats got 22 points from their bench (12 from Jaden Bradley), while Dayton had just two.

Arizona is in the Sweet 16 for the second time in Lloyd's tenure at Arizona.

It advanced to the Sweet 16 in his first season in 2021-22 as the No. 1 seed in the South Region, but lost to No. 5 seed Houston in that round, 72-60.

Arizona lost to Princeton, a No. 15 seed, in the first round last season as a No. 2 seed, 59-55.

The Wildcats beat Long Beach State in the first round this year, 85-65.

Final score: Arizona 78, Dayton 68

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Mar 23, 2024; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Arizona Wildcats players huddle during the first half in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament against the Dayton Flyers at Vivint Smart Home Arena-Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Dayton's DaRon Holmes II loses cool vs. Arizona

DaRon Holmes II has had a good game for Dayton, but he just cost his team with a flagrant foul on a screen against Arizona's Pelle Larsson, when Holmes threw an elbow high on Larsson.

Larsson has been clutch for Arizona in the second half, and is up to 12 points, six assists and seven rebounds. He is 5-for-8 from the field.

Arizona leads 70-59, with 2:55 left, but the lead could swell after the flagrant foul.

Score: Arizona 70, Dayton 59 (2:55 left in second half)

Arizona nearing Sweet 16 appearance in 2024 NCAA Tournament

The Wildcats are 3:39 away from the Sweet 16.

Arizona leads Dayton 68-57 and appears poised to win this game.

But don't start thinking about the next round, quite yet.

Dayton made a furious comeback late in its first-round win over Nevada to advance to face Arizona, so you can't count out the Flyers.

Can Arizona hold them off?

Stay tuned.

Score: Arizona 68, Dayton 57 (3:39 left in second half)

Wildcats' bench coming up big for Arizona against Dayton

The Arizona bench is coming up big for the Wildcats in this game.

Arizona's bench has scored 19 points in this game, while Dayton has just two points from its bench.

Jaden Bradley has 10 points off the bench for Arizona. He also has three steals, two blocks, two assists and three rebounds, having done a little bit of everything for the Wildcats.

Score: Arizona 66, Dayton 57 (5:10 left in second half)

Arizona continues to answer Dayton's rallies

Dayton keeps clawing closer against Arizona, but Arizona continues to have an answer for every Dayton run.

After Dayton pulled within 3, Arizona has gone on a run to extend its lead back to 12, giving themselves some breathing room as we get closer to the end of the second half.

Can the Wildcats withstand Dayton for another 7:28?

Tommy Lloyd's team is that far away from advancing to its second Sweet 16 appearance in his tenure in Tucson.

The officials are letting them play in this game, with just 15 foul shots between both teams.

Score: Arizona 63, Dayton 51 (7:28 left in second half)

Big game for Dayton's DaRon Holmes II vs. Arizona

DaRon Holmes II was probably very amped up for this game against Arizona.

After all, he's a former Arizona high school basketball star.

Holmes, from Goodyear Millennium High School, has 16 points for the Flyers on 6-for-11 shooting. He is 2-for-3 from 3 and has added seven rebounds.

The pace of this game has picked up and the excitement is back.

Dayton has pulled within five points.

Score: Arizona 54, Dayton 49 (10:46 left in second half)

Slow start to second half in Arizona vs. Dayton game

We are more than five minutes into the second half and Dayton has outscored Arizona 6-5 in the half, pulling within 45-39.

The Wildcats have cooled off considerably and are now 18-for-33 from the field and 6-for-13 from 3.

Dayton is just 14-for-40 overall, however and 5-for-19 from 3.

The Flyers have been able to take advantage of 12 Arizona turnovers to narrow the deficit.

Caleb Love, who started the game on fire for Arizona, hasn't scored since midway through the first half, but still leads the Wildcats with 13 points.

They could definitely use him right now in trying to maintain this lead.

Score: Arizona 45, Dayton 39 (14:27 left in first half)

Dayton rallies to end first half vs. Arizona

Arizona led this game, 37-20.

But Dayton is back in this game after an impressive final couple of minutes in the first half, which included a 10-0 run to end the half.

The score now? Arizona 40, Dayton 33.

The Flyers are right back in this game and have to be ecstatic to only be down seven at the half.

Why? Arizona shot 16-for-25 from the field in the first 20 minutes, and 5-for-9 from 3.

Dayton was only 11-for-31 from the field and 5-for-15 from 3.

DaRon Holmes II was a huge part of the Flyers' comeback. He has 14 points in his game. Arizona's Caleb Love has 13 points.

Arizona's Kylan Boswell has been a no-show for the Wildcats after scoring 20 points in the opening round win over Long Beach State. He has zero points in this game and has only attempted one field goal. He also has three personal fouls.

Buckle up. This second half could be interesting.

Score: Arizona 40, Dayton 33 (halftime)

Arizona in control vs. Dayton in first half

The Wildcats currently hold a 14-point lead on the Flyers, and have led by as many as 17.

Pretty much everything is going right for Arizona.

And it has built this lead with Kylan Boswell scoreless in the game. Pelle Larsson only has four points.

Arizona has been led by Caleb Love (13 points) and Oumar Ballo (eight points).

The Wildcats are shooting 15-for-22 from the field and 5-for-8 from 3.

That will do.

Score: Arizona 37, Dayton 23 (3:44 left in first half)

Arizona's Caleb Love shining early in game vs. Dayton

There was a reason Caleb Love was the Pac-12 Player of the Year.

The Arizona guard is showing why in this game against Dayton.

Love has 13 early points to lead all scorers in this game, on 5-for-6 shooting. He is 3-for-4 from 3-point range.

Dayton has no answer for Love so far in this game, which is bad news for the Flyers.

Score: Arizona 28, Dayton 16 (7:57 left in first half)

Wildcats build lead vs. Flyers in NCAA Tournament second-round game

The Arizona Wildcats are off to a strong start in their second-round game against the Dayton Flyers.

Arizona, the No. 2 seed, leads Dayton, the No. 7 seed, 20-11 in Salt Lake City. They built the lead with an 8-0 run.

The Wildcats are 8-for-13 from the field in the game. Caleb Love already has seven points. Dayton is 4-for-12.

Score: Arizona 20, Dayton 11 (10:29 left in first half)

Hot-shooting start for Arizona, Dayton in March Madness game

We're off to a fast start in Salt Lake City, with both teams shooting the ball very well heading into the first break in action at Delta Center.

If this start is any indication, we could be in for a great game.

The Wildcats are 4-for-7 from the field and 1-for-2 from 3-point range. The Flyers are 3-for-5 from the field.

Arizona has an early 4-1 edge in rebounds, including a 2-0 edge in offensive boards, which could be a key stat in this game.

Score: Arizona 9, Dayton 8 (15:33 left in first half)

How to watch Arizona vs Dayton in NCAA Tournament

When: Saturday, March 23, 9:45 a.m. Pacific time (12:45 p.m. ET)

Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah

TV channel: CBS

Announcers: Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Brendan Haywood (analyst), Dana Jacobson (reporter)

Streaming: FUBO

STREAM THE GAME:Watch Arizona vs. Dayton live with FUBO (free trial)

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Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

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