No. 11 seed BYU (19-5) vs. No. 3 Arizona (17-5)
NCAA Tournament second round, Mercado Region
- Tipoff: Wednesday, 5 p.m. MDT
- Venue: Convocation Center, San Antonio
- TV: ESPNU
- Livestream: Watch ESPN
- Radio: BYU Radio, 107.9 FM.
- Series: BYU leads the all-time series 8-5; the Cougars have won three in a row against the Wildcats, the most recent game coming in November 2013. The two teams have never played in the NCAA Tournament.
The stakes
For BYU … The Cougars are trying to reach the Sweet 16 for the third time in school history, having done so in 2002 and 2014. BYU has never reached the Elite 8.
For Arizona … The Wildcats are tied for the highest seed in school history — they were also a No. 3 seed in 1998, the lone season Arizona made a Sweet 16 appearance.
The trends
For BYU … The Cougars are 2-2 in the NCAA Tournament’s second round all time. BYU last played in the second round in 2019, when it lost to Stanford 72-63.
For Arizona … This is the Wildcats’ first NCAA Tournament appearance in 16 years and the program is 1-4 in the second round all time, though Monday’s 79-44 win over No. 14 Stony Brook was Arizona’s largest margin of victory in an NCAA Tournament game.
Players to watch
Aari McDonald, G, Arizona: McDonald averages 19.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game and was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, as well as a second-team All-American by The Associated Press and ESPN.
Arizona guard Aari McDonald against Stanford during an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Monday, Feb. 22, 2021.
Jeff Chiu, Associated Press
Shaylee Gonzales, G, BYU: Gonzales averages 17.9 points, 3.8 assists and 2.5 steals per game and was the West Coast Conference Co-Player of the Year.
Next up
The winner of this game will face the winner of No. 2 Texas A&M and No. 7 Iowa State in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16.