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Final Score: Arizona 79, Purdue 64.
Arizona imposes its will in the second half and advances to the Final Four for the first time since 2001! The Wildcats return to the city (Indianapolis) where Arizona won its only national championship back in 1997! That 1997 Arizona team with Miles Simon, Mike Bibby, Michael Dickerson, Jason Terry, and Head Coach Lute Olson made me fall in love with the NCAA Tournament and is a major reason why this site exits. Make the jump to see the final stats for Arizona's Elite Eight victory against Purdue.
Halftime Score: Purdue 38, Arizona 31.
Honestly, I haven't watched much of this game, still processing that Illinois is in the Final Four! From what I've seen, Purdue was getting in a shootout early, which seems to be working. Purdue is 7/14 from three while Arizona is 1/6.
Prediction: Arizona
Prior to the 2025-26 college basketball season, a Purdue-Arizona tilt during the NCAA Tournament would have seem destined for a Final Four or National Championship game. The fact that this match up is an Elite Eight game is quite intriguing. Here's hoping the game lives up to the billing. After struggling down the stretch of the Big Ten season, preseason #1 Purdue rediscovered itself during the Big Ten Tournament, using that momentum to get to the Elite Eight, though the Boilermakers' Sweet Sixteen victory against Texas was much closer than expected. As for Arizona, the Wildcats have been the best team in college basketball the past month and during the NCAA Tournament thus far. The Wildcats' steadying back court of senior Jaden Bradley and freshman Brayden Burries are always in control and seem like they won't let Arizona lose when the going gets tough. Ultimately, Arizona is the more explosive team and can throw enough size at Purdue, which has done a great job of salvaging its season. While seniors Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn will go down as one of, if not, the best class in Purdue history, the Boilermakers will not advance to the Final Four in Indianapolis. Tommy Lloyd has been building Arizona to this point the past five seasons. For the first time since 2001, Arizona will advance to a Final Four, in this case, to the city where the school won its first and only national championship 29 years ago!
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