Inside The Wildcats

Arizona basketball beats Oregon: March Madness live score, game updates

Follow live updates from the Wildcats vs. Ducks East Region NCAA Tournament matchup
Ben Sherman|
Arizona Wildcats guard Caleb Love (1) drives to the basket against Oregon Ducks guard TJ Bamba (5) in the first half at Climate Pledge Arena.
Arizona Wildcats guard Caleb Love (1) drives to the basket against Oregon Ducks guard TJ Bamba (5) in the first half at Climate Pledge Arena. | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

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SEATTLE — The Arizona Wildcats and Oregon Ducks renewed their Pac-12 rivalry Sunday night in the round of 32 of the 2025 NCAA Tournament — and Arizona escaped with a thrilling 87-83 victory.

Arizona, the No. 4 seed in the East Region, entered the game as 3.5-point favorites. Oregon, the No. 5 seed, figured to have a significant home-court advantage, but Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle was filled with more Arizona fans (and possibly Washington Huskies fans who are rooting against Oregon).

Arizona moves on to face No. 1 seed Duke in the Sweet 16 in Newark, New Jersey, on Thursday at 6:39 p.m. PT/MST. Duke beat Arizona 69-55 earlier this season.

Stay with us for live score updates, big-play highlights, in-game analysis and much more from Arizona's showdown with Oregon.

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Arizona-Oregon second half updates

Arizona 87, Oregon 83, final: The Wildcats are heading to the Sweet 16. What a game. Caleb Love played arguably the best game of his career, finishing with 29 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, He was 10-of-18 from the field, 5-of-7 from downtown and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Down the stretch he hit big shot after big shot.

Arizona 87, Oregon 83, 1.8 seconds left: Jackson Shelstad intentionally misses the second of two free throws and Caleb Love flies in for the rebound. Love drills two free throws to put the game away.

Arizona 85, Oregon 82, 5.2 seconds left: Anthony Dell'Orso makes 2 more clutch free throws.

Arizona 83, Oregon 82, 5.7 seconds left: Anthony Dell'Orso sinks 2 free throws, then Arizona fouls Oregon point guard Jackson Shelstad at half court before he can get up a 3-pointer. Shelstad makes both free throws.

Arizona 81, Oregon 80, 10.6 seconds left: Arizona has the ball, up one, inbounding under Oregon's basket. Both teams are now out of timeouts. The Wildcats need to get the ball in and sink two free throws. Then foul Oregon before the Ducks can get off a 3-pointer.

Arizona 80, Oregon 78, 49 seconds left: Nate Bittle hits a jump hook in the lane and we have a two-point game. The Wildcats need to answer. We had a buzzer-beater in our first game of the day — Maryland over Colorado State. Will we have another one?

Arizona 80, Oregon 76, 1:19 left: What a ballgame. Both teams are hitting big shots. First team to 85 wins.

Caleb Love! This game was always going to come down to Love's ability to make big shots in big moments, and he has answered the call. Love has a game-high 27 points and is 5-of-7 from downtown. He drills a three, then throws down a dunk, then drills another three to give Arizona an 80-73 lead with 2 minutes to play.

Tobe Awaka 4th foul: Arizona is getting a tough whistle. Awaka goes right back to the bench after picking up his fourth foul. The Wildcats are in serious foul trouble. They've been whistled for 15 fouls, to just 10 for Oregon. Arizona leads 68-64 with 7:38 left.

Tobe Awaka back: Arizona's big man checks back in with 3 fouls with 10:43 to play.

Arizona 63, Oregon 57, 11:03 left: Timeout on the floor. Caleb Love leads Arizona with 17 points, and Jackson Shelstad has 17 for Oregon. The difference in the game so far has been rebounding — Arizona is outrebounding Oregon 32-23 — and 3-point shooting (Arizona is 7-of-13).

Technical foul on Arizona: KJ Lewis picks up a technical foul on a strange play where he missed a dunk and hung on the rim to try to get the rebound. Oregon sinks the free throw. Arizona leads 59-53 with 12:30 left.

Caleb Love for 3! Arizona's senior leader drills his third 3-pointer of the game to stem Oregon's momentum. Arizona leads 59-52. Love leads Arizona with 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting (3-of-4 from downtown).

Arizona 56, Oregon 52, 14:10 left: With Tobe Awaka out, Oregon goes on a 5-0 run to cut into Arizona's lead. Timeout Tommy Lloyd.

Arizona 56, Oregon 47, 15:53 left: Tobe Awaka just picked up his third foul. Awaka has been the story of this game so far with 12 points and 12 rebounds. At 6-foot-8 and 250 pounds, he has dominated Oregon's 7-footer, Nate Bittle.

Delly for 3! Arizona takes a 54-43 lead on a 3-pointer from Anthony Dell'Orso that was set up by Tobe Awaka's relentless offensive rebounding. Awaka now has 10 points and 12 rebounds (7 offensive).

Arizona 49, Oregon 43, 17:40 left: Caleb Love drills a 3-pointer to give Arizona its biggest lead of the game.

Arizona foul trouble: Henri Veesaar, Tobe Awaka and Trey Townsend all have two fouls.

Arizona has the ball to start the second half, leading 42-38. Here we go. The winner gets Duke.

Halftime stats: Arizona 42, Oregon 38

After a slow start, Arizona flipped the game with its defensive intensity and dominance on the glass. The Wildcats picked apart Oregon's zone and racked up 8 offensive rebounds. Tobe Awaka has 6 points and 11 rebounds (5 offensive) and KJ Lewis has 7 points and 5 rebounds. Arizona is outrebounding Oregon 23-19.

Arizona is 16-of-35 from the field (45.7%), 4-of-7 from the 3-point line (57.1%) and 6-of-10 from the free throw line. After turning the ball over three times in the first four minutes, the Wildcats committed just one turnover the rest of the half.

Arizona-Oregon first half updates

Arizona 42, Oregon 38, halftime: After falling behind by 15 points early in the game, the Wildcats rally to take a four-point halftime lead. Jaden Bradley leads Arizona with 11 points, and Jackson Shelstad leads Oregon with 12 points.

Arizona 42, Oregon 37, 49 seconds left: The Wildcats have flipped this game with their defensive intensity and rebounding. Arizona is outrebounding Oregon 23-18

Nate Bittle foul trouble: Oregon's 7-footer picks up his second foul with 1:37 left and goes to the bench. That might not be a great thing for Arizona since Bittle has been so ineffective (2-of-6 shooting, 3 turnovers).

Tobe Awaka dominating: With Henri Veesaar in foul trouble, Awaka has played big minutes — and he's controlling the paint. Awaka is frustrating Oregon's 7-footer, Nate Bittle, with his physical defense and he's relentlessly crashing the glass. Awaka has 6 points and 11 rebounds (5 offensive boards).

Delly for 3! Arizona guard Anthony Dell'Orso drills a wide open 3-pointer to give Arizona a 35-33 lead with 4:19 left. Oregon's zone has been a disaster, but Dana Altman must feel like he has no choice with Nate Bittle in the game.

Oregon 31, Arizona 30, 5:00 left: The Ducks have gone to a zone and Arizona is picking it apart and killing Oregon on the offensive glass. Seven-footer Nate Bittle is in the middle of the zone, but he has been ineffective trying to keep Tobe Awaka off the glass.

Caleb Love 3! Arizona's fifth-year senior drills his first 3-pointer and the crowd erupts. Oregon 26, Arizona 23, 9:00 left. Love has 9 points.

Oregon 26, Arizona 20, 9:35 left: The Wildcats have picked it up on the defensive end, sparking a 6-0 run to cut into Oregon's lead. Chants of "U of A" are breaking out in Climate Pledge Arena. Caleb Love leads Arizona with 6 points.

Arizona sloppy again: Just like the first half against Akron, the Wildcats are not playing sound basketball. They're not sprinting back in transition, they're getting beat off the dribble, they're turning the ball over and they're missing free throws. The Ducks already have 14 points in the paint, all on layups and dunks. Oregon point guard Jackson Shelstad leads all scorers with 10 points. Oregon leads 26-14 with 11:35 left.

Veesaar foul trouble: Henri Veesaar picks up his second foul with 13:19 left and goes to the bench.

Carter Bryant 3! Arizona's 5-star freshman comes off the bench and drills a 3-pointer to cut Oregon's lead to 21-10 with 13:30 to play.

Jaden Bradley 3! Arizona's point guard stops the bleeding with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to cut Oregon's lead to 19-7 with 14:00 to play.

Oregon 19, Arizona 4, 14:50 left: The Ducks have punched Arizona in the mouth. They're playing with more intensity on both ends and already have multiple run-outs off steals. Arizona is 1-of-6 from the field and has already turned the ball over three times. They got away with it against Akron, but they won't survive this game if they're loose with the ball.

Henri Veesaar checks in: KJ Lewis and Veesaar check in with 16:42 left.

Oregon 8, Arizona 4, 17:43 left: The Ducks hit two early 3-pointers to take a quick lead. We'll see how long Tommy Lloyd leaves Tobe Awaka on 7-footer Nate Bittle.

Here we go. Official tip off time was 6:49 p.m. Oregon wins the tip. Tommy Lloyd goes with his usual starting five of Jaden Bradley, Caleb Love, Anthony Dell'Orso, Trey Townsend and Tobe Awaka.

Arizona-Oregon pregame updates

Fans booing Oregon: Apparently there are a lot of Washington Huskies fans in the crowd. The Ducks are being loudly booed in pregame introductions, while Arizona is getting loud cheers. This won't be a home-game atmosphere for Oregon.

Maryland buzzer-beater! Climate Pledge Arena is buzzing after Maryland's last-second 72-71 win over Colorado State. What a finish. Arizona and Oregon are on the court warming up. Tip off is still scheduled for 6:40 p.m.

Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle before the Arizona vs. Oregon NCAA Tournament matchup on Sunday, March 23.
Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle before the Arizona vs. Oregon NCAA Tournament matchup on Sunday, March 23. | Arizona On SI

Tip off is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. PT/MST. The game is being televised on TBS. Check back at game time for live updates.

The Big 12 and Big Ten continue to shine in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The Big 12 is 9-2, with Houston, Texas Tech and BYU already through to the Sweet 16. The Big Ten is 10-3, with Purdue and Michigan in the Sweet 16.

Arizona (23-12) finished third in its first season in the Big 12, while Oregon (25-9) finished eighth in its first season in the Big Ten.

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Ben Sherman
BEN SHERMAN

Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his 27-year journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. A basketball junkie, March Madness is his favorite time of the year.

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