Kylan Boswell and Company Uplift Arizona into Sweet 16
The Arizona Wildcats’ potential NBA draftees have been able to carry the Wildcats to their second Sweet 16 appearance in three years.
There was plenty of chaos during the first few days of March Madness in the NCAA Tournament, as there usually is. With Kentucky stumbling greatly, Duquesne taking down BYU, Oregon over South Carolina, plenty of upsets happened and some fans were sent home in less-than-ideal circumstances.
That hasn't been the case for Arizona Wildcats fans though. Tasked with a 21-14 team from the Big West in Long Beach State, Arizona was able to thoroughly handle their business and especially in the second half where they separated greatly. From there, the Wildcats took care of Dayton in a convincing win to advance to the Sweet 16.
It's been the play of potential NBA draftees Kylan Boswell, Pelle Larsson, Keshad Johnson and Caleb Love that has been a primary reason for success in the first two rounds of the tournament. Each one of these prospects certainly benefit from these wins, as a the ability to showcase their talents on a bigger stage still remains on the table.
For Boswell, his playmaking and scoring projection was further bolstered in the first round as he notched a 20-point, eight-assist performance to lead all scorers and facilitators. He had a poor outing in the second round relative to his standards, but still showcase how much upside he has.
Larsson, a 6-foot-6 senior who’s made some strides as a possible NBA selection this season, put up 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting along with five assists and three 3-pointers in the opener. He followed this up with 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists on Saturday.
Johnson has been steady in both of his outings, scoring 13 points in both games and paying an extremely high numbers of minutes. With a high motor and the tools to impact winning, he's been a very important piece.
And Love’s 18 points while shooting just 3-for-12 from deep paired with 11 rebounds was the secondary performance behind Boswell to help pack Long Beach State up and send them back home in round one, but then he produced 19 points against Dayton as the Wildcats' top scorer.
With this much firepower on one team, Arizona could go fairly deep into the tournament. And with their first-round exit a season ago, the Wildcats are certainly looking to extend their regular season success much further into the postseason.
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