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Revenge awaits Arizona after gritty Sweet 16 win over Xavier

 

LOS ANGELES — They admit they've replayed last year's Elite Eight loss in their minds over and over. They admit that setback fueled them during offseason workouts. They admit they crowded around the TV in their locker room before their game to see who their potential Elite Eight opponent would be.

There's only one thing Arizona players would not concede Thursday night after their come-from-behind 68-60 victory over Xavier in the Sweet 16: That they're happy the last obstacle between them and the Final Four is a rematch with the Wisconsin team that ousted them last March.

"We're going to take it like we would any other game," point guard T.J. McConnell insisted.

"We're just happy to be in the Elite Eight regardless of who we were playing," forward Brandon Ashley protested.

"We're just lucky that we have the opportunity to still be playing," center Kaleb Tarczewski contended.

Credit Arizona for being smart enough not to provide pregame fodder for its next opponent, but don't let the Wildcats fool you. Even though taking Sean Miller to his first Final Four would be a milestone achievement no matter who the opponent is, there's no way a team as competitive as Arizona wouldn't find it just a little sweeter if that victory came at the expense of the team that eliminated it by a single point in overtime a year ago.

Frank Kaminsky torched Arizona's vaunted frontcourt inside and out for 28 points last year to lead the Badgers to a 64-63 victory and clinch their first Final Four appearance since 2000. Former Arizona star Nick Johnson had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but he could not get off a shot and the Wildcats fell for the second time in four years in the Elite Eight.

"After we lost to them, it gave us a long time to think about it," McConnell said. "We watched them go to a Final Four and lose at the buzzer to Kentucky. We thought that should have been us. But that's driven all of us to work as hard as we did in the summer and as hard as we did this season to be as good as we are."

Arizona guard T.J. McConnell reacts after the Wildcats beat Xavier. (AP)
Arizona guard T.J. McConnell reacts after the Wildcats beat Xavier. (AP)

Both Arizona and Wisconsin returned many of last year's key players and both are probably even better than they were a year ago.

The Wildcats are still elite defensively, still dominant on the glass and perhaps a bit more dangerous on offense than they were last season. McConnell is more confident and aggressive, Ashley is healthy and scoring from the paint and the perimeter and freshman Stanley Johnson adds another wing scoring threat. The Badgers are an even more potent offensive team than last season despite the graduation of sharpshooter Ben Brust. Kaminsky has gone from unlikely breakout star to a national player of the year candidate, Sam Dekker is flashing his tantalizing potential more frequently and promising young standouts Bronson Koenig and Nigel Hayes have made great strides.

One advantage for Arizona is it will have more than just the 7-foot Tarczewski to defend Kaminsky. A healthy Ashley might have a better chance of defending Kaminsky out to the 3-point arc, where he hurt the Wildcats repeatedly last March.

"Having Brandon back better help us because Kaminsky is arguably the player of the year," Arizona assistant Book Richardson said. "One person isn't going to guard him. It's going to be a team effort because he doesn't allow one person to guard him."

Arizona will have an added layer of motivation Saturday because Miller has been saddled with the bittersweet label of being the nation's best coach never to reach the Final Four.

Miller first came close back in 2008 when his Xavier team advanced to the Elite Eight as a No. 3 seed before falling by 19 points to a UCLA team featuring Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook and Darren Collison. Derrick Williams helped Miller get back to the Elite Eight with Arizona in 2011, routing Duke in the Sweet 16 before falling to eventual national champion UConn by two. Throw in last year's Wisconsin loss, and Miller has endured plenty of Elite Eight heartache.

"Heck, it's both of us," Richardson said. "I've been with him to every Elite Eight. We go down in infamy if we keep losing, and that's not what we want. If it happens, we'll be elated. If Wisconsin happens to win, we'll look in the mirror and figure out how we can get better."

There were a few scary moments Thursday when it looked like Arizona wouldn't even get to the Elite Eight, but its interior defense tightened and McConnell made some big shots down the stretch to clinch the victory. As a result the Wildcats get Wisconsin in one of the most anticipated games of this NCAA tournament.

"I think any basketball player would want a rematch," junior guard Gabe York said before catching himself."

That's as close as any Arizona player would come to admitting the obvious.