Wildcats advance to Elite Eight with win over Arkansas

The Arizona Wildcats are headed to the Elite Eight, where they'll have a chance to exorcise more than two decades or March Madness ghosts.

Driving the news: No. 1 seed UofA handily beat No. 4 seed Arkansas 109-88 in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA men's basketball tournament Thursday night.

Zoom in: The Cats had an epic shooting night, hitting 64% of their shots.

• The game got chippy in the second half as UofA extended its lead, and the Razorbacks helped the Cats add points at the free throw line with frustration fouls, flagrant fouls and technical fouls.
• UofA scored more points than any tournament team this year except Florida, which put up 114 points in its first-round win.
• The 21-point loss was the worst tournament defeat in Arkansas head coach John Calipari's illustrious career, per ESPN.

State of play: UofA goes to its first Elite Eight since Tommy Lloyd took over as head coach in 2021.

The intrigue: The Cats haven't been to a Final Four since 2001, and the Elite Eight is where they've repeatedly fallen short over the past quarter century.

• UofA reached the Elite Eight in 2003, 2005, 2011, 2014 and 2015.
• That stretch included some close calls and gut-wrenching losses.

What's next: UofA will play No. 2 seed Purdue in San Jose on Saturday at 5:49pm.

• The Boilermakers beat Texas, led by former UofA head coach Sean Miller, 79-77 last night.