Wildcats make long-awaited return to Final Four
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Koa Peat cuts off part of the net after the Arizona Wildcats beat Purdue on Saturday. Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
It's been a long time coming, but the Arizona Wildcats are back in the Final Four.
Why it matters: It's their first appearance since 2001.
The latest: The Cats defeated No. 2 seed Purdue 79-64 on Saturday, ending a five-game Elite Eight losing streak that stretched back to 2003.
- UofA will play fellow No. 1 seed Michigan in the Final Four on Saturday. The winner will play the winner of the UConn-Illinois game for the national title.
State of play: UofA has long prided itself as an elite college basketball program, but after 25 years without a trip to the Final Four, it's been hard to view the Cats as the same powerhouse that longtime head coach Lute Olson built.
- "I know this — there's a good-looking guy with white hair looking down on us right now that's happy," UofA head coach Tommy Lloyd said Saturday, giving a shoutout to Olson, who retired in 2008 and died in 2020.
Flashback: Final Four appearances became a fairly regular occurrence for the Cats after UofA hired Olson in 1983.
- He took an insignificant program and turned it into a dominant force that went to four Final Fours in 14 years, with one championship.
1988: Sean Elliott and Steve Kerr led the Cats to their first Final Four, where they lost to Oklahoma.
1994: The Cats lost to Arkansas, which went on to win the national championship.
1997: Cats go all the way — UofA beat North Carolina in the Final Four en route to a win over Kentucky that earned the school its first and only men's college basketball championship.
2001: UofA took down defending champion Michigan State, but fell short in the title game against Duke.
Catch up quick: For years afterward, the Elite Eight was where the Cats' hopes went to die — until Saturday.
Jeremy's thought bubble: In our jubilant text messages after the game, my fellow Wildcat friends and I repeated a common refrain — "We're back!"
- UofA got a huge, 25-year-old monkey off its back — and perhaps a couple of Badgers as well — and it feels like the program has reclaimed its rightful place.
- This is a special and talented Cats team, and they have what it takes to win it all.
Meanwhile, the women's tournament is headed to Phoenix, which hosts the Final Four Friday and the national championship game Sunday.
- UConn will play the winner of Monday's South Carolina-TCU game, and UCLA will play the winner of the Michigan-Texas matchup.