Arizona Produces Enough To Advance

There’s no stopping Arizona’s scoring spurts.

Playing their closest game yet in the NCAA Tournament, the top-seeded Wildcats turned their scoring on and off at will, getting a flurry of points when they needed them.

And they did against Maryland.

Mike Bibby scored 18 of his 26 points in the first half as defending champion Arizona defeated the fourth-seeded Terrapins 87-79 Thursday night to advance to the West Regional final.

The Wildcats (30-4) will play No. 3 Utah on Saturday. The Utes eliminated West Virginia.

The Terrapins (21-11) were the only team in the field to beat two of the top seeds during the regular season, but victories over North Carolina and Kansas couldn’t prepare them for Arizona’s lethal transition game.

After trailing by 14 early in the second half, Maryland closed within one with 10:32 remaining. Arizona simply kicked in its speedy offensive game, reeling off nine straight points to put down the Terps’ threat.