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SAN DIEGO — If Arizona goes on to the Final Four, if it wins the national championship, it will remember this shot and this performance.
It will recall Bennedict Mathurin putting the Wildcats on his back, refusing to let the top-seed in the South Region go down on Sunday night. He did everything but sweep the floor in a performance that was as impressive and impactful as any through two rounds of the Dance.
The chiseled 6-foot-6 sophomore from Ontario made sure this wild first weekend of the NCAA Tournament didn’t end with another upset. He forced overtime with a clutch 3-pointer and took over the extra session, carrying Arizona past rugged No. 9 TCU, 85-80, at rocking Viejas Arena and into a Sweet 16 matchup with No. 4 Houston in San Antonio on Thursday night.
“We came all the way from Tucson to San Diego for a reason: We came here to win,” Mathurin said.
Four points in a row from Mathurin in overtime gave Arizona a four-point edge with 2:09 to go. Mike Miles Jr. answered with a three-point play, but Mathurin was there again, getting to an offensive rebound, and finishing in the paint.
“He’s the best player in the country and we’re the best team in the country,” sophomore guard Dalen Terry said.
When Mathurin did miss, junior center Christian Koloko was there for a ferocious follow slam that emphatically iced the game with 9.5 seconds left, as Arizona advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in five years.
It was apropos that those two came up so big in overtime. They carried Arizona throughout the tense and thrilling night, Mathurin going off for 30 points, eight rebounds and four assists and Koloko had 28 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. Chuck O’Bannon Jr. had 23 points for TCU (21-13) and Eddie Lampkin added 20 points and 14 rebounds.
The end of regulation was dramatic. Mathurin, a projected lottery pick and PAC-12 Player of the Year who made a major leap after a solid freshman year, hit a 25-footer from deep along the left wing to pull Arizona (33-3) even with 12.9 seconds to go. After a Miles turnover at midcourt, Terry had a chance to win it, but his dunk came just after the horn, sending the game into overtime. It looked like there was contact on the play — Miles was clearly bumped by Terry before losing the ball — but a whistle never blew.
“We deserved to win that game,” Miles said. “It was a foul, but they didn’t call it.”
The Wildcats appeared in control, up 67-58 with 7:52 remaining when TCU came alive. It ripped off a 12-0 run capped by four straight points by Miles and held a three-point lead following Lampkin’s offensive rebound and follow with just over a half minute to go. Arizona was shaky, unsure of where to go with the ball, until Mathurin took charge with the shot that saved the Wildcats’ season.
“I know this, I believed the whole time,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd siad, “and they did too.”
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