Arizona Overwhelms Arkansas With Historic Offensive Night in Sweet 16

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Arkansas spent Thursday night searching for a way to slow Arizona down.

It never found one.

Top-seeded Arizona delivered one of the most dominant offensive performances of the NCAA Tournament, beating No. 4 seed Arkansas 109–88 at SAP Center to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2015.

The Wildcats led from start to finish, shooting 63.8 percent from the field and 62.5 percent from beyond the arc. Arizona scored 54 points before halftime and another 55 after it, never giving Arkansas the sustained run it needed to make the game competitive.

Arizona’s offense wasn’t carried by one player.

It came from everywhere.

Arizona attacks the basket against Arkansas during their NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 matchup at SAP Center in San Jose on March 26, 2026. Photo by Tyler Shaw / Florenza Press

Six Wildcats scored at least 14 points. Brayden Burries led Arizona with 23 points, Koa Peat added 21, Ivan Kharchenkov scored 15, and Jaden Bradley, Motiejus Krivas and Tobe Awaka each finished with 14.

Arizona established the tone early.

The Wildcats shot 64 percent in the opening half, repeatedly found opportunities around the basket and went 15-for-17 from the free-throw line. By halftime, Arkansas had scored 43 points — an offensive output that would keep a team competitive on most nights in March.

Arizona had 54.

The 11-point halftime advantage only grew after the break. Burries converted a three-point play early in the second half to push the lead to 18, and Arkansas never mounted a serious comeback from there.

The Razorbacks had offensive production of their own.

Freshman Darius Acuff Jr. scored 28 points, going 8-for-19 from the floor and 11-for-14 at the free-throw line. Meleek Thomas added 17 points, while Billy Richmond III finished with 13. Arkansas shot 47.7 percent overall, but against Arizona’s efficiency, respectable wasn’t nearly enough.

The difference was particularly stark from deep. Arkansas made just 21.7 percent of its 3-point attempts while Arizona connected at a 62.5 percent clip. The Wildcats also piled up 60 points in the paint, consistently finding high-percentage opportunities against the Razorbacks’ defense.

For Arkansas, the loss ended a season that included an SEC Tournament championship, 28 victories and a second consecutive Sweet 16 appearance. The Razorbacks finished 28–9.

Arizona, meanwhile, left SAP Center at 35–2 and riding a 12-game winning streak.

After years of falling short of the regional final, the Wildcats had finally broken through.

And they did it emphatically.

The victory set up another game in San Jose two days later: No. 1 Arizona against No. 2 Purdue, with a trip to the Final Four on the line.