Cat Tracks: Wildcats advance easily with win over Belmont

Sure, you could read the box score and know who won, but we all know that won’t tell you everything that happened in a basketball game. So, we give you ‘Cat Tracks’, providing you with the analysis, quotes and notes from Arizona’s 81-64 win over Belmont on March 21.

The Good:

Sixth-seeded Arizona had no trouble handling 11th-seeded Belmont, despite many national pundits predicting an upset. The Wildcats led by as many 21 points, and used their size to stifle any hopes Belmont had to advance.

The Wildcats were led by Mark Lyons, who scored 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting in the win. The ‘Cats also had three players, Kevin Parrom, Kaleb Tarczewski and Nick Johnson, add 12 points. Tarczewski and Parrom each also had eight rebounds.

Arizona shot an impressive 57 percent overall and made nine of 17 three-pointers. The ‘Cats defense also held the Bruins to just 39.2 percent shooting. Belmont had averaged a 49.4 shooting percentage for the season.

The Bad:

Senior forward Solomon Hill was in foul trouble early for the Wildcats. He had three fouls before halftime. He had just nine points in 29 minutes of play.

Belmont made a small run late with over five minutes left, cutting their deficit to 11 points. They would get no closer in this lop-sided contest.

In the first half, the Wildcats did commit 10 turnovers that resulted in 10 points for the Bruins.

Noted:

• Belmont fell to 0-6 in tournament games.

• Arizona outrebounded Belmont by a 44-18 margin.

• The Bruins were just 2 of 13 from downtown in the first half and 8 of 27 overall in the game.

Coming Up Next:

The Wildcats will play Harvard on Saturday. Tip-off is TBA.

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