Cat Tracks: Wildcats advance to Sweet Sixteen with win over Harvard

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 74-51 win over Harvard on March 23.

The Good:

The sixth-seeded Wildcats continue to impress in the tournament, handling 14th-seeded Harvard easily to advance to their 15th Sweet Sixteen.

Point guard Mark Lyons played a remarkable game for the ‘Cats, tying a career-high 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting. He previously scored 27 points while with Xavier against Saint Louis in January 2012.

Arizona was dominant from the start, and built a 30-9 lead at one point in the first half and entered halftime with a comfortable 40-22 lead.

The ‘Cats defense stifled Harvard, holding them to a lowly 27.6 shooting percentage overall.

The Bad:

The Wildcats’ freshman Grant Jerrett bruised his elbow in the first half and did not return to the game.

Arizona saw both Kevin Parrom and Brandon Ashley foul out of the game in the second half.

Noted:

• Harvard missed 20 of its first 22 shots of the game, including 13 straight to open the contest.

• Lyons will become the first player in NCAA tourney history to play in back-to-back Sweet Sixteens with two different teams. He played last year with Xavier.

• Arizona shot an impressive 58.3 percent from the field in the first half and finished with a 55 percent shooting percent overall, including going 9 of 15 from downtown.

Coming Up Next:

The Wildcats will play the winner of Ohio St. vs. Iowa St on Thursday in LA in the Sweet Sixteen.

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