ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Fighting Irish threw their best punch at Arizona, but the Wildcats remained standing and struck back with a blow that sent Notre Dame reeling straight back to South Bend, Ind.
Using a well-balanced offensive assault, the top-seeded Wildcats (28-3) had five players reach double figures en route to an 88-71 victory over the fifth-seeded Irish (24-10) in the West Regional semifinals Thursday at Arrowhead Pond.
The game opened with a frenetic eight minutes that saw Notre Dame pull out to a 26-25 lead. Torin Francis had eight points for the Irish during that span, while Chris Thomas, Matt Carroll and Dan Miller combined for four three-point baskets.
"It was obvious in the early going that it was going to be a track meet," Arizona head coach Lute Olsen said. "Both teams came out ready to go, but relaxed. Any time you see teams come out and shoot the ball the way both teams shot it early, you know they're ready to play."
After the initial frenzy, however, Arizona simply took over. The Wildcats put together a 20-3 run over the next six minutes that would send them into the locker room with a 53-40 advantage.
"I thought we had to be in a track frame of mind, like we were in the first half against Illinois, and I thought for a portion of the first half that was good for us," Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said. "They went on a run, their defense got very good and I thought they pressured us well. We took some quick ones but I thought we were going to have to shoot it fearlessly in order to beat this basketball team."
Despite their lead, the 'Cats were not about to turn down their offensive intensity in the second half. After a Notre Dame free throw by Miller cut Arizona's lead to 65-53 with 11:55 remaining, the Wildcats again went on a tear. Luke Walton contributed eight points, while Jason Gardner and Hassan Adams each added four to give Arizona a 16-3 run that resulted in an 81-56 lead.
"The key to our run was just staying on them," said Walton, who finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. "It makes teams tired. If we can keep up the defensive intensity, that's when we go on runs and limit teams to one shot. I think they got a little tired because we kept that up."
The only player for the Irish who managed to find his groove was Francis, who topped his career-high by finishing with a game-high 25 points while going 10-for-11 from the field. Francis' output came mostly in the first half, as he scored only eight points in the game's final 20 minutes.
"They were definitely double teaming me," Torin said regarding the game's second half. "For the most part, I tried to draw the defense and kick it out."
Notre Dame was hampered by its 19 turnovers, the third-highest total of the season for the Fighting Irish. Arizona, meanwhile, turned the ball over only 10 times while also connecting on 50 percent of its three-point attempts.
"It seems like they shot 80 percent," Thomas said of the Wildcats. "They got good looks.
"When you give a team like Arizona that much confidence, that much time to run the break and use their athleticism, then they're tough to stop."
The Wildcats move on to face No. 2 seed Kansas in the West Regional Finals Saturday evening, and would love nothing more than to repeat the offensive success that they enjoyed Thursday against Notre Dame.
"When we are playing on top of our game we are a very hard team to play," Walton said. "I give ourselves a big advantage when we are playing our best game."
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