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Arizona has just beaten Memphis 77-75 in the first round of the NCAA championships.
A last-second block by Derrick Williams–eerily similar to what he did in a 87-86 win over Washington a few weeks ago–preserved the big win.
To call this one a thriller is not cliche; the teams were so evenly matched and played so well most of the time that the wild ending seemed inevitable.
The Wildcats actually won it at the foul line, hitting 26 of 31 foul shots, including about eight in a row down the stretch–two huge ones by freshman Jordin Mayes, who was only a 44 percent shooter coming in.
But it was that towering block by the long-armed Williams at the very end that surely will be one of ESPN’s Top 10 Plays of the Day later this evening.
Arizona now gets to play the rugged Texas Longhorns on Sunday afternoon in Tulsa.
If the Cats’ three-point shooting doesn’t improve in that one (five for 19 ain’t gonna cut it), it will be adios for the Tucson bunch.
But Arizona has proved quite resilient over the season, so don’t be writing them off just yet.
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