Top-seeded Arizona rolls past Long Island 92-58 in impressive NCAA Tournament opener

Ivan Kharchenkov had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Big 12 regular-season and tournament champion Wildcats (33-2), who quickly showed why they’re the tournament’s second overall seed behind Duke.

But one day after the Blue Devils barely won a thriller over Siena and Howard hung with top-seeded Michigan into the second half, the Wildcats earned a comfortable victory precisely because they didn't think of it as a mismatch.

“I don’t think playing down to the competition is something that ever enters my mind,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “I have a lot of respect for our opponents, and I make sure our players do as well. I told our guys, these 1-16 games, you just don’t know. Obviously, the objective is to win the game. You can’t get emotionally caught up if the game is close at half or anything like that.”

This one wasn't.

Pushing the pace on offense and stifling the Sharks with defense, Arizona went up by double digits in the opening minutes and led the Sharks by 27 in the first half while delighting the thousands of fans who filled Viejas Arena with red. Nobody had to play more than 28 minutes, which should benefit the Wildcats down the road.

“Coach talked about punching them first, hitting them first, and it felt like a home game out there,” said Big 12 player of the year Jaden Bradley, who scored only seven points. “The fans brought the energy, so we appreciate that, and defensively we started getting stops.”

Arizona will return Sunday to face the winner of Villanova’s meeting with Utah State in the West Region bracket.

Mason Porter-Brown scored 15 points and Greg Gordon had 12 for the Sharks (24-11), who finished their fourth season under coach Rod Strickland. Long Island has surged from a three-win season in Strickland's debut to win the NEC regular-season and tournament titles this spring while building a national profile for the Brooklyn school.

“That team is predicted to win the tournament, so we knew it was going to be tough,” Strickland said. “I think the lights might have hit us a little bit in the beginning. I thought we played a really competitive second half.”

The Sharks just didn't have enough to hang with the deep, talented Wildcats, who clearly have a shot to win the first title for any team from the Western U.S. since Arizona won its only national crown in 1997.

Arizona’s famed offensive balance was in perfect tune, with six players scoring at least eight points. Burries needed just 10 shots to lead Arizona, which hit 57% of its shots in the first half and maintained that success rate until the final minutes.

Even 11 missed free throws didn’t slow the Wildcats’ roll. Arizona committed only three fouls in the first half, and LIU didn't shoot a free throw until the second half.

Munyak's magic moment

LIU's last basket of the night was special for the Sharks and their fans, who all erupted in cheers when Eddie Munyak banked in a 3-pointer with 53 seconds left.

Munyak teared up on the court after scoring his first collegiate points with his parents, girlfriend and AAU coach in the crowd. The 6-foot-1 Long Island native said he walked on at LIU and redshirted last season before getting a scholarship this year, but he had played in just one game all season — and didn't touch the ball — before he got to make a lifetime memory in San Diego.

“Emotion came out of me, which is kind of hard to see from a guy like me, really a guy with no emotion,” Munyak said with a grin. “That was amazing. I'm still — I feel like I'm floating right now. ... I dedicate my life to basketball. I've been through a lot. Injuries, off-the-floor stuff. It's the greatest.”

Up next

The Wildcats made the Sweet Sixteen in three of Lloyd's first four seasons, but have never gone farther.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness