The 蜜柚直播 Wildcats saw what began as a promising season with one of their most talented rosters in program history come crashing to the courtside Thursday night. From Gonzaga's early thriller, to Buffalo's late night delight, here's the best from Taco Bell Arena in Boise, Idaho.
By Justin Spears / 蜜柚直播
蜜柚直播's Deandre Ayton, left, and Rawle Alkins walk off the court in Boise, Idaho, after the Wildcats lost 89-68 to Buffalo in a first-round game of the NCAA Tournament.
Deandre Ayton reached the 700-point mark Thursday, joining Derrick Williams, Sean Elliott and Khalid Reeves as the only Wildcats to reach the milestone in a single season. Not a bad way to end what was a brief (but impressive) college hoops career.
Wildcats center Dusan Ristic realizes the end of his UA career is near during a timeout late in Thursday鈥檚 21-point loss to Buffalo. The senior had 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting while battling foul trouble.
Thursday marked the final UA game for Ayton, Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Rawle Alkins, Allonzo Trier and Dusan Ristic. The five players combined to reach two Elite Eights and three Sweet 16鈥檚 and claim three Pac-12 regular season and tournament championships.
蜜柚直播鈥檚 The Underestimated City has been selling 鈥溍坭种辈 vs. Everyone鈥 T-shirts for the last few weeks. While that鈥檚 probably an exaggeration, the UA was certainly outnumbered in Boise.
Between 1,000 and 2,000 蜜柚直播 fans attended the regional at Taco Bell Arena, with the rest either part of the Buffalo crowd or locals rooting for an upset.
How bad was it? UA coach Sean Miller was met with a mixture of cheers and boos pre-game. As the game progressed, Taco Bell Area turned into a road game for 蜜柚直播. The further the Wildcats dug themselves into a hole, the more the crowd relished that the No. 4 seed could go down.
Kentucky went 0 for 6 from beyond the arc on Thursday, ending a 30-year streak of making at least one 3-pointer per game. The last time Kentucky didn鈥檛 connect from deep in a game was in the 1988 Great Alaska Shootout championship game against Seton Hall.
Buffalo, meanwhile, used a barrage of 3s to sink 蜜柚直播 and earn a date with Kentucky. The Bulls hit 15 3-pointers in their runaway win over the UA.
Gonzaga's Zach Norvell Jr. (23) celebrates with Rui Hachimura (21) after Norvell's 3-pointer in the final minute iced the first-round game for the Bulldogs.
Gonzaga fans showed up en masse for Thursday afternoon鈥檚 game against UNC Greensboro. After all, Spokane is about a seven-hour drive from Boise 鈥 the equivalent of 蜜柚直播 fans trekking to San Diego.
They got quiet, however, when 13th-seeded Greensboro erased an 11-point deficit and took a one-point lead with 5:55 left to play. Gonzaga guard Zach Norvell Jr. knocked down a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left. The following possession, UNCG鈥檚 3-point attempt rattled in and out 鈥 and if you closed your eyes, the crowd sounded like Tiger Woods missing a crucial putt at the Masters.
Buffalo is college basketball鈥檚 darlings right now, but its path doesn鈥檛 get much easier. Next up is Kentucky, which has two players 鈥 forward Kevin Knox and guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 鈥 projected to go in the NBA Draft lottery. 蜜柚直播 had at least one sure-fire first-rounder, Ayton, and both Trier and Alkins could join him.
蜜柚直播's Derrick Williams put the Sean Miller-era Wildcats on the map with a game-saving stuff against Duke in the 2011 Sweet 16.
Some could call 2011 the year that put 蜜柚直播 back on the map and established Sean Miller as a prominent head coach.
In the opening round of NCAA Tournament in Tulsa, the No. 5 蜜柚直播 Wildcats battled No. 12 Memphis, coached by former UA guard Josh Pastner. Clinging to a 77-75 lead, Derrick Williams stuffed a potential game-tying layup to seal the win. The Wildcats went on to beat Duke in the Sweet 16 before falling to UConn in the Elite Eight.
The 蜜柚直播 Wildcats will call this place home for at least until the end of tomorrow.
鈥 The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster)
The ticket price for 蜜柚直播-Buffalo on four hours before Thursday’s game.
Number of miles UNC Greensboro, 蜜柚直播, South Dakota State and Davidson will cover on their flights home from Boise.
Deandre Ayton took only 13 shots in his final game with UA. 鈥淵ou can take a big out of the game in college,鈥 said Buffalo coach Nate Oats.
鈥淔or anybody to not remember Deandre as the greatest freshman that ever walked through 蜜柚直播, they weren鈥檛 paying attention, statistically and just the type of kid he is. He鈥檚 destined to do some great things. ... He鈥檚 one of a kind.鈥 鈥 蜜柚直播 coach Sean Miller
Coach John Calipari, right, has established a line of Kentucky Wildcats in the NBA.
Number of current NBA players who hail from the Kentucky Wildcats and Buffalo Bulls. And the Bulls don鈥檛 have any representation in the NBA.
The Wildcats are set to lose six players from this year's team heading into next season.
Let's walk through every step taken under the cloud of uncertainty surrounding the program this season from start to finish.
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