Photos: Arizona goes down 77-72 to Clemson, NCAA Tournament West Region Sweet 16
The Arizona Wildcats can't get past the Clemson Tigers and back to the Elite Eight, falling to 77-72 in the NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard Jaden Bradley (0) walks off the court as the Clemson Tigers celebrate their 77-72 upset win of the second-seeded Wildcats in their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Clemson head coach Brad Brownell hugged Clemson guard Chase Hunter (1) after their Tigers upset Arizona 77-72 in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Clemson center PJ Hall (24) gestures to the bench after slamming home a dunk late in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game against Arizona in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona forward Keshad Johnson (16) thinks Clemson center PJ Hall (24) had a three second violation, but it ended up being a foul on Johnson in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard Jaden Bradley (0) comes in to claw away a shot from Clemson center PJ Hall (24) in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Clemson head coach Brad Brownell, right, and the bench can’t believe the call was against them in a tense second half against Arizona in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard Jaden Bradley (0) draws a foul on his drive against Clemson forward RJ Godfrey (10) in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona center Oumar Ballo (11) stuffs a shot from Clemson forward RJ Godfrey (10) in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard Caleb Love (2) gets blocked from behind by Clemson forward Ian Schieffelin (4) in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd pleads his case after a foul in the second half against Clemson in their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona forward Keshad Johnson (16) surges above a trio of Clemson defenders in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Clemson center PJ Hall (24) crashes down atop Arizona center Oumar Ballo (11) trying to block his put-back attempt in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Clemson center PJ Hall (24), left, and guard Joseph Girard III (11) swarm Arizona center Oumar Ballo (11) in the paint in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard Jaden Bradley lets go a roar after drawing a foul on his basket against Clemson in the first half of their Sweet 16 game,
Arizona center Motiejus Krivas (14) gets away with hit on the arm stopping Clemson guard Chase Hunter’s (1)shot in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Clemson center PJ Hall (24) ties up Arizona center Oumar Ballo (11) and keeps him from getting a lob into the paint in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard Caleb Love (2) charges past Clemson center PJ Hall (24) and to the basket in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Clemson forward RJ Godfrey (10) strips Arizona guard Jaden Bradley (0) of the ball in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard KJ Lewis (5) is fraction late to keep Clemson forward Chauncey Wiggins (21) from gathering in a swing pass in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard KJ Lewis (5) scores on a dunk against Clemson in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona forward Keshad Johnson (16) dunks against Clemson during a Wildcat flurry in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard KJ Lewis (5) pokes the ball away from Clemson forward Ian Schieffelin (4) for a steal in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard Caleb Love (2) stretches out to pressure Clemson forward Jack Clark (5) in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona center Oumar Ballo (11) scores on an unopposed dunk against Clemson in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona forward Keshad Johnson (16) tries to get the Wildcat crowd into the game during a run against Clemson in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard Pelle Larsson (3) and forward Keshad Johnson (16) bat a loose ball out of the lane in the second half aginst Clemson during their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Clemson forward Jack Clark (5) takes a swipe at Arizona guard Jaden Bradley (0) while trying to keep him from the basket in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard Caleb Love (2) goes face-to-face with Clemson guard Chase Hunter (1) on a drive in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona center Oumar Ballo (11) throws an arm around Clemson forward Ian Schieffelin (4) late in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd talks to the Wildcats during a timeout in the final minute and trailing Clemson in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard Grant Weitman (15) and the Wildcat bench ride out the last few minutes of their 77-72 loss to Clemson in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday in Los Angeles.
Clemson guard Chase Hunter (1) picks the pass right out of the hands of Arizona guard Caleb Love (2) in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard Pelle Larsson (3) gets stripped by Clemson guard Joseph Girard III (11) on a drive in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard KJ Lewis (5) gets fouled by Clemson guard Dillon Hunter (2) on his attempt to get into the lane in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard KJ Lewis (5) picks up a personal foul defending Clemson guard Dillon Hunter (2) in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd, the Wildcat bench and fans can’t believe the ball is called out on them on a Keshad Johnson (16) strip against Clemson in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona center Oumar Ballo (11) gets tangled in the net going after a shot under the basket from Clemson forward Ian Schieffelin (4) in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Clemson forward Ian Schieffelin (4) rises up to swat away a shot from Arizona guard Caleb Love (2) in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
The celebrating crowd and Clemson players surround Arizona guard Caleb Love after the Wildcats gave up a basket and a foul late in the second half of their Sweet 16 game in the NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles on March 28, 2024.
Clemson head coach Brad Brownell, his staff and bench try to get the defense set to face a Wildcat possession late in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game against Arizona in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Kelly Presnell
Photojournalist
LOS ANGELES — Caleb Love changed his shoes at halftime, and that didn’t work. Oumar Ballo kept hoping the odds would even out, and that didn’t…
Seen and heard in L.A.: Jackson-Cartwright goes full circle, joins other ex-U of A Wildcats in stands.
If a Caleb Love-vs.-North Carolina Elite Eight storyline seemed too perfect, it proved to be just that Thursday night. Love was the Wildcats' main character all season, but Clemson's Chase Hunter was casted in that role instead in leading the Tigers past the Wildcats in the Sweet 16 Thursday in Los Angeles.
The analytics were screaming for it most of the season, but in the end the Arizona Wildcats couldn’t get Jaden Bradley on the floor enough. Still Bradley was Arizona’s best player in a 77-72 season ending loss to Clemson on Thursday in the Sweet 16.
After raising expectations early, Arizona Wildcats finished where they were initially expected to.
Hansen's Notebook: Pac-12's decade of mediocrity likely culprit for Arizona's NCAA stallsGreg Hansen's Sunday Notebook: The Star's longtime columnist on the reception of another early exit for Arizona from the NCAA Tournament, Brent Brennan and UA football facing college football's newest era, Pima College's women's basketball's NJCAA march, Tucsonans and Wildcats on MLB rosters and more.
Pac-12 Hotline: Sorting through the NCAA rubble as Arizona Wildcats face a challenging future in Big 12.