LOS ANGELES — No. 2 seed Arizona men’s basketball survived a scare from sixth seeded Xavier to win 68-60 and make it to their second straight Elite Eight.
The Wildcats will face top seed Wisconsin on Saturday for a berth in the Final Four.
Arizona forward Stanley Johnson scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds. Center Kaleb Tarczewski got a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
After trailing much of the second half, UA (34-3)took the lead on a 6-0 run when they held the Musketeers scoreless for 3:57.
Three Wildcats had three or more fouls.
Arizona shot 41 percent from the floor, 32 percent from beyond the 3-point line and 89 percent from the charity stripe. Xavier (23-14) shot 43 percent from the field, 18 percent from deep and 81 percent from the foul line.
Xavier center Matt Stainbrook scored 17 points and hauled in 10 rebounds.
Arizona point guard T.J. McConnell scored 17 points, with five assists and seven rebounds.
Game notes:
-Xavier scored 34 points in the paint, Arizona had 18
-The Wildcats led for 22:38
-There was eight ties and six lead changes
-Arizona’s bench scored 14 points, Xavier’s scored 22