LIU’s Four-Year Rebuild Faces No. 1 Arizona in West Region Opener

Arizona, the Big 12 champion, enters on a nine-game streak with Jaden Bradley healthy.

Overview

Long Island University earned its first NCAA bid since 2018 by winning the NEC tournament under Rod Strickland, marking his first tourney as a head coach.
Arizona (32-2) opens Friday in San Diego against No. 16 LIU after sweeping Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles.
Oddsmakers made the Wildcats nearly 30-point favorites, and an LIU win would rank as an unprecedented upset by point spread.
LIU leans on a veteran backcourt — Jamal Fuller, Malachi Davis, Greg Gordon and Jomo Goings — plus top-10 rim protection and strong steals rates.
Arizona’s paint-heavy attack features three freshman starters in Brayden Burries, Koa Peat and Ivan Kharchenkov with 7-foot-2 Motiejus Krivas inside, and both teams attempt relatively few threes.