Game of the year?

Good morning! If we’re lucky, we’ll have more games next weeks like we saw on Friday night. Let’s dive in.

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1. Arizona tops Iowa State in a March classic

The NCAA Tournament isn’t the only event that can deliver an incredible game in March.

Arizona’s 82-80 win over Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals had all the ingredients ones needs for a classic game: Two top 10 teams, All-American-caliber players, incredible shot-making, dramatic swings, and a buzzer-beating game-winning shot.

The final four minutes of the game saw Arizona and Iowa State make 13 of 15 shots, including seven 3-pointers. When Iowa State tied it at 80, it was only fitting that Big 12 Player of the Year Jaden Bradley delivered the final basket.

“We had a big-time player make a big-time shot,” coach Tommy Lloyd told the Field of 68 afterward, noting that some wondered if the senior was deserving of Big 12 POY. “I’m happy he had this moment to kinda put a stamp on it.”

It was the type of shot that Iowa State could live with, too. "A lot of times we would call a timeout late from a defensive standpoint," Cyclones coach T.J. Otzelberger said. "Look, at the end of the day, Killyan guarded Bradley as perfect as you can guard him. Bradley is a winning player, a fierce competitor."

Arizona (31-2) needed Bradley (15 points) down the stretch. Freshman guard Brayden Burries played just 20 minutes and scored just three points. He had a heating wrap on his leg during the second half. The other essential piece for the ‘Cats was senior guard Anthony Dell’Orso, who matched a career-high with 26 points, much of it in the first half.

Dell’Orso and Iowa State junior forward Milan Momcilovic (eight 3-pointers, 28 points) put on a shooting display for much of the game.

Arizona will need more of that from Dell’Orso when it faces Houston in today’s championship game. The Cougars (28-5) dismantled Kansas — the Jayhawks (23-10) shot 25% from the field in a 69-47 loss — in the other semifinal and could earn a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with a win. Expect the Coogs to be motivated.

2. Ole Miss upends ‘Bama. Might it be a bid thief?

Ole Miss entered the SEC Tournament with just one win in the last 51 days. That’s a distant memory after three wins in three days, the latest an 80-79 win over 2-seed Alabama on Friday.

Every team on the bubble is paying close to attention to the next two days in Nashville.

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