SAN JOSE, Calif. – Arizona's time in the big dance of college basketball two-steps it's way to the third round. The Wildcats will face Xavier in a storyline-heavy Sweet 16 match-up in the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The Cats and Musketeers will tip off at 7:09 p.m. (MST) on Thursday, March 23 on TBS.

No. 4/4 Arizona vs. Xavier
Thursday, March 23 at 7:00 p.m. (MST)
TV: TBS (Brian Anderson, Chris Webber, Lewis Johnson)
Radio: Arizona IMG Radio Network (Brian Jeffries & Ryan Hansen)
Twitter: @APlayersProgram
#BearDown
 

• Arizona is in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for 18^th time in program history and the fifth time in the last seven seasons. UA is 10-7 in the round of 16 in program history with a mark of 3-1 under head coach Sean Miller. The 2017 Wildcats arrive in the third round of the NCAA tournament as winners of 26 of their last 28 games going back to the first week of December.
• The Wildcats advanced to San Jose, Calif. by defeating Saint Mary's 69-60 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah. Arizona erased a 10-point deficit against the Gaels, which marked the third time this season UA has erased a double-digit deficit in a game. The Cats shot 59.1 percent from the field in the second half as Lauri Markkanen (16 points), Allonzo Trier (14 points), Dusan Ristic (13 points) and Kadeem Allen (12 points) all scored in double figures.
• Lauri Markkanen recorded a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Saint Mary's on Saturday. He became the first UA freshman to post a double-double in a NCAA Tournament game since Channing Frye tallied 18 points and 11 rebounds versus Wyoming in the second round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament.
• UA enters the week with a record of 17-3 this season in games away from McKale Center, including true road games and neutral site games. The program's 17-3 (.850) mark away from home is the second-highest winning percentage in neutral and away games among teams left in the tournament, trailing only Gonzaga's 19-0 record.
• Sophmore Allonzo Trier's 37 of 44 (.841) free throw shooting during the 2017 Pac-12 and NCAA tournaments has been fueled by his clutch shooting at the charity stripe in the second half of those five postseason games. Trier is shooting 30 of 33 (.909) at the free throw line in the second half of those games, which accounts for 81.0 percent of all of his made free throws during postseason play.
• Head coach Sean Miller will face Xavier for a second time in NCAA postseason play since leaving the Musketeers for the Wildcats after the 2008-09 season. Miller spent five seasons at the helm of the Xavier program from 2004 to 2009 after spending three seasons as Thad Matta's top assistant at XU. The last time Miller faced Xavier was in the Sweet 16 of the 2015 NCAA Tournament, which saw the Wildcats top the Musketeers 68-60 in Los Angeles.
• Arizona's 32 wins this season mark the seventh season of 30 or more wins in program history with four of those 30-win seasons coming in the last seven years.
• UA, who won the Pac-12 Tournament and a share of the Pac-12 regular season championship, advanced to the round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament with a record of 32-4 with all four losses coming to teams who are also in the Sweet 16 in Butler, Gonzaga, Oregon and UCLA.