But the celebration ended almost as soon as the team bus left UD Arena. The Raiders know they’re facing a mighty foe in Arizona in San Diego tonight, and, given that their allotment of tickets is only 200, it almost certainly will feel like a road game.
No. 1-seeded Arizona’s rich history and success in the NCAA tourney is matched only by elite programs and certainly dwarfs the Raiders’ accomplishments as a relative newcomer to Division I.
The Wildcats had a streak of 25 straight NCAA trips from 1985-2009, two short on North Carolina’s record.
They’ve been to four Final Fours: 1988, 1994, 1997, 2001, winning it all in ‘97.
They have 56 NCAA wins.
And they’ve had 24 first-round NBA draft choices, including 2018 No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton. They’re expected to add two more to that total this year.
But the Raiders are undaunted. Though it was only a battle of 16 seeds in the First Four, their 93-82 victory over Bryant on Wednesday has given them the belief that they can compete with anyone.
“Arizona is predicted to win in a lot of brackets, so it’ll definitely be a fun matchup for us,” said star wing Tanner Holden, who had 37 points to go with point guard Trey Calvin’s 21. “Offense will come and go. But if our defense is solid, we’ll definitely make it a game.
“I think we’re all confident. We’re going there to win.”
The game against second-ranked Arizona is the fourth time the Raiders have faced a top-two team in the Division-I era (since 1987).
They lost to No. 1 Indiana, 97-54, in the 1993 NCAA tourney; fell to No. 2 Kentucky, 78-63, on Nov. 20, 2015; and lost to No. 1 Michigan State, 88-61, on Dec. 30, 2000.
The highest-ranked team they’ve beaten was No. 6 Michigan State, 53-49, on Dec. 30 1999.
But they’ve played a comparable foe to Arizona this season in Purdue. And while they were bludgeoned, 96-52, on Nov. 16, they’re not the same team they were then.
“That game against Purdue, it was a crazy atmosphere. It was packed in Mackey (Arena). I think we were still figuring out little details of our games that we weren’t very sharp on,” Holden said.
“Defensively, we weren’t very good at the beginning of the season. … Whenever you lose, you have to go back and find things that will work. And I think we did a great job of that, bouncing back, not hanging our heads and moving on from that.”
Wright State clearly has been a better team during its six-game winning streak.
Bryant was a quality opponent, but the Raiders didn’t wilt under the Bulldogs’ physical style, finishing with a 44-34 rebound edge, making a solid 26 of 32 free throws and holding the Northeast Conference champs to 4-of-24 shooting from 3.
“It’s hard to win a game like this when you shoot the ball like that,” said Bryant coach Jared Grasso, whose team shot a season-worst 16.7% from the arc. “They played well. It’s a well-coached team. And Calvin and Holden were terrific. Those guys played at a really high level.”
Arizona went through major upheaval during a recruiting scandal under previous coach Sean Miller. He was fired last year after leading the Wildcats to three Elite Eight trips in 12 years.
New coach Tommy Lloyd, a former Gonzaga assistant, has the team rolling again. He was named PAC-12 coach of the year after going 31-3.
Sophomore guard Bennedict Mathurin, 7-foot-1 junior center Christian Koloko and 6-11 sophomore forward Azuolas Tubelis all made the 10-man all-conference first team. And the Wildcats swept the major individual awards, Mathurin being named player of the year and Tubelis defensive player of the year and most improved player.
“I heard on TV the other day, even before we were going to play them, that they’re the second biggest team in the country,” Wright State coach Scott Nagy said. “That’s obviously going to be a problem. The question is can we get shots around the basket? Can we rebound the ball? And can we guard them in the post?”
Notching the first NCAA win at Wright State is a noteworthy feat, but the players are hungry for more.
“Like I’ve said before. we’re not coming in just for the experience of March Madness,” Holden said. “We really want to win and make a name for our school, ourselves and this program.”
Beating Arizona certainly would accomplish that.
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