2017 NCAA Tournament: Arizona vs North Dakota preview, prediction, TV schedule

Arizona takes on North Dakota in what could be the first step toward delivering head coach Sean Miller to the 2017 NCAA Tournament Final Four.

TV Schedule: Thursday, Mar. 16, 9:50 p.m. ET, TBS

Arena: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, UT

Prediction: Arizona 87, South Dakota St. 67

By winning the Pac-12 Conference Championship, the 30-4 Arizona Wildcats earned the 2-seed in the West region. They begin the 2017 NCAA Tournament against the 22-9 North Dakota Fighting Hawks, the Big Sky Champions.

At the beginning of the season, the Arizona Wildcats were the favorites to earn the Pac-12 regular season title and a possible 1-seed. Despite an impressive four loss season, the Wildcats find themselves on the two line behind an excellent Gonzaga Bulldogs team. The Zags beat them in December on their way to a nearly-perfect, one-loss campaign.

The North Dakota Fighting Hawks have a pretty impressive 22-9 record, doing so with a high scoring offense. Sparked by Quinton Hooker’s 19.1 points per game, North Dakota averages 80.5 points, which ranks 29th in the nation.

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The Fighting Hawks, however, are about to face one of the best defenses in the nation. Led by senior guard Kadeem Allen, the Wildcats give up just over 65 points per game. They do so with great guard play, running teams off the line and forcing bad looks from deep. Their 30.6 three-point percentage defense is ranked 12th in the country. In both games against UCLA, the Wildcats held the nation’s eighth best three-point shooting team to only 25 percent from deep.

The Fighting Hawks will need their forwards to increase their scoring production in order to compete. Their top three scorers — Quinton Hooker, Geno Crandall, and Corey Baldwin — take over 45 percent of their shots from three-point range, so an option of interior scoring is a must.

On the offensive end, Arizona has the ability to light up opposing defenses and go on overwhelming runs. Led by sophomore guard Alonzo Trier (17.3 points) and freshman forward Lauri Markkanen (15.6 points), the Wildcats are able to score from anywhere on the floor. While Arizona is able to heat up from three-point range, they do not rely on deep shots, which make up less than a third of their field goal attempts.

The X-factor in this game is forward Lauri Markkanen, who may be the best shooting big man in NCAA history. When he is taking confident shots, Markkanen can hit at an incredibly high rate, averaging .432 from deep.

Next: Final Four staff predictions

While North Dakota’s season was impressive, their success relied heavily on perimeter offense, something that Arizona is incredibly good at limiting. In the end, Markkanen’s size and shooting, Allen’s defense, and Trier’s star power will be too much for the Fighting Hawks.

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