LIVE BLOG: Arizona 71, Cleveland State 57

Updated 2:03 p.m.

Hello and welcome to a Live Blog I thought I’d never have the opportunity to keep.

In what has been the most topsy-turvy season in Arizona basketball history, the Wildcats (20-13 -- yep, 20 wins, yet again) find themselves on the brink of a very unlikely Sweet 16 appearance.

I wonder what Dick Vitale has to say about all this. Wait, no I don’t.

Standing in UA’s way? The Cinderellas from Cleveland State.

The Vikings won their second tournament game in school history (the first coming in 1986 when they upset Bob Knight‘s Hoosiers) on Friday night, beating Wake Forest 84-69. Truth be told, the game wasn’t even that close.

I had Wake Forest tabbed as a potential Final Four sleeper. I mean, the Demon Deacons did spend a good chunk of time ranked No. 1 overall this season. But Cleveland State absolutely mopped the floor with them. Nothing about that performance was fluky.

Wildcat fans see that No. 13 seed attached to the Vikings and think they have a yellow-brick road leading to the round of 16. But I would caution that it doesn’t do any good to get cocky at this stage. Cleveland State might be the most dangerous lower seed in this tournament. They have tremendous experience and much better depth than Arizona.

J’Nathan Bullock, Norris Cole and Cedric Jackson each possess the ability to take over a game. And in one of the crazier stats I’ve seen on any roster, the Vikings have four players averaging more than five rebounds per game, which could be trouble, considering how the Wildcats occasionally neglect to box out when they’re in their 1-1-3 zone.

Arizona was able to jump all over the Utah Runnin’ Utes due to a pressure defense that forced 19 turnovers. It almost seemed as if the Utes had never seen a press before and forgot how to dribble or pass. That won’t happen to Cleveland State. Jackson is a big, physical experienced guard who fills up every column in the stat sheet. A little pressure shouldn’t bother him.

Arizona’s major advantages: quickness and athleticism. Nic Wise sliced and diced his way through Utah’s defense with very little resistance. Nobody on Utah was remotely quick enough to stay in front of him. If he has another great game today, it’s going to be a very long day for Cleveland State’s guards. In addition, none of Cleveland State’s big men (particularly the 6-foot-5 Bullock) can guard Jordan Hill one on one. It took him a little while to get going against Utah, but he thoroughly out-played MWC Conference Player of the Year Luke Nevill. Today could be Hill’s breakout game in front of a national audience. Lastly, Chase Budinger attacked the rim with as much focus and determination as he ever has against Utah. The junior swingman wanted to push that Arizona State game out of his head and remind people that, yes, he is one of college basketball’s best all-around players.

Arizona has to be considered the favorite today, but that could actually work against the Cats. The reason they were successful on Friday was because they played with a chip on their collective shoulder. Wildcat fans better hope that chip is still there and that Russ Pennell’s squad doesn’t get caught looking past Cleveland State toward a potential showdown with No. 1 Louisville.

As an added bit of trivia, this is only the seventh time we’ve seen No. 12 versus No. 13 match-ups in the tournament, but it happened twice last season. Perhaps this is becoming a trend?

TIPOFF: CBS lingers on this Kansas/Dayton game before we’re taken to Miami for the game we all care about. Looks like we’re a bit behind schedule here. It’s 11:46 a.m. and the cheerleaders are still out there. We hear the familiar horn intro to “Bear Down, Arizona” as Ian Eagle details the starting lineups. Look at that -- four seniors starting for Cleveland State. In today’s one-and-done era of college hoops, experience like this is critical. Arizona wears the home whites, with Cleveland State wearing green.

19:35: Sophomore Nathan Cole -- who scored 22 points against Wake Forest -- bricks his first three badly.

19:22: Jamelle Horne buries a spot-up three. That’s a huge shot for him. He’s an all-or-nothing guy when it comes to his confidence.

18:45: Budinger takes it baseline and gets a reverse lay-up to fall. Terrific aggressive move.

18:25: Wise draws a blocking foul on a delayed break. Not a lot of hop in Cleveland State’s step right now. Wise gets those two freebies to fall as the Wildcats take an early 7-0 lead.

17:48: Cole gets a floater to fall over Hill. Great move from the sophomore swingman.

17:37: Hill makes a nice play to save that overthrow, but commits an overthrow of his own. If UA can get into its half court offense, I don’t see any way Cleveland State can hang with Hill.

17:10: Cedric Jackson gets rewarded on that hard take to the rim with a bogus foul call on Horne.

17:07: Wise takes a hard spill after attempting to break Cleveland State’s press on his own. He’s OK though. Unlike previous seasons, you can’t criticize Arizona’s toughness.

16:54: Horne drills another jumper -- this time from the baseline. If he gets those shots to fall, that is a HUGE unexpected boost.

15:56: Jackson penetrates the lane and draws a foul call on Hill. Two more free throws coming up. It’s 9-6 UA after Jackson drops those two.

15:30: Budinger’s high-arching jumper finds the bottom of the net. I really like how he’s approached these two tourney games.

14:56: Wise attacks the hoop with vigor and gets another pair of free throws to fall. Credit Kyle Fogg on that one, who stole the ball from J’Nathan Bullock. Fogg is such a pest.

14:12: Jackson -- the nation’s leader in steals -- picks Hill’s pocket and converts the lay-up.

14:03: Hill botches the easy lay-up. He wants a foul call but he won’t get it.

13:38: Horne flies over from the weak side to swat that shot away. He’s such a great athlete. If he ever figures out the mental side of basketball, Arizona could have a special player.

13:23: Chris Moore beats Hill to the glass and converts the put-back. Box out, Jordan!

13:17: Budinger boots the easy lay-up out of bounds. UA has cooled off from that hot start.

13:15: Wise thought he had an easy three lined up, but D’Aundray Brown swatted that one away.

12:48: Hill sticks a 17-foot jumper. Cleveland State will have no answer for that.

12:33: Fogg comes up with another steal, but can’t get the lay-up to go. He thought he was going to get fouled, but no contact.

12:12: Wise scoops in one of those “only Nic Wise attempts these” lay-ups. After three bounces on the back iron, the ball drops through.

11:47: Wise pulls some Harlem Globetrotter dribbling maneuvers in the backcourt and dishes it to Hill, who slams it home while absorbing the contact. It’s the Nic Wise show, once again. Hill gets the freebie to drop and Arizona leads 20-10.

11:18: Cleveland State looks awful in its half court offense. All of the Vikings’ points are coming on putbacks or on Cedric Jackson making things happen.

10:42: George Tandy beats Zane Johnson to the glass and cleans up the mess.

10:07: Hill goes to work on the block. Bullock comes down to double team, but Hill spins baseline and draws the foul. Nothing but net on those two free throws. 22-12 Arizona.

9:48: Bullock finally gets on the board. The Vikings’ leading scorer is 1-5 from the floor.

9:30: Hill commits an obvious over-the-back foul, forcing him to the bench with two early fouls. Not a smart play, Jordan. Both teams have gone small.

8:51: Wise sticks a midrange jumper on a spin move. Just a ridiculous move. He’s doing anything he wants out there.

8:35: Fogg -- pesky once again on defense -- disrupts Cleveland State and forces a jump ball. Arizona’s unsung hero thus far. He’s all hustle and determination.

8:13: Whoops. Fogg -- perhaps buying into his own hype too much -- throws a terrible entry pass to Budinger for a turnover.

7:14: Fields gets good position on Budinger and draws a reach-in foul on the UA forward. Arizona leads 24-14.

7:04: Cleveland State throws the ball off the sideline for the team’s sixth turnover.

6:37: Hill recognizes he owns a major size advantage on that screen switch and knocks down a slick turnaround jumper.

6:15: ANOTHER Cleveland State turnover.

6:05: Wise barrels into the lane and gets to the free throw line, yet again. Hill takes a seat, as Fendi Onobun checks into the game. Those two freebies put UA ahead 28-14.

5:37: Fendi is very active down low, denying the entry passes. It was a good move to buy Hill some rest and make sure he doesn’t pick up the third foul.

4:54: Wise looked to split the double team on that high screen, but lost his footing. Cleveland State takes off on a fast break, but Onobun has no interest in giving up a lay-up to Cedric Jackson. Knowing he won’t see a lot of time today, Fendi gets his money’s worth on that foul. Jackson is forced to check out, after it looks like Fendi might’ve poked him in the eye. CSU gets one of those two freebies to fall -- the first points for the Vikings in quite some time.

4:25: Josh McCoy pokes the ball away from Budinger, forcing Wise to foul to prevent that lay-up. It’s 28-16 Arizona.

3:50: Wise picks up his third foul after getting pump-faked. Uh oh. That’s bad news. The “Big Three” has seven fouls.

3:20: Budinger buries a contested three with the shot clock winding down. Huge shot to get the momentum back on Arizona’s side.

3:01: Norris Cole gets a pretty floater to drop.

2:46: Hill takes the ball baseline with authority, but picks up a charging foul. Just a stupid play on Hill’s part. That’s three fouls for Wise and Hill.

2:23: Bullock gets an acrobatic shot to fall as Onobun fouls him with the body. Cleveland State has seized the momentum. Serious foul problems for the Wildcats. No UA fan wants to see Alex Jacobson play meaningful minutes. It’s 31-23 Wildcats as Pennell calls timeout.

2:04: Arizona executes its offense to perfection, leading to a Horne slam. Much to Horne’s relief, this one doesn’t get caught in the net and bounce out.

1:38: Cedric Jackson returns and gets a nice ovation from the Cleveland State portion of the crowd.

1:28: Budinger bullies his way into the lane and gets a really tough scoop shot to drop. “That was a Nic Wise shot!” exclaims my Dad. If I’m the play-by-play guy, he’s the color commentator. 35-23 Cats.

1:05: Here’s something you don’t see very often. Budinger, Wise and Hill all on the bench in the first half with the game still in doubt. Bullock gets a follow-up to fall to cut UA’s lead to 10.

0:23: Moore has his lay-up swatted away by Horne. What an athletic play.

0:02: Arizona doesn’t score any points with the Big Three out, but it doesn’t give up any points, either. Great job by the seldom-used Fogg-Horne-Johnson-Fendi-Lavender roster to keep Cleveland State from cutting into the lead.

HALFTIME: 35-25 Wildcats, with a lot of dramatic subplots for the second half.

First, the good news. Arizona is playing MUCH better than Cleveland State right now. The Vikings can’t get anything going in the half court, as their 29 percent shooting performance can attest. Arizona’s zone defense, which can be vulnerable to the three, has held Cleveland State to 0-7 from beyond the arc. Plus, Arizona is quicker, bigger, stronger and more athletic at every position on the floor.

Now, the bad news.

The Wildcats find themselves in serious foul trouble, which is a recipe for disaster for a team this thin. Nic Wise and Jordan Hill -- each of whom can do whatever they want against Cleveland State -- have each committed three fouls. Two of Hill’s fouls were of the stupid variety, as well. Chase Budinger has two fouls, as well. Hill’s back-up, Fendi Onobun? Two fouls, too. That has really painted Arizona into a corner. The squad’s top four players can’t play with the same edge and aggressiveness, as they worry about picking up another costly call.

If Arizona can find a way to keep its stars out of further foul trouble, the Cats should cruise to victory. But if any of the “Big Three” pick up another early foul and Cedric Jackson rebounds from that hard foul midway through the first half, the second half could get really interesting.

Wise leads all scorers with 10 points. Hill and Budinger each have nine, and Horne checks in with seven.

19:45: Jackson kicks off the second half with a hard take to the hoop. That’s just what Cleveland State needed.

19:27: The Cats execute a nice give-and-go, where Budinger draws the bump on Bullock and heads to the line. He hits one of two.

18:52: Jackson picks up a foul trying to keep Budinger off the boards. Jackson is giving up roughly four inches to the 6-foot-7 Budinger.

18:16: Wise delivers a beautiful bounce pass to a back cutting Budinger. Chase misses the gimmie lay-up (slam it down, Chase!), but Hill cleans it up and draws the foul. One of two freebies put Arizona ahead 37-27.

17:57: Bullock misses his third straight jumper. He can’t get anything to fall.

17:52: Budinger elevates to snag a very pretty lob pass from Budinger. What a play!

17:26: Norris Cole fakes the three and sticks the midrange jumper.

17:04: Horne misses the three, but Hill hauls down the offensive board. He feeds a cutting Horne for a short jump hook. Cats lead by 12.

16:45: Cole takes advantage of UA’s foul trouble and attacks Hill on that lay-up. Hill backs away, wary of getting whistled for No. 4.

16:10: Jackson gets a really tough lay-up to fall. Budinger set up to take the charge, but Jackson maneuvered around him.

15:40: Budinger is the recipient of another Wise lob. He lays it in to push UA’s lead back to double digits. Budinger has 14 points.

15:00: Hill was hit in the hands by two perfect entry passes, but he booted both of them. Fogg to the rescue, however, as he hauls in the offensive board and draws the foul. He’ll head to the foul line after the media timeout.

14:46: We cut back to Cleveland State in the huddle, where head coach Gary Waters is as fired up as I’ve ever seen any coach in any sport. Fogg gets his two to drop as UA leads 45-33.

14:27: Cleveland State finally hits a three -- 1-11 so far -- as Jeremy Montgomery tees that one up in the corner.

13:36: Chris Moore banks in the close-range jumper. Wildcats lead by only seven. Budinger and Jackson start mixing it up, but the refs step in. Budinger and Jackson shake hands. Game on!

13:20: Wise can’t get that wild lay-up to fall. Bullock fires a three in transition but bricks it. Why does he keep shooting it? He hasn’t even been close.

13:00: Budinger draws another foul, as Cleveland State has won over the crowd. The call is met with a chorus of boos. Budinger hits one of two as the Cats lead 46-38.

12:44: Montgomery puts a lot of English on that lay-up and gets the ball to drop. Cleveland State down by only six as it has captured the momentum.

12:04: Budinger airballs that baseline jumper, but Hill grabs the offensive board. Hill misses the putback, but Jamelle Horne gets called for a holding foul before Budinger can get the follow-to-the-follow to fall.

During the media timeout, I’m certain that Pennell and his crew is attempting to re-energize this crew’s defensive intensity. Part of the problem is that so many key Wildcats are in foul trouble, so Cleveland State has taken advantage of Arizona’s play-on-its-heels defensive stance.

11:34: Hill and Wise run a picture-perfect screen-and-roll. Hill slips to the hoop and converts the lay-in.

11:12: Norris Cole rattles home a high floater. That hit about seven different parts of the rim before falling through.

10:21: Cole’s drive to the hoop does that “hit every part of the rim” routine again, but he gets the roll. He took about six steps on that drive, but no call.

10:03: Wise answers with a high floater of his own, as if to say “Can you top this, Cole?”

9:42: Montgomery buries a pull-up jumper. 50-46 UA. We’ve got a ballgame on our hands.

8:56: Wise runs a composed break and hits the trailer Horne for a huge slam. Very nice work.

7:50: Hill hesitates to take an open 18-footer, but he’s forced to take a contested shot with the shot clock winding down. No dice.

7:23: Wise’s lay-up doesn’t quite fall, but he’ll be heading to the line. Wise is just so dang quick. Those two freebies push the UA lead back to eight. The Wildcats are 16-19 from the line.

7:05: Jackson takes it right at Hill and gets the lay-up to fall and, more importantly, the fourth foul on the UA big man. It was a pretty iffy call. Very frustrating for Hill. Pennell is going to leave him in there for the time being.

6:51: Hill takes out his frustrations on the rim on that dunk. Fendi Onobun checks in for Hill.

6:26: Trevon Harmon nails an open corner three. Cleveland State is 2-18 from deep.

6:10: Wise answers with a DEEP bomb from the top of the key. Every time Cleveland State looks like they’re going to get over the hump, Wise makes a big play. He leads all scorers with 17. It’s 59-52 UA. The Arizona fans are making themselves heard.

5:27: George Tandy picks up his fourth foul now. Hill and Onobun are going offense-defense the rest of the way. Wise is at the line, where he adds to his game-high point total. It’s 61-52 Wildcats as Wise is 10-10 from the stripe.

5:08: Jackson split’s the double team and banks in the lay-up. Fogg reaches in for his second foul, which sends Jackson to the line for the old-fashioned three-point play. Jackson leaves it short, but Montgomery gets the board. The Vikes can’t capitalize, however. 61-54 UA.

4:36: Jackson pokes the ball away from Budinger, once again. Turnover, UA. On the other end, Jackson loses the ball on his way to an uncontested lay-up.

3:36: Budinger picks up a costly third foul, reaching in on Jackson as he turns the corner.

3:17: Fogg comes up with another terrific steal, then leaves it for Horne, who slams it home. He has 13 points in what has been a terrific game for the sophomore.

2:59: Cleveland State is trapped by a double team, forcing Waters to call for time. It’s 63-54 Wildcats.

2:30: Arizona should’ve come up with another turnover there, but the ball kept bouncing toward Cleveland State. The Vikings can’t take advantage, however, as Fogg comes down with the rebound.

2:00: Bullock gives the foul on Horne well away from the hoop. Bullock has four fouls, and Horne goes to the line for a one-and-one. He’s not the world’s most consistent foul shooter -- 64 percent on the season. He gets the shooter’s roll on the front end, and snaps the net on the second. It’s 65-54 UA as Cleveland State needs points in a hurry.

1:46: Horne gets shoved trying to track down a loose ball. He’ll go back to the line. He bricks the front end on this one, though.

1:38: Fogg gets whistled for an ill-advised reach-in on Bullock out on the perimeter. Cleveland State will now have the chance to score with the clock stopped. But Bullock can’t convert the front end.

1:22: Wise breaks free of the pack, but he gets WAY too out of control as he charges into the Cleveland State defense. Yeesh. That’s four on Wise.

1:04: There seems to be no sense of urgency from Cleveland State. They ran a full offensive set and didn’t get a three-point look. Hill pulls down the rebound on Bullock’s missed lay-up. A frustrated Bullock hacks Hill across the arm and fouls out. Hill gets his free throws to go as the Wildcats take a commanding 67-54 lead.

0:50: Wise lays it in for the final nail in the coffin. The Cats are headed to the Sweet 16! Can you believe it???

0:36: Right now, the commentators are in “someone will be giving Russ Pennell a job” mode. CBS robs the Tucson fans an opportunity to witness the final whistle, which is awfully frustrating, but Oklahoma State and Pitt are in a real dogfight.

0:34: OK, CBS cuts us back. Not a lot of intrigue left here, but the Wildcats still need to close this out. Zane Johnson gets his free throws to drop.

FINAL: 71-57 Wildcats. Really.

POSTGAME: They weren’t even supposed to be here.

Two impressive wins later, the Arizona Wildcats are one of 16 teams which still have a shot at the National Championship. They will head to Indianapolis to face off against the Louisville/Siena winner for a spot in the Elite Eight.

Yes, this is the same Arizona Wildcats squad that finished the season 1-5. At least I think it is. Who would’ve thought that the Wildcats would be the only Pac-10 team to make the round of 16, unless USC takes down No. 2-seed Michigan State this afternoon?

This team has done a fantastic job internalizing all of the negative comments and skepticism surrounding its inclusion and proven that it belongs in the only place it counts -- on the scoreboard.

Nic Wise stole the show, yet again, leading all scorers with 21 points and handing out eight assists. The Cats battled foul trouble late in the first half, but managed to play smart and play aggressive to secure an easy 14-point win.

Jordan Hill added 16 points and nine boards, with Chase Budinger tallying 15 points and six boards in another strong all-around performance. The Cats also got a much-needed boost from Jamelle Horne, who hit some shots early and used that confidence boost to rally his way to 15 points.

Kyle Fogg might not have had a huge impact on the score column (two points), but his relentless defensive pressure flustered the Vikings all afternoon long. These last two games, Fogg has developed into one of this tournament’s better defensive players.

Arizona also made Cleveland State pay at the line, where the Cats made 24-28 from the stripe.

Norris Cole (17 points) and Cedric Jackson (15 points) did their best to keep Cleveland State in it, but the Vikings simply couldn’t hang with Arizona’s athleticism or Wise’s quickness.

It didn’t help matters that Cleveland State couldn’t put the ball in the ocean today. UA held Cleveland State to 36 percent shooting, and 3-23 from beyond the arc.

This was just an impressive all-around performance. The Wildcats have shown that they’re not just here for the storyline. They’re here to win games. With the “Big Three” playing inspired basketball and Fogg/Horne chipping in with some of their best performances, there’s no telling how far this team can go.

I’ll have another live blog later this week, just as soon as we find out who/when Arizona plays again.

How sweet it is!