NCAA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT : Williams Fuels Arizona Surge in 79-67 Win

After transferring from Maryland to Arizona, forward Brian Williams was expected to become one of college basketball’s dominant players. He was on the covers of several magazines and was touted as the successor to Sean Elliott, the Wildcats’ All-American forward.

But Williams, who sat out last season, failed to meet the high expectations, averaging 10.7 points and 5.7 rebounds.

Then Friday, Williams finally lived up to his billing, scoring a career-high 28 points as No. 14 Arizona defeated South Florida, 79-67, in the first round of the NCAA West Regional tournament at the Long Beach Arena.

Arizona (25-6), seeded second in the West, will play seventh-seeded Alabama (25-8), a 71-54 winner over Colorado State, in the second round Sunday.

“Alabama will be the most physical team we’ve faced this season,” Arizona Coach Lute Olson said.

Williams scored 21 points in the second half as the Wildcats overcame a five-point halftime deficit. Williams made 10 of 12 shots in the second half, when Arizona shot 71.4%.

“If you had to pick out a player who stepped to the front and made the difference in the ballgame, it was Brian Williams,” said Bobby Paschal, South Florida’s coach. “There was a stretch where Arizona needed someone to come to the front and Brian Williams did that.”

Was this the game Williams had been waiting for?

“I think it’s a good time of the year to have a game like this,” he said.

Making its first appearance in the NCAA tournament, South Florida (20-11) took a 32-27 lead in the first half as guard Radenko Dobras scored 11 of his 22 points in the first 20 minutes. Center Hakim Shahid added seven points and seven rebounds as the Bulls outrebounded the Wildcats in the half, 23-13.

But Shahid was ineffective in the second half after picking up his third foul, and Arizona worked the ball inside to Williams for layups. Williams scored 12 of Arizona’s first 21 points in the second half.

“We wanted to pound it in deep,” Olson said. “We had Shahid in foul trouble and, as a result, Williams had an outstanding game.”

Meanwhile, Arizona forward Jud Buechler went to work outside, scoring 11 of his 16 points in the second half.

Guard Matt Othick, who was scoreless in the first half, made two three-point shots at the start of the second half as Arizona blitzed South Florida, 16-6, in the first five minutes.

Trailing by 11 points with 3:22 left, South Florida pulled to five points with a 6-0 run sparked by Dobras, who scored four points. But the Wildcats scored the final seven points.

Did Arizona underestimate South Florida, the Sun Belt Conference champion?

“Obviously, with all the upsets, we didn’t think we’d come here and walk through the game,” Buechler said.