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Arizona Wildcats face Long Island Sharks in first round of NCAA Tournament

Long Island Sharks (24-10, 18-3 NEC) vs. Arizona Wildcats (32-2, 19-2 Big 12)

San Diego; Friday, 1:35 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Wildcats -30.5; over/under is 148.5

BOTTOM LINE: No. 2 Arizona and LIU square off in the NCAA Tournament first round.

The Wildcats’ record in Big 12 games is 19-2, and their record is 13-0 in non-conference games. Arizona is the best team in the Big 12 with 15.6 fast break points.

The Sharks are 18-3 in NEC play. LIU is fourth in the NEC with 13.6 assists per game led by Malachi Davis averaging 3.4.

Arizona averages 86.1 points, 15.0 more per game than the 71.1 LIU allows. LIU has shot at a 48.1% clip from the field this season, 8.9 percentage points greater than the 39.2% shooting opponents of Arizona have averaged.

TOP PERFORMERS: Tobe Awaka is averaging 9.4 points and 9.5 rebounds for the Wildcats. Brayden Burries is averaging 16.5 points over the last 10 games.

Jamal Fuller averages 1.6 made 3-pointers per game for the Sharks, scoring 16.4 points while shooting 43.8% from beyond the arc. Greg Gordon is shooting 60.9% and averaging 15.5 points over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Wildcats: 9-1, averaging 79.8 points, 36.5 rebounds, 14.5 assists, 6.2 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 47.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.2 points per game.

Sharks: 8-2, averaging 74.5 points, 29.9 rebounds, 13.5 assists, 8.1 steals and 5.3 blocks per game while shooting 51.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.4 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Hawkeyes are set to play Vanderbilt in a November women’s basketball game in Sioux City, Iowa

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Vanderbilt and Iowa, both ranked in the top 10 late last season, will meet in a women's basketball game early next season in northwest Iowa, the schools announced Tuesday. The neutral-site game is set for Nov. 15 at the Tyson Events Center, which is 290 miles from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Vanderbilt is 4-0 all-time against the Hawkeyes. This will be the teams' first meeting since 1997. The Commodores are expected to return national scoring leader Mikayla Blakes. She averaged 27 points per game and was Southeastern Conference player of the year. Vanderbilt was ranked as high as No. 5 and finished No. 10 with a 29-5 record after reaching the NCAA Sweet 16.
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