in the sweet-16 match-up, arizona found itself pitted against top-seeded duke, the first time since the 2001 title game that the two schools had met. duke would extend an early lead, but 25 points from derrick williams kept the cats in the game and down by 6 points at the half. in the second half, williams' teammates picked up the slack, dominating the blue devils by scoring 55 second-half points and routing the defending champs 93–77. arizona's run at the final four would fall 2 points short, losing to 3-seed (and eventual national champion) connecticut 65–63.