Sean Miller meets with the media the day before the Sweet 16 matchup against Ohio State. Photo by Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Wildcats play Ohio State in a Sweet 16 game Thursday from Los Angeles, and here are 16 numbers to help get you ready:

4 — Ranking of the West on anybody’s list of the toughest of the four NCAA regionals. “If it’s the worst regional, good, great. I’m glad I’m here,” said Arizona coach Sean Miller. “I mean, the thing about the tournament is nobody looks back and says, ‘Boy, what an easy road or hard road.’ You either advanced or you didn’t.”

7.1 — Percent shooting before the first media timeout for Arizona’s first two NCAA opponents (1 of 14). Those quick starts have snuffed the upset hopes of two underdogs and are the reason why the Wildcats have yet to trail in the tournament.

10 — The minimum number of points that Ohio State will win by in both games at the West regional, as predicted by Myron Medcalf of ESPN.com.

He writes: “I just think the Buckeyes are two steps above the remaining teams in the West Region. Check the stats. Ohio State has been the Big Ten’s best team overall for more than a month. It has the leadership of Aaron Craft and Deshaun Thomas. The Buckeyes aren’t a two-man show, though. LaQuinton Ross, Shannon Scott and others have been crucial contributors, too. The Buckeyes are playing solid defense. And they’ve been one of America’s toughest teams for a lengthy stretch. Ohio State won’t have many struggles at Staples Center.”

It is worth noting he also picked the Pac-12 to go 0-5 in its opening games last week. The league went 3-2 and has two teams (Arizona, Oregon) in the Sweet 16.

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Mark Lyons goes up for the game-winning shot against Florida on Dec. 15. Photo by Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

You love him, you hate him … the Arizona Wildcats can’t win without him.

He’s Mark Lyons, senior guard. Not point guard. Just a guard. Or, as he prefers, “I’m just a playmaker.”

He’s the player Sean Miller had to have last spring after freshman point guard Josiah Turner flamed out and fled Tucson. In came Lyons, an immediately eligible graduate transfer, playing for the coach who recruited him to Xavier.

It couldn’t have been much more perfect, especially when Lyons drove for the game-winning shot against Florida and hit key throws to seal the victory over San Diego State in December.

But as the Wildcats sputtered through some of Pac-12 play, Lyons became the flashpoint for criticism and fans’ discontentment. The non-point guard point guard jacked up bad shots, turned the ball over too many times and let the offense stall for long periods of time.

It was easy to make Lyons the goat. Fans hardly knew him, had little emotionally invested in him, unlike their four-year relationship with Solomon Hill and Kevin Parrom.

But Lyons was a hero last week in Salt Lake City, scoring 50 points and making 20 of 32 shots. His matchup with Ohio State point guard and defensive whiz Aaron Craft is the one to watch in Thursday’s Sweet 16 matchup from Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Basically, as Lyons goes, so go the Wildcats.

And, now, with everything on the line, we’re beginning to get to know him.

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Max Wiepking (No. 52) celebrates Senior Day at McKale Center earlier this month. Photo by Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

“We want Wiepking! … We want Wiepking!”

Those are happy words from the Arizona pep band and for Wildcats fans, signifying a game so far in the bag that it’s time for senior walk-on Max Wiepking to reap his rewards of playing time, often measured in terms of seconds.

The pep band had good reason to encourage coach Sean Miller last week. As the Wildcats cruised to the Sweet 16, Wiepking made his NCAA Tournament debut in the final 43 seconds against Belmont and was on the court for the last 1:38 of the win over Harvard.

“It meant a lot,” he said. “I’m really thankful for the opportunity, and it’s something I’m going to remember for a long time.”

Perhaps that’s it for the 6-7 forward. The sixth-seeded Wildcats take on second-seeded Ohio State in a Sweet 16 game in the West region from Los Angeles on Thursday, and there isn’t expected to be any mop-up time.

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Here is a story on Ohio State from the Mansfield News Journal, our Gannett partner. Check out more about the Buckeyes and their Sweet 16 matchup vs. Arizona at the News Journal’s Ohio State page.

Ohio State’s LaQuinton Ross goes for two points against Iowa State last Sunday. Photo by Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports.

By Rob McCurdy
News Journal

COLUMBUS — He’s called Q by his teammates and coaches, and it’s apt because there always seems to be a question regarding LaQuinton Ross.

Every couple of weeks, someone would ask about the enigmatic, offensive-minded, sophomore forward.

How’s his mindset? Is he getting more comfortable at the defensive end? How’s he coming along and fitting in? Can he be a reliable second option on offense?

And at different times during the course of the season, the answers changed.

“Once his defensive level matches his offense, he’s going to be an unstoppable player,” junior guard Lenzelle Smith said at midseason.

Asked another time about the 6-foot-8 junior from Mississippi and senior center, Evan Ravenel said he was a special talent and one of the most talented offensive players he’s ever played with. But …

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I’ll be joining the Arizona Republic’s Paola Boivin and Doug Haller on Thursday for a live chat on azcentral.com, starting at 1:30 p.m.

The Arizona Wildcats tip off against Ohio State in a Sweet 16 game from Staples Center in Los Angeles at 4:47 p.m., and the three of us will be providing on-site game coverage.

The chat opens at 8 a.m. for you to get your questions in, and then we’ll jump in at 1:30 p.m.

Sean Miller and Arizona will try to take the next step to the regional final. Photo by Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports

The sixth-seeded Arizona Wildcats take on No. 2 Ohio State in the West region on Thursday (4:47 p.m., TBS,), and here is a sampling of what other media is saying about the matchup:

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ESPN’s Myron Medcalf reseeded the Sweet 16 and put the Wildcats 10th, one spot behind Oregon and just ahead of Kansas. He wrote:

“The Wildcats had a good weekend. They beat Belmont by 15 points and Harvard by 23 points. In both games, they shot better than 55 percent, and Mark Lyons was the leader Sean Miller will need him to be in Los Angeles. But, by no fault of their own, the Wildcats had one of the easiest paths to the Sweet 16. Ohio State is on a different level than the Crimson and the Bruins. So I still say a Wildcats squad that has gone 4-3 since Feb. 27 has something to prove at Staples Center. The Cats have been up and down all season. This is their chance to show the college basketball world that they’re not just a team that caught a few lucky breaks with its region and opponents on its way to the Sweet 16.”

– Jeff Borzello at CBSSports.com also reseeded the Sweet 16, picking Arizona as the 11th-best team left.

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Aaron Craft is the “heart and soul” of Ohio State, says Arizona coach Sean Miller. Photo by Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Grantland.com recently produced a 32-player bracket of the most hated college basketball players of the past 30 years.

Ohio State junior guard Aaron Craft was a No. 7 seed in the “2000s” region.

Arizona Wildcats coach Sean Miller has a different view.

“If he’s not one of your favorite players, then you don’t like college basketball,” Miller said Monday.

It depends. Perhaps he’s the Bobby Hurley of his day. A point guard who looks like you should be beating up and kicking around the court. Cheeks flushed, not big enough, bad jump shot. And then he finds a way to beat you, the gutty overachiever who seems almost too good to be true.

There is usually a pushback against a player who has that kind of narrative.

Easy to love. Easy to hate.

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Here is a story from the Mansfield News Journal, our Gannett partner, about Ohio State point guard Aaron Craft, who hit the game-winning shot Sunday against Iowa State and will be tasked with slowing down Arizona point guard Mark Lyons on Thursday. Check out more about the Buckeyes at the News Journal’s Ohio State page.

Aaron Craft defends against Michigan’s Trey Burke in a February game. Photo by Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

By Rob McCurdy
News Journal

COLUMBUS — When Thad Matta was on the summer AAU circuit, he saw something in the rosy cheeked kid playing alongside blue-chippers like Jared Sullinger and Adreian Payne.

“He always had the best guy on the other team and his team always won,” the Ohio State coach said earlier this season when asked about his point guard Aaron Craft. “Seeing that in him is invaluable to us, and it’s just kind of in his DNA and his makeup.”

If there’s a gene for defensive prowess, Craft has it. He certainly has the genetic tools for great defense.

“He’s stronger than he looks. He has tremendous lateral quickness, and he’s got a high intellect in terms of he studies scouting and knows tendencies of who he’s guarding — that sort of thing,” Matta said.

But defense is as much about desire and effort as it is measurables and smarts.

“He wants to be a defensive stopper,” Matta continued. “He wants to be a pest to the opposing team. He wants to create chaos.”

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Grant Jerrett has given Arizona a boost with his outside shooting. Photo by Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona Wildcats freshman post player Grant Jerrett is likely to play Thursday vs. Ohio State, according to a update Sunday from the university.

Jerrett fell on his right elbow early in Saturday’s NCAA Tournament game against Harvard in Salt Lake City and did not return, saying afterward he thought he could have played, if necessary. UA won 74-51.

Jerrett said after the game he did not consider the injury serious, and X-rays taken after the team’s return to Tucson came back negative.

According to a statement from UA, trainer Justin Kokoskie “is confident that Grant will regain full strength and sensation over the next 24 hours and should be ready to play Thursday vs. Ohio State.”

Arizona will take on the Buckeyes in a Sweet 16 game from Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Jerrett is averaging 5.1 points and 3.5 rebounds in 17.6 minutes per game, part of what has been a three-man post rotation of late. He’s one of the team’s best 3-point shooters, hitting 40.3 percent (31 of 77). He has made 50 percent of his shots (15 of 30) from behind the arc in the past 12 games.

Aaron Craft hits the game-winning shot against Iowa State. Photo by Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona’s path to the Final Four is going to have to go through Ohio State.

The Buckeyes, seeded No. 2 in the West, barely sidestepped the kind of upset that has weakened the West region, beating Iowa State 78-75 on Aaron Craft’s 3-point shot with a half-second left.

That sets up a Sweet 16 game in Los Angeles against the sixth-seeded Wildcats (4:47 p.m. Tucson time, TBS). These teams are the highest remaining seeds in the West, with No. 9 Wichita State going against No. 13 La Salle.

The Buckeyes (28-7) are as hot as anyone in the country. They have won 10 games in a row, including a victory over Indiana and two wins over Michigan State. Ohio State beat the Spartans and Wisconsin to win the Big Ten tournament. The Buckeyes are the only team in the country to play in the Sweet 16 in each of the past four seasons.

We’ll have a four-day build-up to the game (time TBA on Sunday night). For now, here are three quick, and obvious, storylines you’ll be reading much more about.

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