Arizona vs. Ohio State: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2015

The No. 2 Arizona Wildcats withstood a strong first half from No. 10 Ohio State in Saturday's 2015 NCAA tournament showdown, clamping down on defense in their typical fashion to top the Buckeyes 73-58.

Facing one of the top scorers in the nation in Ohio State's D'Angelo Russell, Arizona's backcourt of T.J. McConnell and Gabe York met the challenge head-on. The duo combined for 38 points on six three-pointers to push the Wildcats to their third consecutive Sweet 16:

The Buckeyes controlled the tempo early and led 23-17 late in the opening half, but Arizona regained the lead just before halftime amid a 14-4 run that put the Wildcats in front for good. After York's fifth and final three-pointer put Arizona up 13 with nine minutes to go, Ohio State didn't sniff a deficit of fewer than nine points for the rest of the game.

Russell struggled in what was likely his final collegiate game, as Arizona's stifling defense held him in check. Although he took 36 percent of Ohio State's shots, he went just 3-of-19 from the field with nine points, seven rebounds and six assists.

ESPN Stats & Info had more on Russell:

The presence of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson—who shot just 3-of-12 but shut down Russell defensively—made all the difference, as CBS Sports' Seth Davis observed:

His 16 missed shots marked the most in a game during Russell's star-studded season, and Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports noted the freshman may have to rethink his ways:

McConnell's huge performance helped to overshadow Russell in the backcourt. His all-around game of 19 points, six boards and six helpers ranked up there among all-time performances. ESPN College Basketball shared more:

Head coach Sean Miller also made history Saturday, as per ESPN Stats & Info:

"

T.J. McConnell joins Jason Kidd as only Pac-12 players since 1986 w/ 15 Pts, 5 Reb, 5 Ast, 5 Stl, in NCAA tourney gm. pic.twitter.com/JSrekKW1wT

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) March 21, 2015"

The Daily Wildcat added some program perspective for UA:

Miller took to Twitter to share his thoughts:

While Arizona ended the game on a signature run of defense and size, that's not quite how Saturday's game began. The two teams combined to start just 4-of-14 from the field, while a strong defensive zone from the Buckeyes was holding the Wildcats in check, as per CBS Sports' Jeff Borzello:

"

Very proud of our team's effort in Portland this weekend against Texas Southern & Ohio State. Hope to see a lot of our fans in LA! #Sweet16

— Sean Miller (@UACoachMiller) March 21, 2015"

Arizona's offensive struggles to start the contest allowed Ohio State to pull in front just over the 11-minute mark—a lead the Buckeyes would hold for nearly 10 minutes of the opening frame. They would lead by as many as six, but they missed seven of their last eight shots in the half to allow Arizona to pull in front 26-25 at halftime.

Despite the shooting troubles, Russell was running the offense well, as ESPN Stats & Info noted:

Buckets weren't coming easily for Russell, but he was doing everything else humanly possible and amazed plenty of people, including ESPN's Kevin Pelton:

The Buckeyes laid the blueprint for the upset in the first half, but a 9-2 second-half run from the Wildcats turned into a 14-4 run upon the start of the final frame. McConnell and York combined for three treys in the first five minutes of the second half, and center Kaleb Tarczewski began imposing his presence down low.

Slowly but surely, the Buckeyes' affinity for turnovers began to pile up, and Arizona started taking advantage. The Wildcats couldn't be stopped once they found their stride, as Jason Scheer of WildcatAuthority.com noted:

The Wildcats' size was expected to boast a big advantage over Ohio State Saturday, and it showed with Arizona controlling the boards 43-26. No Buckeye had more than seven rebounds, while two Arizona forwards surpassed double-digit boards.

As the final buzzer sounded, the last perfect bracket evaporated into the dust, as SportsCenter noted:

It was far from a perfect performance by Arizona, whose 36.5 percent shooting clip was actually worse than what the Buckeyes shot on the day. But by dominating the boards and forcing 12 Ohio State turnovers, the Wildcats turned the latter part of the second half into a practice session. 

The Buckeyes surprised some by even getting to the round of 32, but Saturday's game proved what was apparent all along—Ohio State needs more than just Russell. With the Buckeyes lacking an imposing post presence, strong defensive teams are able to key on Russell and slow him down.

Miller's crew can head back to Tucson knowing its hopes for a Final Four and a national championship are still intact following two impressive wins. The Wildcats are set to duke it out with No. 6 Xavier in Los Angeles next weekend.

After the Wildcats took care of business in Portland, few will be doubting Arizona's chances of going deep into March Madness—and perhaps even April.