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The West Region of the 2026 NCAA Tournament hasn’t featured as much chaos as some other portions of the bracket.
The top-two seeds in the region, the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats and the No. 2 Purdue Boilermakers, have each beaten three teams, setting up a potential thriller in the Elite Eight between two of the best teams in the country this season. The March Madness paths have been a bit different for Tommy Lloyd and Matt Painter’s squads — but regardless, a Final Four berth is on the line Saturday night.
Arizona, enjoying one of its best seasons ever at 35-2 overall, has cruised through the NCAA Tournament. All three of the Wildcats’ wins have come by double-digits, with the freshmen duo Koa Peat (13.9 points per game) and Brayden Burries (16.2 points per game) lifting their squad to the Sweet 16.
Purdue, however, is coming off a near-upset loss to No. 11 Texas in the last round. The Big Ten Tournament champion Boilermakers didn’t have much trouble the first two round of March Madness, but it took a last-seconds tip-in from Trey Kaufman-Renn to advance past the Sweet 16 in San Jose. Led by a true floor general in Braden Smith, Purdue is seeking its fourth-ever Final Four appearance and second in three years, facing up against an Arizona program eyeing its fifth-ever Final Four bid and first since 2001.
Only one team can advance past the Elite Eight, but the two best West Region squads have made it as deep as anticipated. Which will head to Indianapolis for the Final Four?
The Sporting News is tracking live updates, highlights and more from Saturday’s Elite Eight matchup between Purdue and Arizona. Follow along with the action below.
STREAM: Watch Arizona vs. Purdue Elite Eight game with DIRECTV
Arizona vs. Purdue basketball score
MARCH MADNESS HQ: Live NCAA bracket | TV schedule | Latest news and more
Arizona vs. Purdue live updates, results, highlights from 2026 March Madness game
All times ET.
First half
9:46 p.m. — Arizona tried to claw its way back into the game, but Purdue kept the pressure up. The Boilermakers have been dominating the offense glass, with eight offensive rebounds to only four for the Wildcats.
Purdue heads into halftime up 38-31.
9:41 p.m. — Purdue continued to increase its lead. After Arizona was called for an illegal screen, the Boilermakers were up 33-27 with 2:21 left in the half.
9:37 p.m. — Smith set the all-time NCAA record earlier this postseason for assists. With 3:45 left in the first half, he only has one.
9:31 p.m. — With 5:35 left in the first half, Koa Peat leads Arizona with seven points. Smith is still the Purdue point leader with eight.
9:25 p.m. — At the under-8 TV timeout, Purdue has put together a run and is up 23-21.
9:21 p.m. — With 10 minutes to go in the first half, Arizona leads 19-16. Purdue’s biggest struggle so far has been shooting. The Boilermakers are connecting on only 35% of their early shots.
9:14 p.m. — Arizona quickly made sure to re-take the lead. The Wildcats are on a 9-2 run. They currently have a narrow 7-5 rebounding advantage.
9:06 p.m. — The first time that Arizona has trailed this tournament came with 15:25 left. Brayden Smith hit another three-pointer, his second of the game, and put Purdue up 10-9. Smith has eight of the Boilermakers’ 10 points early.
9:04 p.m. — Arizona and Purdue swapped three-pointers early, but Brayden Burries helped get the Wildcats on the board first.
Brayden Burries starts the scoring 📈#MarchMadness @ArizonaMBB pic.twitter.com/N4SN9gxuK4
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 29, 2026
9:01 p.m. — We are underway and Arizona won the opening tip-off.
Pre-Game
8:45 p.m. — Arizona has not been to the Final Four since 1997 when former head coach Lute Olson led them to a national championship. Purdue’s last trip to the Final Four came in 1980.
8:29 p.m. — Illinois beat Iowa in the first game of the day, punching a ticket to the Final Four. Purdue or Arizona would only be able to face the Fighting Illini in the national championship. The game finishing at 8:30 p.m., the Arizona-Purdue game is expected to start around 9 p.m. ET.
8:13 p.m. — Purdue made the Elite Eight after a buzzer-beating win in the Sweet Sixteen over Texas. Trey Kaufman-Renn had the game-winning tip-in with 0.7 seconds left on the clock. He finished with 20 points and eight rebounds as the Boilermakers’ top-scorer.
7:50 p.m. — Arizona dominated No. 4 Arkansas in the Sweet 16. The Wildcats went into halftime up nine points, but went on to win by 21. Arizona was led by Brayden Burries who had 23 points. Tobe Awaka came off the bench, but had 14 points and seven boards in the win.
7:35 p.m. — The winner of the Arizona vs. Purdue game will advance to the Final Four. They will match up with the winner of the No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 6 Tennessee game that will take place on Sunday, March 29.
MORE: How Arizona’s freshman duo is breaking out at right time for March Madness
Where to watch 2026 March Madness games
Arizona vs. Purdue start time
- Date: Saturday, March 28
- Time: 8:49 p.m. ET
The Wildcats and Boilermakers are set to tip off for their Elite Eight matchup at 8:49 p.m. ET on Saturday.
The game will be played at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.
What channel is Arizona vs. Purdueon today?
- TV channels: TBS, truTV
- Live streams: DIRECTV
Saturday’s matchup between Arizona and Purdue will be aired nationally on both TBS and truTV. It’s the second of a two-game slate for the channels, with Iowa vs. Illinois first at 6:09 p.m. ET.
Fans looking to stream Arizona vs. Purdue can watch live on DIRECTV.
March Madness schedule 2026
Elite Eight
Saturday, March 28
| Game | Time (ET) | TV/Live stream |
|---|---|---|
| No. 9 Iowa vs. No. 3 Illinois | 6:09 p.m. | TBS, truTV, DIRECTV |
| No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 1 Arizona | 8:49 p.m. | TBS, truTV, DIRECTV |
Sunday, March 29
| Game | Time (ET) | TV/Live stream |
|---|---|---|
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | CBS, Fubo, Paramount+ |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | CBS, Fubo, Paramount+ |
Final Four
Saturday, April 4
| Game | Time (ET) | TV/Live stream |
|---|---|---|
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBS, truTV, DIRECTV |
| TBD vs. TBD | TBD | TBS, truTV, DIRECTV |
National championship
Monday, April 6
| Game | Time (ET) | TV/Live stream |
|---|---|---|
| TBD vs. TBD | 8:50 p.m. | TBS, truTV, DIRECTV |