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By Dalanie Todd
Cronkite News

LOS ANGELES – Basketball is a game of power and skill, and of course, a little bit of luck, especially in March. With constant upsets, and plenty of highs and lows, the Sweet 16 West Region semifinal between Arizona and Clemson should be no different, especially when looking at centers Oumar Ballo and PJ Hall, who will bring starkly different playing styles to Thursday’s game at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles.

The No. 2-seeded Wildcats are pursuing their first Final Four appearance since 2001. The Tigers, a No. 6-seed, are making their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2018.

One of the focal points will be the matchup between Hall, a 6-foot-10, 238-pound senior, and Ballo, a 7-foot, 260-pound senior.

Hall has been a triple-threat for the Tigers as he led the team in points per game (18.5), steals per game (0.8) and blocks (1.5) during the regular season. He is effective around the paint and excels at making mid-range jumpers.

Ballo, on the other hand, gets his points primarily in the low post. He averaged 12.9 points per game along with 10 rebounds and 1.3 blocks during the regular season.

“At this point of the season, you just have to find a way to get the job done,” Ballo said. “If that is for me or for anyone to step aside for another guy to step up to get the job done we have to go for it. Clemson is a really good team. They have good bigs so it’s going to be a good matchup.”

There are a few things Hall has to be sure to do to be successful against Arizona.

“I cannot put myself in the position to get those early fouls,” Hall said. “Do my work early and make sure to put myself in a position to succeed and fight early. Also, as corny as it sounds, using the fundamentals: not using your hands, using your elbows, using your forearms.”

Hall has been dealing with foul trouble during the tournament as he fouled out in Clemson’s second-round game against Baylor and picked up his four fouls against New Mexico 19 minutes into the Tigers’ first-round game. In both games, Hall played just 19 minutes, scoring 14 points versus New Mexico and 11 against Baylor.

“I see an incredibly physical team that has a condition to assert their physical growth,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said of Clemson. “I see they have two really good big guys. I see they have good sizing, and they play with effort and toughness, possession by possession.”

As always, Lloyd’s Wildcats will put an emphasis on defense. They allowed an average of 71.9 points per game this season and led the Pac-12 in steals (8.3) while forcing double-digit turnovers.

The Wildcats rank third out of all Division 1 teams in points scored per game (87.6), compared to Clemsons’s ranking of 79 (77.2). But what truly has been a huge asset for the Wildcats offensively is their ability to score fast-break points in offensive transition. The team averages 16.3 fastbreak points, ranking second in the country.

“We want to give our team as many chances to win games as possible,” Lloyd said. “Whether that’s the defensive end, the offensive end, or a secondary lineup we might use. We are trying to think of everything we can to give ourselves opportunities to win. I think with that mindset, you are not afraid to play with different styles.”

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