Arizona erupts after halftime, knocks off Purdue to return to Final Four

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Koa Peat scored 20 points and fellow freshman Ivan Kharchenkov added 18 as top-seeded Arizona beat No. 2 Purdue 79-64 in the West Region finals on Saturday night, earning their first trip to the Final Four since 2001.

The Wildcats (36-2) won their 13th straight game by erasing a seven-point halftime deficit and ending a five-game skid in Elite Eight games. They had lost in the regional finals in 2003, 2005, 2011, 2014 and 2015.

Peat was 9 of 18 from the field, breaking...