KEVIN KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat Arizona senior forward Luke Walton drives to the basket past Notre Dame guard Chris Thomas during the Wildcats' 88-71 win over the Fighting Irish in Anaheim, Calif. The win propelled UA into the Elite Eight and a matchup with Kansas tomorrow evening in Anaheim.

ANAHEIM, Calif. ÷ Maybe the guys out West aren't so weak after all.

Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey liked his team's match up with a less-physical Arizona squad so much he said before the game he was even hoping the two teams would meet up.

Well, he got his wish but not even the luck of the Irish could have helped him out last night.

It turned out to be UA's easiest game of the tournament so far, an unexpected 88-71 laugher in the Sweet 16 that equaled the Fighting Irish's' worst loss of the season in their most important game.

"We got beat by a heck of a basketball team; I'm very impressed with Arizona," Brey said.

Of course UA had the drive, of advancing to the next round, but might have had some extra motivation early to make a statement that teams out West can play tough.

That is something that will only play a bigger factor as the tournament rolls on for UA when it meets up with the likes of Kansas Saturday and in the event of a victory, a trip to the Final Four and a potential meeting with top-ranked Kentucky.

KEVIN KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA freshman Andre Iguodala shoots over Notre Dame's Curtis Quinn during yesterday's Sweet 16 matchup in Anaheim, Calif.

It was reported in some of the local papers that Notre Dame was saying that the Arizona players were wimps and couldn't handle a team from the Big East.

Maybe that was a UA team of the past, but this version plays tougher than it might appear.

"You know with a Big East school people are talking this and that about the West being soft," UA forward Rick Anderson said. "We had to come out with an aggressive, tough attitude."

Arizona put that stereotype about the West to rest early as it proved it had a post game by going to Channing Frye.

Frye was able to score at will in the first half, whether it was on a left-handed hook in the lane or a right-handed bank shot over Torin Francis.

"We did a good job of going to Channing and he was our savior, he had a dominant inside presence," said Anderson, who had 12 rebounds himself.

The Wildcats used the same strategy that worked so well earlier this season for both Kentucky and Pittsburgh when they played Notre Dame. Establish an inside game early to open it up for your shooters.

If that happens everything falls into place.

"When we are hitting our shots our defensive intensity is a lot higher," UA point guard Jason Gardner said.

Time after time UA was able to get open for shots. As good as Notre Dame was advertised from 3-point land, Arizona was better last night. The Wildcats connected on 50 percent of their shots from behind the arc.

Another for Arizona, something that had been the story for the first part of the season but missing lately, was bench play. Maybe the most astonishing number from the crew is the five steals it forced.

"The key to our defense was communication and we were able to do that tonight," freshman forward Andre Iguodala said. "By communicating we were able to create turnovers."

Plus freshman Hassan Adams had his breakout game of the tournament scoring 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting.

"He brings energy off the bench and he did that tonight," UA sophomore Salim Stoudamire said of Adams.

The Wildcats will need that energy tomorrow against the Jayhawks.

In the teams' first meeting, the UA bench was a non-factor scoring only eight points combined. But a more important factor for UA is Frye, who scored only two points in 22 minutes in Lawrence, Kan.

"We got nothing out of him the first game," UA assistant coach Josh Pastner said. "He is going to have to step up and play the game of his life, period."