Trey Townsend is back under the bright lights of March Madness, albeit in a different uniform.

Townsend was a four-year star at Oakland who led the Golden Grizzlies to a stunning win over Kentucky in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament last year. He now is suiting up for Arizona, which is preparing for a Sweet 16 game against Duke at 9:39 Thursday night at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Duke is a heavy favorite, by 8.5 points. But if there's anyone who knows about bucking the odds, it's Townsend, who had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Oakland in the win over Kentucky.

"I was fortunate enough to play in it last year with Oakland, so I was able to learn a lot from that experience," Townsend told reporters in New Jersey on Wednesday. "Just trying to bring all that to this journey with these guys.

"Just trying to pass the messages along, just trying to enjoy this opportunity and this moment. Because so many teams play their whole season just to get here and don't even make it."

It's been an up and down season for Arizona, which began the season ranked 21st in the Associated Press poll, then lost four of five games to close out November, including a 69-55 defeat to Duke at home.

Likewise, it's been a bit of a rollercoaster for Townsend, who was the Horizon League player of the year (and Horizon League tournament MVP) last season, before deciding to transfer for his final year of eligibility. He got himself a big payday, earning several hundred thousand dollars in NIL money. Townsend also wanted to see how his game translated to the power-conference platform.

In 34 games (29 starts), Townsend has averaged 8.3 points and 4.0 rebounds, down from 17.3 points and 8.1 rebounds during his final season at Oakland.

Townsend had 16 points and eight rebounds in the NCAA Tournament-opening win over Akron, then had two points and three rebounds in the second-round win over Oregon.

"I mean, we've gone through a lot of adversity throughout the season. Had our ups and downs early on, and I think that's helped us learn how to finish games and battle through that. It's easy to kind of fold down when you're expected to win a lot of games right off the beginning of the season. We didn't do that," said Townsend, 22, who came up short of the Sweet 16 a year ago when Oakland fell to eventual Final Four participant N.C. State in overtime. "We were able to turn that around once conference play started.

"We just never lost faith in our guys. Coach (Tommy Lloyd) never lost faith in us, and we just believed that we were meant to be here. I think that's been showing (the) end of February into March, and hopefully onward."

Townsend, a native of Oxford, Michigan, was called "Mr. Oakland" by Greg Kampe, and that's quite a compliment, given Kampe has been Oakland's head coach for 41 seasons.

After last season, he considered returning to Oakland (which, given the exposure from its win over Kentucky, had raised enough to get Townsend a low six-figure payday), but opted to go west. Townsend was one of two key Oakland bigs to transfer, along with Chris Conway, who got well into the six figures to move to Washington (he missed the entire season with a knee injury, and last week he retired from basketball).

At Arizona (24-12), Townsend hasn't had to be the guy, at least in the box score (he remains a leader; he's been picked by coaches to be a spokesman during the postseason). On the court, the star is fifth-year senior guard Caleb Love, who averages 16.8 points and was first-team all-Big 12.

Townsend has had his moments, scoring in double figures in six straight games spanning November and December, then scoring in double figures just once over the next 18 games. Recently, he scored in double figures in three straight games (two against Kansas, one vs. Texas Tech), then was limited to eight and 10 minutes in two of the last three games, including the Big 12 championship against Houston and the NCAA Tournament win over Oregon. In the earlier game against Duke, Townsend had four points and seven rebounds.

Duke (33-3) is led by first-team All-American Cooper Flagg, a freshman guard who is expected to be an NBA lottery pick. Last year, underdog Oakland beat Kentucky and another freshman phenom and NBA lottery pick, Reed Sheppard.

"Really having an opportunity to play in this tournament, I look at it as a special thing," said Townsend, whose Wildcats are looking for their first trip to the Elite Eight since 2015. "Obviously the lights are going to be bright in the game. ... Two historic programs playing at this stage of the tournament is such a special thing.

"I look at it as every single game, no matter who you're playing, is such a special opportunity. I'm fortunate for that."

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