Final score:Β Arizona 99, Arizona State 61Β
Location:Β McKale Center, TucsonΒ
What went down:Β Arizona guard Allonzo Trier posted 20 points (5-11 FGs, 8-9 FTs) and eight rebounds while Kaleb Tarczewski collected 15 rebounds to lead the Wildcats to a 38-point win, UA's largest victory over the Sun Devils during the Sean Miller era. Β
Miller's record against ASU:Β 10-4Β
Bruce Pascoe's game story:Β
One of the things Sean Miller often talks about during the inevitable struggles of the early season is how the Arizona Wildcats might look in "February or March" when the wrinkles are out, roles are defined and experience is gained.
Well, it's mid-February now. And the Wildcats look pretty good.
Dominating, in fact, during a 99-61 win over ASU on Wednesday that pulled the Wildcats into a half-game lead in first place in the Pac-12.
Arizona pretty much maxed out its considerable size advantage inside to score 52 points in the paint and out-rebound the Sun Devils by 24 - and locked into a defense that held ASU to just 32.3 percent shooting.
Although the win moved the Wildcats to 22-5 overall and 10-4 in the Pac-12, where they remain in a first-place loss-column tie with Oregon, Miller stopped short of saying this is fully what he was hoping for.
"We're improving," he said, noting again the stream of issues the Wildcats' roster has suffered from this season, including Elliott Pitts' non-school issue that now has prompted him to leave the team for the rest of the season.
"The character of our guys β they have handled it as well as any group could have."
But nearly all of that appears to be behind them now.
The Wildcats have Allonzo Trier just about fully back from a broken hand, after Trier scored 20 points and had eight rebounds Wednesday in his best effort since returning on Feb. 6.
They also have Kaleb Tarczewski continuing to play the best of his college career, pulling down 15 rebounds Wednesday, after missing seven nonconference games with a foot injury.
The only piece they really don't have is Pitts, their seventh man and arguably top perimeter defender when he disappeared from action Dec 9.
Pitts has been traveling and practicing with the team but did not show up Wednesday night. When asked about Pitts' absence after the game, Miller said the junior forward " has stepped away from our team for personal reasons for the remainder of the year."
Miller said he couldn't elaborate further, though he said it was Pitts' choice to leave.
The fact that Miller has allowed Pitts to practice and travel had suggested he wasn't the one holding him back, and he's spoken highly of Pitts' character.
"Him and I have had a number of talks over the past couple of weeks," Miller said. "Him and I both felt that it would be in his best interest to focus on the task at hand academically and obviously remain here at the University of Arizona and finish his academic work."
As they have been since Pitts went missing on the floor Dec. 9 against Fresno State, the Wildcats soaked up the 21.3 average minutes Pitts left behind. On Wednesday, Miller played all of his available scholarship players, gave 21 minutes to Mark Tollefsen and another 17 to Dusan Ristic off the bench, and put in walk-ons Jacob Hazzard and Paulo Cruz near the end of the game.
As it turned out, Hazzard had the ball in his hands when the Wildcats had a chance to break the century mark for the first time in regulation this season, but he dribbled out the remaining seconds.
It wasn't as if the Wildcats needed any more points. Not only was their 38-point margin of victory their biggest of the Pac-12 season, but it also tied the most they had scored in regulation all season, having beaten Washington 99-67 on Jan. 14 (UA scored 101 at USC on Jan. 9, but that was in a four-overtime loss).
The Wildcats' dominance sagged only during a stretch in the first half when they kicked away an early 11-point lead. But UA finished the first half strongly and continued their roll into the second half, going on a 14-2 run after halftime to go ahead 52-26 just over four minutes into the second half.
From there, the game was no contest.
"It was a good game for all of us," Tarczewski said. "We were really locked in on all of our principles."
UA took a 65-35 lead midway through the second half when Kadeem Allen scored the second of three baskets within a span of 1:12.
Those three baskets totaled seven points, more than he scored in any of UA's previous four games while battling illnesses.
In the first half, Arizona dominated inside and held ASU (14-13, 4-10) to just 24.2 percent shooting while taking a 38-24 halftime lead.
Trier had 11 points in the first half, and Gabe York had nine to lead Arizona, which allowed ASU to wipe away an early 11-point lead, then went on a 13-1 run toward the end of the half to regain a double-digit lead.
The Wildcats shot 45.5 percent from the field and scored 24 of their 38 points in the paint. That, and UA's 27-17 rebounding advantage, allowed the Wildcats to overcome their 2-for-10 three-point shooting.
The Wildcats kept the Sun Devils scoreless for the first 4:23 of the game, leading 8-2 when ASU finally received a layup by Gerry Blakes. The Wildcats went on to lead by up to 11, 15-4 with 12:32 left, while initially outrebounding the Sun Devils 12-2.
But ASU went on a 13-2 run to tie the game at 17 on a three-pointer by Obinna Oleka and go ahead 20-19 on a three from Blakes. At the same time, the Wildcats hit only one of eight field goal attempts.
The Sun Devils couldn't keep the lead, however, making just one of seven shots while the Wildcats went ahead 26-22 on a three-pointer by Gabe York with 3:45 to go.
