BOISE, Idaho — An Arizona Wildcats season rocked by turbulence even before it started is over, and there wasn’t even any suspense.
Arizona’s season came to a stunning halt Thursday at Taco Bell Arena when the fourth-seeded Wildcats were blown out, 89-68 by 13th-seeded Buffalo, which shot 54.8 percent and hit 15 of 30 3-pointers.
Wes Clark led Buffalo with 25 points while teammate Jeremy Harris led Buffalo with 23 points. Dusan Ristic had 16 points to lead Arizona, while Deandre Ayton had 14 points and 13 rebounds to finish his UA career with a school-record 24 double-doubles in a season.
Arizona Wildcats forward Keanu Pinder (25) tries to grab the rebound over Buffalo Bulls guard Dontay Caruthers (22) and Buffalo Bulls guard Davonta Jordan (4) in the first half during the first round NCAA South Region game at the Taco Bell Arena in Boise, Idaho on March 15, 2018.
Allonzo Trier had 10 points for Arizona but was 4 of 15 from the field and missed all five 3-pointers he took.
The Wildcats shot 45.9 percent overall but hit just 2 of 18 3-pointers.
The loss was the biggest upset by seed the Wildcats have suffered in the NCAA Tournament since 1999, when 13th seeded Oklahoma beat them 61-60 in a first-round game at Milwaukee, and the biggest they have suffered by margin of defeat since top-seeded Louisville beat No 12 seed Arizona 103-64 in the 2009 Sweet 16.
Buffalo Bulls guard CJ Massinburg (5) looks to make the pass as he's defended by Arizona Wildcats center Dusan Ristic (14) and Arizona Wildcats guard Rawle Alkins (1) in the first half during the first round NCAA South Region game at the Taco Bell Arena in Boise, Idaho on March 15, 2018.
This season, Arizona hadn’t been beaten this badly since it lost 89-64 to Purdue in the Battle 4 Atlantis seventh-place game on Nov. 24.
It was the third straight team the Wildcats have been upset by a lower-seeded team in the tournament, following a 65-55 loss to Wichita State in the first round of the 2016 tournament and a 73-71 loss to 11th-seeded Xavier in last season’s Sweet 16.
Arizona finished with a 27-8 record while Buffalo improved to 27-8 and will move into a second-round game against Kentucky on Saturday.
The Wildcats’ loss also meant that the Pac-12 had no teams left before the first round was even finished.
Arizona Wildcats forward Deandre Ayton (13) is flanked by Buffalo Bulls guard Dontay Caruthers (22) and Buffalo Bulls forward Montell McRae (1) in the first half during the first round NCAA South Region game at the Taco Bell Arena in Boise, Idaho on March 15, 2018.
Arizona's season was played under the shadow of the federal investigation into college basketball, which resulted in the arrest of assistant coach Book Richardson on federal bribery and fraud charges. Late in the season, guard Allonzo Trier was suspended for two games over a PED test, which he successfully appealed, while ESPN reported that UA coach Sean Miller alledgedly discussed paying a recruit $100,000.
There was no off-court drama on Thursday and, as it turned out, none on the court, either. The Bulls dominated a UA team that reverted to the defensive troubles that plagued it on and off all season, driving inside for easy layups while hitting 15 of 30 3-pointers.
Trailing by two at halftime after allowing Buffalo to shoot 53.1 percent in the first half, the Wildcats’ defense continued to slack in the second half.
Buffalo led 49-46 four minutes into the half and then hit four 3-pointers over the next five minutes to take a 65-55 lead.
By the time big man Nick Perkins hit his second 3 of the game with 6:10 left, Buffalo took 75-57 lead and the vast majority of fans at Taco Bell Arena cheered in excitement. UA had about 1,000 fans in attendance but fans of the other teams and locals largely cheered for the Bulls.
While allowing Buffalo to shoot 53.1 percent in the first half, fourth-seeded Arizona fell 40-38 at halftime.
Rawle Alkins led UA with eight points while Jeremy Harris had 14 to lead Buffalo. Deandre Ayton had seven points and four rebounds but Allonzo Trier had just four points while shooting 1 of 6 from the field.
Arizona Wildcats guard Allonzo Trier (35) breaks through the defense of Buffalo Bulls guard Wes Clark (10) and Buffalo Bulls guard CJ Massinburg (5) in the first half during the first round NCAA South Region game at the Taco Bell Arena in Boise, Idaho on March 15, 2018.
The Wildcats shot 47.1 percent overall but hit just 1 of 8 3-pointers. The Bulls outrebounded the Wildcats 19-13 but had nine turnovers that led to 10 Arizona points.
Arizona dug itself a quick hole, allowing Buffalo to shoot 58.3 percent over the first eight minutes while trailing 10-4 and 17-10 early. CJ Massinburg hit two early 3-pointers for UA while Harris had nine points over the first eight minutes.
But UA went on a 9-0 run to take a 23-21 lead on a shot inside from Dusan Ristic, while Alkins infused some energy into the Wildcats quiet start, scoring scored eight points, two rebounds and two assists at that point.
Buffalo's Clark hit a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left in the half to give the Bulls the lead entering halftime. A transfer from Missouri who played at McKale Center two seasons ago, Clark also blew past the UA defense on two occasions for layups and scored 13 total points in the half.
Arizona's defense had shown signs of improving at the Pac-12 Tournament last week, when the Wildcats kept Colorado to 42.3 percent and UCLA to 39.7 percent. However, USC made 45.3 percent from the field in the Pac-12 Tournament final.
