TEMPE – For the second straight season, the Arizona Wildcats went down in stunning fashion at ASU's Wells Fargo Arena.
In the Wildcats' 81-78 loss to the Sun Devils, UA allowed its in-state rivals to shoot 50 percent from the field and make 7 of 15 three pointers, even after UA coach Sean Miller said earlier in the week that ASU’s three-point shooting was a big fear.
Last season, the Wildcats lost 69-66 in double overtime when failing to shoot well themselves. On Saturday, UA managed to shoot 44.3 percent but only went 5 for 15 from three-point range, with T.J. McConnell scoring a season-high 25 points.
ASU took a 72-68 lead into the final minute before Bo Barnes stepped back for a 25-foot three-pointer that gave the Sun Devils a 75-68 lead to all but put the game away.
The loss dropped Arizona to 20-3 overall and 8-2 in the Pac-12, where they now sit in a loss-column tie with Utah in first place. Utah will play later tonight at Colorado.
ASU improved to 12-11 and 4-6.
The Wildcats had cut ASU’s lead to two points, 65-63, with five minutes to go but ASU’s Gerry Blakes hit a three-pointer to put the Sun Devils up 68-63 and ASU carried a five-point lead into the final media timeout, with 3:17 left, after Stanley Johnson was called for a turnover.
ASU’s Savon Goodman singlehandledly pushed the Sun Devils’ seven point halftime lead to nine, scoring eight points on four layups in the first 3:20 of the second half as ASU continued to beat up the Wildcats inside.
Both teams struggled with fouls into the second half. Entering the final four minutes, Johnson and Kaleb Tarczewski had four fouls for UA, while ASU’s Eric Jacobsen, Jonathan Gilling and Goodman also had four each.
In the first half, ASU shot 53.3 percent from the field while taking its 41-34 halftime lead.
It was only the second time the Wildcats had trailed at halftime in Pac-12 play – Stanford led them 41-39 in UA’s win on Jan. 22 at Maples Pavilion – and the Wildcats led Oregon State 21-20 in their Jan. 11 loss at Corvallis.
The Sun Devils shot 4 of 9 from three-point territory and were led offensively by guard Tra Holder, who had 10 points on 3-for-6 shooting.
Arizona shot just 40.5 percent and was hurt inside: ASU outrebounded them 21-17 and scored 22 points in the paint to UA's 14. The Wildcats were led offensively by T.J. McConnell, who had nine points but two turnovers to his two assists.
Brandon Ashley and Tarczewski both went 1 for 5 from the field.
The Wildcats led 25-18 midway through the first half before they went on a 1-for-10 shooting slump that helped the Sun Devils take a 27-25 lead by the time Tra Holder hit Goodman for an alley-oop dunk with six minutes left.
From there, the Sun Devils went ahead 37-29 heading into the final minutes after getting three-pointers from Bo Barnes and Jonathan Gilling.
Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field in the first 10 minutes of the game, with Arizona gaining an edge by converting five early ASU turnovers into five points. Arizona also received some aggressive offense from McConnell, who had seven points in the first seven minutes.
Arizona entered the game at 20-2 overall and 8-1 in Pac-12 play while ASU was 11-11 and 3-6. The Wildcats beat the Sun Devils 73-49 at McKale Center on Jan. 4 but lost at ASU in double overtime last season.
