Arizona Wildcats guard Bennedict Mathurin (0) makes an easy basket as Arizona Wildcats guard James Akinjo (13) looks on in the first half during game at McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. on January 25, 2021.

 Mamta Popat / Arizona Daily Star

Mere days removed from Azuolas Tubelis’ heroics, the Arizona Widlcats returned home and earned a season sweep of rival Arizona State with a 80-67 win.

Arizona controlled the rematch for nearly the entire night, and even though ASU made things interesting in the closing minutes, the Wildcats largely cruised to their sixth conference win of the year.

These numbers explain how the Cats got it done:

0

ASU didn’t score a point in the final 2:24 in last week’s game, and the scoreless streak carried over into Monday night. The Wildcats held the Sun Devils scoreless for the first 6:44 of the rematch as they jumped out to a 12-0 lead.

3

Arizona had three players with 15 or more points. James Akinjo, who had 24 in the previous game against ASU, continued to be UA’s catalyst with 16 points β€” nine coming from the free throw line.

Terrell Brown Jr. led the Cats with 18 points, scoring a variety of ways. Brown Jr. had four steals β€” also a team-high β€” and turned that into four points in transition. He also added a 3-pointer and tied Akinjo with nine points from the foul line.

Tubelis, the game one hero, added 16 points and was one of the more efficient players of the night going 7-for-9 from the field.

49

The Wildcats scored an even 40 points in each half, but it was the 49 points from ASU in the second half that made the game more competitive down the stretch. Arizona's 26-point advantage shrunk to nine points with 2:30 to play.

UA went on to make seven consecutive free throws to put the game away.

1

Josh Christopher, a five-star recruit and the third-ranked shooting guard in the 2021 class, managed just one field goal in what was likely his one and only game at McKale Center. Christopher attempted eight shots, with his only make coming on a second-half dunk that cut ASU’s deficit to 19 points.

4

Sean Miller has now swept the season series against Bobby Hurley and the SunDevils for the fourth time in six years since Hurley came to ASU in 2015.

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