Arizona Wildcats beat Grambling State 74-55 in 2020-21 season opener at McKale Center

The look was completely different, and not just because of the unprecedentedly weird atmosphere inside McKale Center, but the result was pretty much the usual.

A little bumpy in their first game of the season against a low-major opponent, the rewired Arizona Wildcats did well enough to beat Grambling State 74-55 in front of a few hundred family members, staffers, media and a bunch cardboard fans at McKlae Center.

With a playing rotation that featured just two players back from last season – senior forward Ira Lee continued to sit out because of a concussion suffered about a month ago – the Wildcats this time featured a balanced attack led by forward Jordan Brown and guard James Akinjo.

Brown had a double double of 19 points and 15 rebounds while Akinjo had 19 points and three assists. Overall, five UA players scored at least seven points, while backup combo guard Terrell Brown had seven assists to just two turnovers.

In the backcourt, the Wildcats were playing without freshman guard Kerr Kriisa, who returned to play for his native Estonia last week because he is stuck in the NCAA clearinghouse.

Playing in a mostly quiet environment that featured a constant backdrop of recorded fan noise and a low-grade siren, the Wildcats never lost a double-digit lead over the final 23 minutes but also did not approach a blowout until Jordan Brown and Akinjo both scored in the final three minutes. Arizona had three starters in the game at the end, including Jordan Brown and Akinjo.

Grambling shot just 3 of 22 from 3-point range but shot 42.3% overall in the first 16 minutes of the second half while making a few surges to keep the game from getting out of hand until the very end.

Earlier in the second half, UA took a 47-27 lead after freshman guard Dalen Terry hit all three free throws he took with 15:36 left, but the Tigers went on an 11-2 run from there to cut Arizona’s lead to just 49-38 with 11:38 left.

But Akinjo hit a 3 both times Grambling threatened to cut it to single digits, scoring out of a timeout to make it 52-38 while later hitting another 3 to make it 57-43 after Grambling had pulled within nine on a three-point play.

But Cameron Little made a putback with 7:03 left to pull Grambling within 57-47 with 7:03 to go before the Wildcats expanded their lead the rest of the way.

In the first half, the Wildcats had five players all with four points or more, led by Jordan Brown, who had eight points and nine rebounds. Brown hit a double-double early in the second half

A transfer from Nevada who sat out last season, Brown scored on a variety of shots while dominating the inside over his 16 minutes on the court.

Defensively, Arizona held Grambling to 29% shooting in the first half and just 2 of 11 3-pointers, though the Tigers hit just 1 of 10 on Wednesday at Grand Canyon.

The Wildcats jumped out to an early 15-4 lead after seven minutes and, after Grambling it to 15-12, went on a 9-0 run to take a 24-12 lead with 7:08 remaining.

Arizona coach Sean Miller started both of his returners, guard Jemarl Baker and center Christian Koloko, while also going with Akinjo at point guard, Dalen Terry at small forward and Jordan Brown at power forward in his starting lineup.

Freshman forward Azuolas Tubelis and senior guard Terrell Brown were the first two players off the bench, while Miller later went with freshman wing Bennedict Mathurin.

UA did not confirm Lee's status before the game but it was obvious he would not play. Lee he was not on the floor warming up with the Wildcats 30 minutes before the game and instead stood on the sideline, wearing warmups and a mask. He sat in the second row of the team bench when the game started.

Sean Miller said in his last media interview on Nov. 20 that Lee suffered the concussion "a few weeks ago" and said then he did not know if Lee would return to practice before Friday's opener, casting significant doubt on whether Lee would be ready.

Lee suffered a concussion as a freshman in 2017-18 and missed a month toward the end of the season. While UA did not say when Lee suffered the concussion, he did not do his media day interview from McKale Center on Nov. 5, as his teammates did, suggesting it happened before then.

But if Lee suffered the concussion happened around the end of October, Lee might be able to return for UA's Dec. 2 game against Colorado if his situation is similar to his previous concussion that cost him a month.

Before the game, Arizona held a moment of silence for former coach Lute Olson, who died in August. Arizona players locked arms during the pregame ceremonies, all wearing red shirts that said "Stronger Together."

Arizona held its usual pregame video, featuring appearances this time from former Wildcats Lauri Markkanen, T.J. McConnell, Deandre Ayton, Andre Iguodala, Aaron Gordon and Steve Kerr, while it concluded with a video of Olson saying “This is Arizona.”

During halftime, Arizona played a video saying: “This is a time to come together. This is a time for unity. … We are in this together, and together we bear down.”

Olson was also among the featured cardboard cutouts, along with a long string of former Wildcat players, while even ASU coach Bobby Hurley made a cardboard appearance in the Zona Zoo section.

But McKale Center was otherwise bathed in a much less dramatic atmosphere than it has ever had, the latest in a world of sports venues that have suffered in the pandemic era.