The No. 5 Arizona Wildcats avenged their loss to the Oregon Ducks in Eugene with a 91-76 beatdown at McKale Center on Thursday.Β
Here are five rapid-fire takeaways from the Wildcats' fifth straight triumph:Β
1. Tubelis' monster performance
If Arizona forward Azuolas Tubelis had anything to say about the Pac-12 Player of the Year race, he certainly made his case β or potentially final stamp β on Thursday. He might've created a statement for National Player of the Year.Β
Tubelis finished with 40 points on 16-for-21 shooting from the field and nine rebounds in 36 minutes. Tubelis is the first Wildcat to score at least 40 points at McKale Center since Khalid Reeves against Michigan in 1993. The time before that? Al Fleming in 1976, a McKale Center record (we'll address that in a little bit). Tubelis is the eighth player to score at least 40 points in program history.Β
Earlier this week, Tubelis was named to the 20-player Wooden Award midseason watch list.Β
"It's an award for an individual, so I don't care," Tubelis said. "I'm a team player. I don't care about that stuff."Β
As for Pac-12 Player of the Year?Β
"Same thing," Tubelis said. "I don't care."
2. UA overcomes slow start
Arizona trailed Oregon 5-0 to start the game, prompting Tommy Lloyd to call a timeout 97 seconds into the first half.Β
The Wildcats then went on a 21-2 run and never surrendered the lead. The Ducks went three minutes in the first half without a point, while Arizona went on an 11-0 run; the Wildcats had another 10-0 run later in the first half.Β
Last week against Washington, the Wildcats trailed 23-14 in the first half, then outscored the Huskies 81-49 to end the game.Β
3. Advantage Arizona inside
In the previous matchup, Ducks coach Dana Altman installed South Carolina transfer Jermaine Couisnard (who scored 27 points) and Nate Bittle into the starting lineup to "shake things up" after getting routed by Arizona State.Β
The frontcourt duo of Bittle and N'Faly Dante limited Tubelis and Arizona center Oumar Ballo to a combined six points and eight rebounds in the second half in Eugene. As a team, the Wildcats were out-rebounded by Oregon 42-32 in the first contest.Β
Not only did Arizona outrebound Oregon 37-31 on Thursday, Tubelis and Ballo combined for 50 points and 20 rebounds, while Bittle and Dante had 15 and seven.Β
4. Kriisa reaches 300 dimes
Arizona guard Kerr Kriisa finished with seven assists on Thursday, putting his career total at 305. Kriisa is the first Wildcat to dish 300 career assists since Parker Jackson-Cartwright.Β
Kriisa is also 15-for-29 from 3-point range over the last three games. Kriisa was 18-for-66 (27%) from beyond the arc the previous seven games.Β
"Kerr is a really good basketball player," UA coach Tommy Lloyd said. "Anybody that wouldn't want him on their team is crazy."Β
Rhonda Faulkner, left, Al Flemingβs sister, and his niece Nyla Fleming-Ingraham recall his life during a news conference before the Arizona-Oregon game at McKale Center on Feb. 2023. Fleming was inducted into the schoolβs Ring of Honor.
5. Fleming's induction
When Rhonda Faulkner grew up in Michigan City, Indiana, she often woke up to the "to the sound and rhythm of a basketball, early in the morning ... waking me up. That was just normal in the household."
The person dribbling the ball: Al Fleming, Faulkner's older brother and a former Arizona star, who scored 41 points against Detroit in 1976, a McKale Center record by a Wildcat. Fleming β also known as "Big Al" β holds UA records for career double-doubles (53) and rebounds (1,190).Β
Fleming, whose mother is named Arizona Fleming, was officially inducted into the Ring of Honor during the pandemic-influenced season in 2021, so the UA held off on the ceremony until Thursday. Since Fleming died in 2003, he was represented by Faulkner and his niece, Nyla Fleming-Ingraham, along with other family members and UA teammate Bob Elliott.Β
"Albert was my mentor, he was my big brother, he was my protector, and I looked at him as my defender. My father wasn't there, so he was my father figure," Faulkner said. "When I think of Albert and how he loved Tucson, it just brings a smile (to my face). I'm so happy to be here, because Albert loved Tucson.
"That's all he would talk about was the fans in Tucson. He said there were no greater fans than Tucson. I really believe if he was still living, he'd be living in Tucson."Β
McKale Center was built at the University of Arizona in the early 1970s. There have been updates through the years.
