Wildcats dominate Pac-12 title game, await NCAA Tournament pairing

LAS VEGAS — Maybe the Arizona Wildcats are a legitimate Final Four contender, after all.

And just in time.

Given a preseason No. 3 ranking in the AP Top 25 poll, but playing below that level during a season rocked by off-court issues and Rawle Alkins’ broken foot, the Wildcats stormed into the NCAA Tournament by finishing off the Pac-12 exactly as they were expected to.

By dominating it.

Arizona won the regular-season title by two games a week ago and on Saturday won the Pac-12 Tournament title by turning a close game with USC into a 75-61 romp at T-Mobile Arena. Deandre Ayton scored 32 points and collected 18 rebounds to power the Wildcats for a second straight night, earning Pac-12 Tournament MVP honors.

“It’s incredible,” Ayton said. “I’m speechless.”

Ayton’s dominant performance easily gave him enough to broke the UA season record for double-doubles with 23. Dusan Ristic, also named to the all-tournament team, added 16 points and five rebounds.

Together, the Wildcats triggered a wild reception by a crowd of predominantly UA fans at T-Mobile Arena.

“It was an unbelievable feeling,” Ristic said. “I felt like we played at McKale tonight.”

Having also scored 32 points in UA’s semifinal win over UCLA on Friday, Ayton became the first player in Pac-12 history to win the conference’s Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Pac-12 Tournament MVP in the same season.

“Deandre was a one-man wrecking crew these past two days,” UA coach Sean Miller said.

The win was Arizona’s second straight Pac-12 Tournament championship and third in the past four seasons, moving the Wildcats to 27-7 overall heading into Selection Sunday.

Arizona entered Saturday’s game widely expected to gain a No. 4 seed in the West Region, with a first-round game Friday in San Diego, though the Wildcats have an argument for an even better seed.

“It’s really up to the committee but I feel like they’ll take into account how we’ll we’ve been playing,” UA guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright said. “Hopefully they’ll realize we are one of the best teams in the country. We’re playing like it.”

USC dropped to 23-11 and is sitting on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Before Saturday’s games, ESPN projected USC as a No. 10 seed but CBS’ forecast had the Trojans as one of the first four teams out of the field.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Trailing by three points at halftime, Arizona quickly took a 35-33 lead with a rebound basket from Ayton and a 3-pointer from Alkins – and then the game was tied three more times before Arizona drastically changed the momentum with a 13-3 run over six minutes midway through the second half.

Ristic started the run with a rebound basket while Jackson-Cartwright hit a 3-pointer from the corner. USC’s Jordan Usher answered that one with a 3 of his own but then Alkins drove the lane while taking a pass from Ayton, throwing down a demonstrative slam over the defense of USC guard Elijah Stewart, who fell helplessly to the floor while Alkins untangled his legs from Stewart’s body.

Ristic called Alkins’ dunk “one of the best five in college basketball this year,” and Alkins flipped through his cellphone afterward to show dozens of congratulatory text messages that had popped up.

“I don’t think the USC defender thought it would end that way,” Alkins said. “I like to think of myself as having a sneaky bounce, meaning I can catch you off guard.”

Ayton followed up with a dunk of his own, then went on to score twice more during the run, giving UA a 59-49 lead with 5:46 to go.

A 3-pointer from Jordan McLaughlin helped USC pull within six points with four minutes left but Arizona finished the game with a 14-6 run to cut down nets for a second straight week.

In the first half, Arizona allowed USC to shoot 50 percent for the first half, with Trojan center Nick Rakocevic doing particular damage inside, while USC took a 33-30 halftime lead.

Rakocevic had 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting, including a layup with three seconds left in the first half, but did not score in the second half.

Overall, the first half between top-seeded Arizona and No. 2 seed USC was befitting of their 1-2 finish in the Pac-12 during the regular season. USC’s three-point halftime lead came after seven lead changes and four ties.

Arizona shot 44.8 percent from the field and outrebounded the Trojans 20-11 but UA committed nine turnovers that led to seven USC points. USC shot 50 percent from the field but hit just 1 of 6 3-pointers.

Ayton led UA in the half with 13 points and eight rebounds. Ristic had eight points and three rebounds.

Alkins had five rebounds for UA but missed both shots he took and turned the ball over three times.

For USC, Jonah Mathews added 11 points while McLaughlin had six assists to no turnovers.

Jackson-Cartwright hit a 3-pointer on the first possession of the game to give UA a 3-0 lead but the leading margin for either team never exceeded four points in the first half.

Joining Ayton and Ristic on the Pac-12’s all-tournament team were UCLA’s Aaron Holiday and Thomas Welsh, along with USC’s Mathews and McLaughlin.