After wading through the Maui Invitational with a stagnant offense last week, the Arizona Wildcats made it a family affair in a 100-70 win over Georgia Southern on Thursday.
The Wildcats had five players score in double figures, including career-highs for Chase Jeter (18), Alex Barcello (16) and Devonaire Doutrive (eight), while the team recorded a season-high 22 assists. Brandon Randolph and Brandon Williams each had 14 points while Dylan Smith had 10 points and made 2 of 7 3-pointers.
Jeter set his career-high of 18 points by making 10 of 12 free throws and hitting all four shots he took from the field; he recorded his third double-double of the season by also grabbing 10 rebounds.
The win moved Arizona to 5-2 heading into a Sunday game against UConn (6-1) at Hartford. Georgia Southern dropped to 5-2.
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Leading by 13 points at halftime, Arizona went up by 20 less than five minutes into the second half while Georgia Southern made just 2 of 8 shots at the start. Barcello had six points in less than two minutes, including a layup on the break, to give UA a 72-46 lead with 11:39 left.
At that point, Barcello already had tied his career-high of 11 points while Jeter had done the same with 16 points.
The Wildcats mowed down the Eagles in the second half, holding Georgia Southern to just 36.5 percent shooting after halftime while UA shot 57.1 percent in the second half.
Arizona had just 22 assists for its 65 field goals over three games at the Maui Invitational last week, after which UA coach Sean Miller expressed disappointment in the Wildcats' ball movement. UA entered the game with the 23rd lowest percentage of assists per made basket at just 40.3 percent.
The issue was most acute during UAβs 91-74 loss to Gonzaga on Nov. 20, when the Wildcats managed just three assists for their 21 field goals. They shot 41.2 percent from the field but took 13 fewer shots than the Bulldogs and saved themselves from a blowout loss by hitting 25 of 30 free throws.
βThree assists, that's tough, man,β Miller said after the loss to Gonzaga. βThere's not a lot of good basketball being played when you only have three assists.β
But on Thursday, the Wildcats had 12 assists to their 15 field goals in the first half, apparently focusing on the issue. They finished with 22 on 35 made baskets.
In the first half, Arizona moved past an early shooting slump to take a 45-32 halftime lead.
Before halftime, Williams led Arizona with 10 points and Randolph had eight while Jeter added seven points and four rebounds. Smith hit 2 of 3 3-pointers after missing all seven 3s he tried in the Maui Invitational last week.
Miller changed his starting lineup for the first time this season, inserting Emmanuel Akot for Ryan Luther at power forward. Akot appeared to be a better defensive matchup against the smaller and athletic Eagles, but he didnβt take a shot over the first four minutes before Luther replaced him.
Miller also inserted freshman guard Doutrive with 12 minutes left in the half after Doutrive played only a minute in Maui last week. Doutrive not only scored eight points and had three rebounds but also threw Barcello a behind-the-back assist in the final minute.
Arizona missed 11 of its first 14 shots over the first seven minutes of the game, allowing Georgia Southern to take an early 13-8 lead, and Justin Coleman scored to cut the Eaglesβ lead to three before Doutrive entered the game.
Arizona then took an 18-15 lead after Williams hit two 3-pointers midway through the half and went ahead 25-20 on a 3-pointer from Barcello. They went up 35-23 with four minutes left after Randolph drew a foul underneath the basket and hit two free throws.
The Wildcats finished by shooting 44.1 percent for the half and had 12 assists for their 15 field goals, although Georgia Southern managed to hit 43.5 percent.
