Arizona Wildcats hold off No. 3 UConn 71-67 in Top 5 showdown in Storrs

STORRS, Conn. – With a third win over a Top 15 opponent in less than three weeks to start the season, the Arizona Wildcats are now at least in the conversation to become the nation’s top-ranked team.

In a predictably tense matchup between Top 5 teams, the No. 4 Wildcats held off No. 3 UConn 71-67 by overpowering the Huskies inside and getting more clutch play from point guard Jaden Bradley.

Arizona crushed the Huskies on the glass, outrebounding them 43-23 while scoring 16 second-chance points off 13 offensive rebounds. Motiejus Krivas had 14 rebounds and Koa Peat had 12.

"That's how we're built," UA coach Tommy Lloyd said of the Wildcats' physicality. "As you are looking at the landscape for college basketball, if you're not up for the physical fight, it's going to be tough. It's going to be tough to be a team that wins consistently at a high level. It's going to be tough to win on the road. It's going to be tough to win the NCAA tournament."

While UConn was playing without starting center Tarris Reed because of an ankle sprain, that wasn't much consolation for UConn Coach Dan Hurley.

"Without Tarris, we should have been (only) minus-10," Hurley said. "We got punked."

Despite its trouble inside, UConn had wiped away what was a 13-point Arizona lead midway through the second half and led by two entering the final two minutes. But Peat hit 1 of 2 free throws with 1:47 to cut it to one, and after UConn’s Solo Ball missed a 3-pointer, Krivas rebounded a missed jumper from Bradley to give the Wildcats the lead for good, 65-64.

On UConn’s next possession, guard Malachi Smith turned the ball over when driving inside and then the Wildcats ate nearly 30 seconds off the clock before Bradley drove in for a layup that gave UA a 67-64 lead with 16 seconds left, much like he did in the Wildcats' 69-65 win over UCLA last Friday.

"Most of our games have been down to the wire, down the stretch, and coaches threw up a great set," Bradley said. "We were able to get a ball screen, and my guys gave me great space, and I was able to make the layup. Then we got a stop at the end."

Reibe nearly had an opportunity to tie the game with eight seconds left when he went up for a shot and was fouled by UA’s Tobe Awaka but missed the shot. He wound up missing both ensuing free throws anyway and Awaka was fouled after he rebounded the second miss, then Awaka hit both free throws he took.

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While UConn’s Silas Demary hit a 3-pointer to give the Huskies a last gasp, pulling them within 69-67 with two seconds left, UConn was forced to foul Awaka, who again hit both free throws he took before time expired.

Bradley wound up leading the Wildcats in scoring with 21 points while Motiejus Krivas had 14 rebounds and Koa Peat had 12 rebounds.

After leading just 35-33 at halftime, the Wildcats had jumped on UConn early in the second half with an 8-2 run that featured driving layups from Ivan Kharchenkov and Bradley. Later, Brayden Burries, Peat and Bradley all drove in for layups to give UA a 53-40 lead with 13:34 left.

UConn scored the next seven points while Huskies fans rose throughout the arena, and a pullup jumper from Solo Ball with 8:15 to go cut UA’s lead to just 56-52.

UConn then tied the game at 3:56 on a 3 from Eric Reibe and went ahead 62-60 on a layup from Jaylin Stewart. After Peat tipped in an attempt by Anthony Dell’Orso, UConn took another two-point lead when Smith stepped back to hit a 19-foot jumper as the shot-clock buzzer expired.

In the first half, Bradley had 12 points while Peat and Krivas began controlling the inside en route to Arizona's 35-33 halftime lead.

Bradley scored the bulk of his points at the line, making 7 of 8 free throws, while Peat had nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks – and Krivas had 10 rebounds with five points.

In the first Top 5 matchup at Gampel in nearly 20 years, the game predictably was tightly contested throughout the first half. Arizona shot 40.7% from the field and outrebounded the Huskies 24-13, while holding UConn to just 37.9% shooting, but the Huskies committed only one turnover through the first 16 minutes.

The Wildcats stayed on top despite another rough start for Burries, who picked up two fouls, including a Flagrant 1, and had two turnovers over the six minutes he played in the first half.

The win left Arizona at 5-0, and the Wildcats are almost certain to go through November undefeated for the fourth time in Lloyd's fifth season of coaching them. They have only home games remaining against Denver (Monday) and Norfolk State (Nov. 29) this month.

On Monday, the Wildcats could also jump higher or possibly atop the Associated Press Top 25 poll, having arguably the best resume in college basketball to date with a neutral site win over Florida, a semi-away win against UCLA and now a true road win against the third-ranked Huskies.

"We're not going to say it doesn't change things. We know it changes things," Lloyd said of Wednesday's game, before breaking out a baseball analogy. "But if you get a good hop, field it and turn two. And our guys found a way to do that. So I'm really proud of our team."