There’s death, taxes — and Arizona overcoming a neck-and-neck start only to beat an opponent by double digits.
The second-ranked Wildcats thumped Utah 97-77 Thursday night in Salt Lake City to pick up their ninth straight win and move to 25-2 on the season.
How did the Wildcats win their first game in Salt Lake City since 2018? These statistics tell the story:
102: It took just 102 seconds for Arizona to jump out to an 8-0 lead over Utah. The Wildcats scored the first eight points of the game behind a pair of Azuolas Tubelis layups, a Dalen Terry layup and a Christian Koloko dunk.
The Utes called a timeout, then went on a 7-0 run of their own to get back into the game.
18: Years since an Arizona player tabbed a triple-double. UA point guard Kerr Kriisa became the first player since Andre Iguodala in 2004 to record a triple-double, after Kriisa finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Kriisa joined Iguodala, Luke Walton, Loren Woods, Damon Stoudamire, Chris Mills and Matt Muehlebach as Wildcats to have triple-doubles.
Kriisa shot 7 for 8 from 3-point range and scored 21 points in 16 first-half minutes, including a buzzer-beating half-court shot. In the Wildcats’ previous three games, Kriisa scored 21 points combined in 102 minutes.
Kriisa’s historic outing landed on Estonian Independence Day.
26-5: Arizona used a 26-5 run to finish the first half. After the Wildcats trailed 28-27 with 6:44 left to play, Arizona finished the first half with a 53-33 lead.
14: Second-half turnovers committed by the Wildcats. Although Arizona had just two turnovers in the second half, it finished the game with 16 total. That’s the most since the Wildcats committed 18 in a win over Washington State this month.
5: Numbers of Wildcats who finished in double-figure scoring. Every player in Arizona’s starting rotation ended the game with 10 or more points; Tubelis (23 points), Kriisa (21), Bennedict Mathurin (14), Terry (14) and Koloko (11). Arizona’s bench was outscored by Utah, 45-14. Arizona’s bench of Pelle Larsson, Oumar Ballo and Justin Kier shot a combined 3 for 14 from the field.
85%: The Wildcats’ free-throw percentage against Utah, the highest since they shot 86% in a December win over Wyoming. Arizona went 11 for 13 from the free-throw line, with Tubelis going 7 for 7.
