It wasn’t pretty, but the third-ranked Arizona Wildcats took care of business Saturday against ASU, winning 67-56 at McKale Center.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd called the game a “rock fight”, and the Wildcats were able to wear down the Sun Devils late with their rebounding edge, free-throw efficiency and key defensive stops.
Here’s how Arizona bounced back to beat its rival.
2 of 15
The game could not have started worse from a scoring perspective for the Wildcats. Arizona made just two of their first 15 shots and ASU jumped out to a 15-8 lead midway through the first half.
Luckily for UA, ASU wasn’t able to take full advantage, turning the ball over 11 times in the half and allowing UA to remain within single digits.
12-4
Over the final four minutes of the first half, Arizona went on a 12-4 run to tie the game at 32-32 going into the break.
26 for 32
Even when the shots weren’t falling, Arizona still managed to get to the free-throw line early and often. The team went 26 for 32 (81%) for the game — the second-most attempts this season — compared to 8 for 15 (53%) by ASU.
Arizona’s free-throw efficiency was especially critical in the first half during the offensive lull as 18 of its 32 points came via the foul line. Four different Wildcats got to the line five times or more against the Sun Devils.
16
With 15:25 left in the second half, UA point guard Kerr Kriisa snapped his streak of 16 consecutive missed shots with a 3-pointer. The play brought McKale to its feet and Kerr bent down at midcourt while running back on defense to give a kiss to the court.
Kerr’s 3 not only ended his own drought, but Arizona’s as well. The Cats had missed their first 14 3s of the game. They finished going 3 for 23.
14
Oumar Ballo continues to emerge as a key post player for the Wildcats as the 7-footer tied for the team lead with 14 points. While Azuolas Tubelis started the game, he still was not at 100% with his ankle injury and was limited to 22 minutes.
Ballo rotated in with 19 minutes off the bench, shooting 4 for 6 and also knocking down 6 of 9 free throw attempts. He’s reached double figures in three of UA’s last four games.
23%
Arizona’s defense locked down ASU in the second half, limiting the Sun Devils to 24 points on 8-of-34 (24%) shooting.
7
The Wildcats outrebounded their opponent 27-20 in the second half.
2
Arizona has shot under 40% in back-to-back games for the first time this year. Against UCLA and ASU, the Wildcats have hit just 42 of their 134 shot attempts (31%).
