News and notes from No. 6-ranked Arizona’s 18-point win over the last-place Utah Utes Saturday night at McKale Center:
Tubelis, Koloko feast around basket
The last time Arizona started a season 14-1, the Wildcats were led by a guy named T.J.
And Stanley.
And Rondae.
And Zeus.
No. 6-ranked Arizona’s 82-64 win over Utah Saturday evening at McKale Center marked the 14th win of the season, the Wildcats’ best start since the 2014-15 season that resulted in a run to the Elite Eight.
The Wildcats were led by forward Azuolas Tubelis, who finished with a career-high 32 points on 14-for-24 shooting from the field, eight rebounds and four assists. Tubelis and Arizona center Christian Koloko combined for 48 points, the most the Wildcats’ frontcourt duo have scored together in their two years alongside each other in the starting lineup.
Tubelis and Koloko helped the Wildcats score 56 points in the paint Saturday night, which doubled Utah’s total.
‘Too little’ gesture bites Utah in second half
With 15:57 left to play, Utah center Dusan Mahorcic shouldered his way over Koloko for a lay-up to cut Arizona’s lead to 38-35. After scoring the basket, Mahorcic stared down Koloko, put his hand flat and parallel to the ground about knee-high, which is a popular taunting gesture in basketball — popularized by LeBron James — to tell someone they’re too small.
The Wildcats then outscored Utah 44-29 to end the game, including a 21-0 run that featured back-to-back-to-back baskets in the paint by Tubelis. Koloko added six points in the final 15 minutes.
Bench scoring takes a step back
Arizona’s reserves (31 points) alone outscored Colorado’s starting lineup (26 points) in the Wildcats’ 21-point win Thursday. But Saturday, starting point guard Kerr Kriisa was out with an undisclosed injury after he was “horsing around” during pregame warmups, which elevated Justin Kier into the starting lineup. With Kier filling in for Kriisa, the Wildcats’ bench rotation was trimmed to two players, with wing Pelle Larsson and center Oumar Ballo combining for 10 points, while the Utes had 35 points from their bench unit.
Big number
11 — UA won its 11th consecutive game against Utah in Tucson. The last time the Utes beat Arizona in Tucson was 68-67 on Dec. 6, 1986 — the season before UA’s first Final Four.
He said it
“It’s hard to win games, especially with the circumstances we went through today. It’s a character-building win, it’s a program-building win, to be able to overcome a little bit of adversity at the last second and when the start of the game isn’t going your way and you feel like you can’t make a shot, to hang in there and end up winning by a decent margin, I would categorize that as a successful homestand.” — Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd
Terry gets some flavor
At Screamery, a local ice cream chain in Tucson, the newest flavor to hit the freezer is “DT’s Triple Chocolate,” named after UA second-year wing Dalen Terry, who announced his endorsement deal with the company on Friday.
Screamery has three locations, including one in downtown Tucson.
The ice cream company is the latest NIL for Terry, who has nearly 98,000 followers on Instagram. He also has an endorsement deal with Lolo’s Chicken and Waffles chain and has his own clothing brand “Publicly Private.”
Terry also posted a video on his Instagram page of him modeling pink and white Reebok shoes for Champs Sports
Earlier this week, the UA — in coalition with its Arizona EDGE program — announced its new partnership with INFLCR, a digital app that connects student-athletes with potential NIL opportunities.
“We’ve been working with the Wildcats since February of 2020 and have seen tremendous growth in their department’s commitment to student-athlete brand development,” INFLCR President Jim Cavale said in a press release.
“I’m thrilled that INFLCR will assist Arizona in expounding upon the foundation they’ve built. With ‘Arizona Edge’ student-athletes can access an entire market of local businesses looking to tap into the Wildcat way through leading technology that compliantly and functionally meets Arizona’s needs.”
Reminder to wear masks
The UA mandates fans to wear surgical face masks upon entry at McKale Center for home basketball games this season. Recently, ushers at McKale Center have hoisted “Mask Up” signs during timeout breaks.
Before the game and during halftime, the McKale Center video board played a video, featuring Terry, to remind fans to wear masks.
