PULLMAN, Washington β Turns out there was one good thing for the Arizona Wildcats about losing to Washington State at McKale Center earlier this month.
The date.
It was less than three weeks ago that the Cougars snapped the Wildcatsβ 28-game homecourt winning streak, leaving the memory especially fresh in their minds.
So they came out and led Washington State wire-to-wire in a 63-58 win on Thursday at Beasley Coliseum.
βWe wanted to bite them back at their homecourt,β UA guard Pelle Larsson said. βWe all remember the feelings from that game, and that was just channeled to this one.β
Larsson chipped in 10 points, five rebounds and three assists. Guard Kerr Kriisa hit 5 of 10 3-pointers for 15 points. And Azuolas Tubelis continued to do his thing.
Tubelis led the Wildcats with 18 points and 12 rebounds for his 16th career double-double, helping Arizona offset a limited offensive output from center Oumar Ballo, who had just one point but collected nine rebounds and played a role in what really helped the Wildcats make the difference Thursday: defense.
Ballo helped make WSU center Mouhamed Gueye work hard for his 15 points, with the Senegalese big man hitting just 6 of 19 shots, while Arizona overall held WSU to just 32.8% shooting.
The Cougars also hit just 4 of 17 3-pointers after making 12 of 28 in their 74-61 win over Arizona on Jan. 7 at McKale.
βWe were much more engaged, a lot more active,β UA coach Tommy Lloyd said. βWe got to change our game plan a little bit, didnβt switch as much off ball screens, and we just really challenged our guys to get sticky, be physical, be aggressive and do the best job we can limiting their 3-point attempts, especially from their good 3-point shooters.
βYou have to live with some downhill drives and some shots at the (rim), but all in all, I think it was a well-executed game plan by our guys.β
So while those 3s on Jan. 7, no doubt, were part of that memory the Wildcats carried into Thursdayβs game, they also figured out ways to stop some of them. WSU coach Kyle Smith noted that even Ballo extended away from the basket to guard Gueye, who was 0 for 2 from 3-point range.
βThey were definitely more focused defensively,β Smith said, adding simply: βThey watch film.β
Washington State guard Justin Powell, right, shoots while defended by Arizona guard Pelle Larsson during the first half of their game Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, in Pullman, Washington.
The win moved Arizona to 18-3, 7-3 in the Pac-12, where the Wildcats are now only one game behind first-place UCLA after the Bruins lost at USC earlier Thursday.
Washington State dropped to 9-13, 4-7.
Although UA led just 55-50 entering the final four minutes, the Wildcats pushed it to 60-51 thanks to a jumper from Tubelis and a 3-pointer from Kriisa. Courtney Ramey later hit a dagger 3 from the left corner to give UA a 63-53 lead with 55 seconds left, prompting fans to stream out of Beasley Coliseum.
WSU had cut Arizonaβs lead to 55-50 with 4:17 left after the Cougarsβ leading scorer, TJ Bamba, finally broke through. Bamba, who missed three games with a hand injury before returning Sunday at Colorado, hit a 3-pointer and a layup after being limited to just four shots over the gameβs first 34 minutes β and making none of those four.
The Wildcats led by four points at halftime but by just one midway through the second half after WSU received a 3-pointer from Justin Powell and a layup from Gueye that made it 42-41 with 9:46 left.
But just over three minutes later, UA went ahead 52-44 after getting a jumper from Tubelis inside and a driving layup from Kylan Boswell. After a timeout, Kriisa hit another 3 to give UA a 55-45 lead with 5:28 left.
In the first half, Kriisa scored nine points on three 3-pointers while Tubelis had 10 points to help Arizona take a 36-32 halftime lead.
The Wildcats shot 50% from the field and held WSU to just 34.5%, including a 1-for-9 mark from 3-point range. However, the Cougars made up some of the ground by going 11 for 11 from the free throw line, while UA took only six trips to the line and missed half of those shots.
No. 6 Arizona 63, Washington St. 58
ARIZONA (18-3)
A.Tubelis 9-16 0-2 18, Ballo 0-3 1-2 1, Kriisa 5-11 0-0 15, Ramey 2-9 0-0 5, Henderson 1-6 2-2 5, Larsson 5-8 0-0 10, Boswell 4-5 0-0 9. Totals 26-58 3-6 63.
WASHINGTON ST. (9-13)
Gueye 6-19 3-3 15, Jakimovski 3-9 0-0 7, Rodman 1-1 6-6 9, Bamba 2-7 4-6 9, Powell 6-11 2-2 15, Darling 0-4 1-2 1, Mullins 0-4 0-0 0, Diongue 0-2 0-0 0, Houinsou 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 19-58 16-19 58.
Halftime: Arizona 36-32. 3-Point Goals: Arizona 8-22 (Kriisa 5-10, Boswell 1-2, Henderson 1-4, Ramey 1-5, Larsson 0-1), Washington St. 4-17 (Rodman 1-1, Powell 1-2, Bamba 1-3, Jakimovski 1-5, Darling 0-1, Gueye 0-2, Mullins 0-3). Rebounds: Arizona 37 (A.Tubelis 12), Washington St. 32 (Gueye 10). Assists: Arizona 13 (Ballo, Ramey, Larsson 3), Washington St. 7 (Powell 3). Total Fouls: Arizona 17, Washington St. 12.
McKale Center was built at the University of Arizona in the early 1970s. There have been updates through the years.
