Tucson, Arizona – Azoulas Tubelis missed a few shots, frustrated with foul calls, and hit the ball into the student section.
Arizona’s leading scorer spent the rest of the first half on the bench. The rest of the Wildcats made their way past Utah to get a bit of revenge.
Kerr Kryisa had 17 points and six assists, Courtney Ramey had 13 points, and No. 8 Arizona pulled away after Tuberis came off the bench, 88-62.
“Everyone knows that Zoo is a special part of our team and plays an important role, but we have four guards, no matter what the situation, how we play. I know. “It doesn’t change much.”
Arizona (23-4, 12-4 Pac-12) struggled after losing to Utah, with Utah coach Craig Smith welcoming fans in the stands high-fiving.
Back in their raucous arena, the Wildcats returned the favor with a commanding performance that saw Smith shake his head.
Arizona extended its lead to 17 after Tuberis kept shooting to bounce back from last weekend’s loss at Stanford.
The Wildcats shot 56% from the floor, made 9-of-18 from 3-pointers, outpaced Utah 38-10 in the paint, and contained them most of the night.
“That game against Stanford, we had good possession on defense, but in the end we made some crazy decisions,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. and was able to counter some of the shooter’s shots.”
Utah scored 81 points in their Dec. 1 victory, holding Arizona’s shooting percentage down to 35%. Ute (17-10, 10-6) was nowhere near as efficient this time around, and early in the second he fell into the 20-point hole. Since 1986, half have not won at the McKale Center.
Branden Carlson scored 19 points to lead Utah, shooting 32% from the floor.
“They certainly gave them a great look tonight,” Smith said. did not have any answer in such a way.
Arizona got off to a shaky offensive start in their rematch with Utah, with Tuberis heading to the bench after an in-game boot.
Instead of struggling, the Wildcats pulled away.
Arizona trailed by 9 points at 10-0 and held Utah scoreless for another three minutes to push their lead to 33-18. The Wildcats continued to shoot and from the field he was 18 of 31, 5 of 10 of 3, and he was 43-31 at halftime despite Tubelis playing just his five minutes. and led.
“How did you come down by 12?” Smith said.
Arizona continued with a quick 9–0 run as Tubulis returned to the lineup to start the second half. Kriisa hit his 3-pointer and set up a Ramey layup to extend his lead to 59-39.
Utah finally started showing offensive life midway through the second half, hitting seven straight shots and pulling within 12.
That was Yuuto’s last gasp.
Arizona continued its 11-0 run, catching up with Pele Larson on Lamy’s alley-oop on the 3/4 court to push the lead to 79-56.
“We messed up the defense there. That’s probably the only time we cornered them and they called timeouts,” Smith said.
Tubulis Temper
Tuberis is usually stoic on the court, but a frustrating start to a quiet game against Stanford fueled his anger.
The Lithuanian big man was called for a loose ball foul near midcourt after missing a shot at the rim, but he disagreed. Tuberis kicked the ball deep into about ten rows of the stands and received a technical foul on him after the referee reviewed the play during a timeout.
“You can’t do what you did,” said Lloyd.
Tuberis had 11 points and 9 rebounds in 20 minutes.
big picture
Utah has wasted an opportunity in a huge NCAA tournament restart booster.
Arizona has a knack for bouncing back from losses under coach Tommy Lloyd. The Wildcats have improved to his 17-4 record against Utah since Utah joined his Pac-12 in 2011, and have done it again with an impressive all-around performance. rice field.
next
Utah: in Arizona on Saturday.
Arizona: Host Colorado on Saturday.
