Arizona basketball broke a two-game loss streak with a blowout win over Southern Utah, 102-66.
Arizona basketball was in desperate need of a win after a rough trip to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament which gave the Wildcats their first losing record since 2010. The Wildcats took on the Southern Utah Thunderbirds Saturday afternoon at McKale Center, and won 102-66.
The feisty Thunderbirds defense has gotten them a strong start to their season with a record of 8-3, led by Jamir Simpson but they couldn’t stop a strong Arizona team looking for a comeback after a tough start to their regular season.
This matchup is one that has never been seen before as this is the first matchup in history for the Thunderbirds and Wildcats basketball teams.
The Thunderbirds haven’t seen competition like Arizona all season, except for in their game against UCLA where they lost by 41 points. They had a great start against a strong Arizona competition.
Takeaway #1: Give me the energy!
Arizona brought the energy to Mckale Center.
After the Bahamas, it looks like Tommy Lloyd is looking for some change in the starting five as he made multiple subs early on. It worked as all of the players coming off the bench looked energetic and eager to put points on the board.
In a press conference after the tournament in the Bahamas, Lloyd said, “There are things we need to fix, and fix quickly.”
It seems as though Lloyd is looking for energy and grit in his starting five and that is very clear with the energy every player gave against SU.
Whatever Lloyd is saying at practice and in that locker room is working and the discipline, grit, and energy were absolutely seen in this blowout win against Southern Utah.
When the energy is high, the basketball is at a different level. Saturday we saw multiple electrifying plays from players that have been sort of quiet since their early wins against Canisius and Old Dominion.
The Tobe Awaka and Caleb Love connection was extremely strong in the first half. Anthony Dell’Orso was on fire from the three-point line, setting McKale Center on fire with him. He finished with 19 points.
The communication and Zona Energy were present in McKale Center on Saturday. Fans look forward to seeing this team for the rest of the season.
Takeaway #2: Finally looking inside
In Arizona’s last few games, they faced some disappointing losses, struggling to get inside the paint and make three-point shots. The Wildcats have talent and height inside the paint but the strong inside team was forcing everything from the outside until Saturday’s win.
Against Duke, Caleb Love went 1-9 from the three-point line. Against the Thunderbirds, Love finished 2-5 from the three-point line. In the Bahamas, Arizona faced two nail-biting losses in a row, partially because of the team’s lack of play inside the paint.
Against this known feisty Thunderbirds defense the Wildcats finally found themselves inside bringing points to the board and energy to the court.
KJ Lewis found himself hanging on the rim a few times with 13 points and zero three-point attempts.
Zero three-point attempts is a terrific statistic for this Arizona team as they seem to play better when they play from the inside and stray away from forcing the outside shots.
Takeaway #3: Southern Utah’s feisty defense
The Thunderbirds were predicted to place dead last in their WAC conference but have proven predictions wrong going 8-2 to start their season. They have become known for their play on the defensive end.
On Saturday, the Wildcats were unstoppable and created 20 turnovers for the Thunderbirds in just the first half. Although the Thunderbirds’ feisty defense was broken down by the Wildcats early on, they had a steady start trailing by just six points in the first five minutes.
Like UCLA, the energy, strength and height inside broke down the Southern Utah defense early on. No doubt the Thunderbirds will continue to win this season, though.
Next up for Arizona (4-4): vs. UCLA (8-1) – Dec. 14 at 3 p.m. EST
Next up for Southern Utah (4-1): vs. New Mexico State (4-5) – Dec. 16 at 9 p.m. EST
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