Arizona basketball (11-5, 5-0 Big 12) won their seventh straight matchup to remain undefeated in the Big 12 with a huge 81-70 win over No. 25 Baylor (11-5, 3-2 Big 12).
Arizona basketball continues its dominance, but of course, still keeping fans on the edges of their seats late into the game. The Wildcats continue their impressive streak with their third Big 12-ranked victory after wins over Cincinnati and West Virginia.
Despite several recent key performances by Arizona’s Caleb Love, Love’s star has seemed to wane after several games with poor shooting performances. However, this doesn’t spell disaster for the Wildcats; rather, it brings a floor for key players to shine on their own.
Henri Veesaar, Jaden Bradley, and KJ Lewis came to play, each being massive in this late-night victory. Veesaar dominated with a team-leading 19 points and 7 rebounds. Bradley would be second in points with 15 points but proved his skills on both ends with 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Finally, KJ Lewis continues to stun in his bench role putting up 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 steals.
Arizona held a massive 27-point lead over the Bears early on in the second half but almost handed the game over as Baylor brought the game to within nine near the end.
Takeaway #1: Even with late tip-off times, Arizona basketball fans aren’t sleeping anytime soon
Arizona fans continue to pack McKale Center despite recent matchups starting well past sunset, and certainly so as Arizona basketball is steamrolling its way through the Big 12. Arizona has five straight Big 12 wins, three over ranked conference opponents.
This second time in his four years that head coach Tommy Lloyd has led the Wildcats to a 5-0 start in conference play. In his first season as head coach, the Wildcats went an impressive 6-0 in conference play, only to fall to UCLA in Pauley Pavilion. Arizona would finish that season 18-2 in the Pac-12, could this be a sign for the future?
In this streak, Arizona basketball has given fans nailbiting games that go until the last minutes, such as this one. The Wildcats have been struggling to maintain huge leads they tally in the first half, but unlike during the start of their season, they are learning how to right these wrongs.
Takeaway #2: Henri Veesaar is making his name as Arizona’s leading big man
Veesaar continues to be Lloyd’s third option at big man, seeing Tobe Awaka and Trey Townsend receiving the starting nods throughout the season. However, is this time that Veesaar deserves that starting opportunity?
The loss of Motiejus Krivas left the doors open for a big man to capitalize off the bench, and Veesaar has answered this with flying colors.
Veesaar is currently on a two-game stretch with double-digit scoring; 14 against UCF and a career-high 19 against Baylor. This is the first time in his career he has had back-to-back 10+ point games. He has gone from averaging 5.6 in the first eight games of the season to 10.6 points, a near-double increase.
He has also been getting more consistent at grabbing boards, averaging 3.6 in the first eight games to 6.1 in the last eight. In blocking, Veesaar went from 0.5 blocks in the first eight games to 1.3 in the last eight.
However, is he in a similar position to KJ Lewis in which they excel in the bench positions over the starting? Only time will tell if Lloyd gives him the chance to start.
Takeaway #3: Baylor turned an insurmountable comeback into a real nailbiter
Baylor has had a very up-and-down season, being their year being blown out 101-63 by Gonzaga to big wins over St. Johns and Arkansas. However, for the latter half of their season, they have been in better form, only losing three games after Gonzaga to top-25 teams in UConn, Tennessee, and Iowa State. Their loss to Arizona is their first unranked loss of the year.
However, despite the loss and early 27-point pitfall, Baylor made the matchup against Arizona interesting and showcased their talent just a little too late. Baylor would end the first half with just 19 points, with a team shot total of 7-27 (25.9%) and their second-leading scorer, VJ Edgecombe, remained scoreless after 15 minutes and four shot attempts.
The second half saw the Bears switch gears, as they would outscore Arizona basketball with 51 second-half points over their 39. Edgecombe would find his groove and score 14 points on 6-9 shooting. Even with this massive scoring output, they wouldn’t be able to catch up as Arizona barely kept their lead intact.
Next up for Arizona (11-5, 5-0): at Texas Tech (12-4, 3-2 Big 12) – Jan. 18 at 12 p.m. MST
Next up for Baylor (11-5, 3-2): vs TCU (9-6, 2-2 Big 12) – Jan. 19 at 3 p.m. MST