TUCSON – Big 12 rival Iowa State gave Arizona a chance to become the top team in the nation next week with a win over No. 1 Purdue on Saturday. The Wildcats just needed to handle business against a reigning Final Four team at McKale. Well, Arizona (8-0) did exactly that, throttling No. 20 Auburn 97-68 at the McKale Center in primetime on Saturday night.
The Wildcats finished with five players in double-figures, including an 18-point outing from freshman Koa Peat. Peat shot an efficient 8-11 from the field, including three rim-rocking dunks. He also tallied four rebounds, five assists, a block, and two steals in 34 minutes. Guards Jaden Bradley and Brayden Burries each finished with 16 points. Bradley shot 2-3 from 3-point range and finished with four rebounds and four assists, while Burries, who played one of his most complete games, connected on 7-11 shots from the field.
Ivan Kharchenkov did a little bit of everything for the Wildcats. The Swiss, err, German Army Knife scored 12 points on 5-9 shooting, including 2-3 from beyond the arc, while also contributing five rebounds, a team-high eight assists, a block, and three steals. Anthony Dell’Orso finished with 11 points off the bench.
The UA shot an impressive 41-67 (61.2%) from the field, while holding Auburn to 21-63 (33.3%) from the floor. The Wildcats edged out the Tigers on the glass, out-rebounding them 40-34, while allowing 16 offensive rebounds. Arizona also forced 15 turnovers, leading to 21 points for Tommy Lloyd’s squad.
Perhaps the most eye-popping stat was Arizona’s points in the paint. The Wildcats scored 60 points down low, while limiting the Tigers to just 24 points in the paint, despite the 16 offensive boards.
Arizona trailed Auburn early in the game after the Tigers jumped out to a 15-10 lead with 13:47 to play in the first half. From the 8:06 mark to the 2:07 mark, the Wildcats went on a 20-3 run, jumping out to a 20-point lead, before allowing Auburn to score the final eight points of the half.
But the Wildcats had another equally impressive run in them to open the second half. Arizona used an 18-2 run over the first five minutes of the second half to jump out to a 28-point lead and never looked back.
Tahaad Pettiford was the lone bright spot for the Tigers, finishing with 30 points on 10-19, including 5-9 from the perimeter.
Up next, the Wildcats will look for their fifth ranked-win of the season when they head to Birmingham for a matchup against the Jaden Bradley’s former team in the No. 12 Alabama Crimson Tide.
[…] Arizona throttled No. 20 Auburn 97-68 on Saturday night in front of a sold out McKale crowd. The Wildcats, which have now beaten four ranked teams in eight wins this season, look poised to check in as the No. 1 team in the country in next week’s AP Top 25 Poll. But before that, see what Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd, along with players Koa Peat, Jaden Bradley, and Ivan Kharchenkov had to say postgame following the win over Auburn. […]