Three weeks ago, the Wildcats lost two straight games after starting the season 23-0. After avenging one of those losses with a win over No. 14 Kansas on Saturday, Tommy Lloyd’s group closed out Senior Day and its final game at home with a bang. On Monday, No. 2 Arizona Men’s Basketball defeated No. 6 Iowa State 73-57 to secure its first Big 12 regular season title.
Four players finished in double figures, led by senior guard Jaden Bradley, who was one of two players to who scored a game-high 17 points. The Closer shot 4-10 from the field, but 9-10 from the free throw line, while also grabbing four rebounds, dishing out two assists, and swiping away three steals. Motiejus Krivas had another strong night on both ends of the floor, scoring 13 points, including a made 3-pointer, along with three rebounds and a block. Brayden Burries finished with 11 points and six rebounds, connecting on 4-9 from the field. And senior Tobe Awaka had his second double-double in the last three games with 10 points and 15 rebounds, including four offensive boards.
It was a defensive battle to start the game, with both teams shooting a combined 4-16 from the field through the first five minutes. Brayden Burries exited the game early with an ankle injury, but was able to return, playing 24 minutes for the Wildcats. From there, the Cyclones took a brief 1-point lead after Milan Momcilovic hit a triple to put Iowa State 8-7 with 14:37 to play in the first half. But ISU’s only lead of the game wouldn’t last long, as Arizona used a 7-0 run, kickstarted by a Dwayne Aristode triple, his first points since returning from an illness, to retake a two-possession lead.
Iowa State hung around until around the 4 minute mark of the first half, when things opened up offensively for Tommy Lloyd’s group. Arizona ended the half on a 15-3 run, that included Bradley and Krivas shooting 6-6 from the free throw line.
Arizona maintained its double digit lead through the first five minutes of the second half, before giving up a 7-0 Iowa State run that included a Blake Buchanan dunk and a Jamarion Batemon triple to cut the score to 44-37 with 13:19 to play. The Wildcats responded with a 7-0 run of their own, using a highlight-reel bucket from Bradley and a Krivas 3-point basket to retake a double digit advantage with under 11 minutes to play.
Cyclone guard Tamin Lipsey matched Bradley with a game-high 17 points, connecting on 6-15 from the field, including 2-7 from deep. Joshua Jefferson scored 12 points while finishing with eight rebounds, a block, and two steals.
Arizona reached another gear in the final 10 minutes of the game. A Jaden Bradley missed 3-point attempt turned into one of the most emphatic jams of the season with a put-back dunk by Dwayne Aristode. But Koa Peat, who shined on the defense end for the Wildcats, said anything you can do, I can do better, as he threw down a massive alley oop dunk from Jaden Bradley.
Over the final seven minutes, Arizona iced the game out at the free throw line, shooting 8-8 from the free throw to secure the 16-point victory and first Big 12 regular season title in program hisotry.
On the night, the Wildcats held Iowa State to 19-65 (29.2%) shooting, a season-low for the Cyclones. Arizona connected on 22-48 (45.8%) of its shots, including 6-18 from deep, along with 23-26 from the free throw line. The UA was +7 on the glass, winning the rebounding battle 40-33, and outscored ISU 24-16 in the paint.
The Wildcats still have one more regular season game to play and will visit Colorado on Saturday, March 7.