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Jeff Borzello
Storrs, Conn. – With approximately 90 minutes remaining until tipoff, Wednesday will feature a top-five matchup between No. 3 and No. Yukon and number 4 Arizona completely changed.
Then UConn announced the launch of the Senior Center taris reed jr Was Out with ankle sprainReed, considered by the team to be one of the best big men in the country, averaging 20,0 points and 9,3 rebounds per game, game-to-game,
Without Reed, UConn struggled to slow down Arizona, with the Wildcats putting up one of the most impressive paint performances against the Huskies under Dan Hurley. 71-67 road win,
“With Reed out of the game, we’re not going to say it doesn’t change things. We know it changes things,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “But if you get a good layup, field it and turn the two. And our guys found a way to do that.”
It was clear what Arizona intended to do against a Reid-less UConn frontcourt. koa peat There was an initial layoff. motijus crevas Was getting consistent paint touches and set a career high with 10 rebounds before the end of the first half. jaden bradley Was constantly attacking the rim and drawing fouls.
Arizona, one of the least prolific 3-point shooting teams in the country, entered Wednesday making 6.3 3s per game and finishing 360th in percentage of points coming from 3-point range. The Wildcats’ identity remained clear, and UConn was still unable to slow them down at the rim.
“That’s just the way we are,” Lloyd said. “If you’re not prepared for the physical battle, it’s going to be tough. It’s hard to be a consistently winning team at a high level. It’s hard to win on the road. It’s hard to win in the NCAA Tournament. It’s hard to make deep runs. We want to build our team with guys that are able to play physical basketball.”
The Huskies won back-to-back national championships partly on the strength of their frontcourt dominance, overwhelming teams in the paint on both ends of the floor. Rarely has a team flipped the script on UConn the way Arizona did on Wednesday.
The Wildcats defeated UConn 43–23. He had an edge on the offensive glass, grabbing 13 offensive rebounds and converting them into 16 second-chance points. Arizona also had a 42-24 advantage in points in the paint.
“We were deceived,” Hurley said. “There’s going to be a bad film session coming out of here. There’s a street fight going on in the paint and, you know, the men can’t watch the fight. You can’t stand on the outside when your friends are in the fight. You join the fight. You don’t stand on the periphery of the fight. We’ll see a lot of clips where guys weren’t in the fight with their teammates.”
Eric Riebe Reed in particular did a commendable job on the offensive end with 15 points, including a pair of 3-pointers in the second half. But Arizona has one of the elite frontcourts in college basketball and he was unstoppable. Freshman star Pete had 16 points, 12 rebounds (5 on the offensive end), 3 assists and 2 blocks for the Wildcats, while Krivas finished with 9 points and 14 rebounds and tobe awka Came off the bench to post 7 points and 7 boards.
Peat has staked his claim as one of the nation’s premier freshmen, averaging 16.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists in five games. Hurley – whose brother Bobby recruited Pete arizona state –Talked to Pete a little later to express my respect for his game.
“We’re doing hooliganism. There’s going to be a bad film session out here. There’s a street fight going on in the paint and, you know, the men can’t watch the fight. You can’t stand out when your friends are in the fight. You join the fight. You don’t stand on the periphery of the fight. We’d see a lot of clips where guys weren’t in the fight with their mates.”
ucon coach dan hurley
“The way he carries himself on the court, he plays like a 10-year-old NBA vet,” Hurley said of Pete. “He knows his identity. He’s there for everybody. He’s just a classy, classy player. And he’s going to be a great NBA player.”
While the battle in the paint drew the most attention, it was once again Bradley who stepped up when Arizona needed him.
Late against the season opener FloridaAfter the Gators tied the score in the second half, Bradley scored 10 consecutive points and 14 total points. against UCLA Last week, Bradley took over with 13 points in the final seven minutes, including seven consecutive points in the final 2:12. And on Wednesday, he finished with 21 points, including a layup with 16 seconds remaining, giving Arizona a three-point lead.
Lloyd said of Bradley, “When you have a point guard that’s unselfish and also a baller and has big enough cojones to go and make those shots at the end of the game, it’s pretty special.” “And we have that.”
Now there’s a strong case for Arizona to become the new No. 1 in the next AP poll. The Wildcats have wins over Florida, UCLA and UConn, all away from home. According to ESPN Research, Arizona is the third team in AP poll history to have multiple wins over top-three opponents in its first five games and the first team since then. kansas During the 1989–90 campaign.
“Krivas is an NBA player. Koa Peat is an NBA player. Jaden Bradley is an NBA player. [Brayden] berry Is an NBA player. i really think [Anthony] Dell’Orso Going to form an NBA team. …That guy’s probably the best bench player in the country,” Hurley said. “I think these guys are legitimate contenders, just like we are.”
