The No. 20 University of Arizona men’s basketball team (17-6, 11-1 in Big 12) secured a dominant 82-73 victory over the No. 13 Texas Tech University on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 8:30 p.m. in McKale Center. Arizona snapped the Red Raiders’ seven-game win streak while extending their winning streak to six consecutive victories. The Wildcat’s last defeat came against Texas Tech on Jan. 18 where Arizona lost 70-54.
Five Wildcats finished the night in double-figures, led by Caleb Love and Jaden Bradley who scored 16 points apiece, with Bradley also contributing five steals. Henri Veesaar alongside KJ Lewis scored 15 points each. Tobe Awaka had 14 points and led the team defensively with 11 rebounds, securing a double-double.
First half
Awaka laid in the first points for Arizona less than a minute into the start of the game. Darrion Williams halted the Wildcats 4-0 start with a made 3-pointer to shorten the lead to 1-point. Elijah Hawkins found the Red Raiders’ first and only lead of the first half, hitting a shot from beyond the arc to lead 6-4.
This didn’t stop the Wildcat’s offense as Bradley made a dunk off a Red Raider turnover, erupting the crowd in McKale. This gave Arizona the 11-6 lead with 16:05 remaining in the first half. Following the timeout called, Bradley made a jumper off another Red Raider turnover but was answered on the other end with a jumper by Chance McMillian.
The Red Raiders continued to match Arizona’s scoring as JT Toppin made a shot, narrowing the lead to 15-10. Soon after, Veesaar made a dunk that was followed by a Bradley 3-pointer made off the fast break, extending Arizona’s lead to 8 points. After trading possessions back and forth, Veesaar got the opportunity to make another dunk, stretching the lead to 27-18 to lead by 9 points, the largest of the first period. Veesaar followed the dunk by rejecting a shot attempt by Toppin at the rim.
With under five minutes remaining in the first half, McMillian and Christian Anderson made back-to-back 3-pointers, quickly narrowing the lead to just 3 points. Toppin scored a dunk directly after grabbing a defensive rebound to make the score 30-29 with 3:20 remaining in the first half. Despite the loud crowd in McKale, it didn’t stop Toppin as he scored a tough layup in the final minute before halftime. Arizona led Texas Tech 39-37 moving into the second half.
Awaka led Arizona with 10 first-half points and six rebounds. Bradley followed closely with 9 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the field and notably had three steals.
Second half
The second half opened with a steal by Toppin however, Arizona followed with a layup score by Awaka. Toppin quickly followed with a layup of his own to make it a one-possession game. Through back-and-forth possessions, Arizona found a 6-point lead after Bradley scored on a layup on a fastbreak to lead 47-41.
Carter Bryant scored a layup off a turnover, stretching the lead to 9 points, 52-43, keeping Arizona’s momentum. After being held scoreless for three minutes straight Texas Tech made a jumper to end its drought. Despite a layup by Love that kept the score at bay, Hawkins scored a 3-pointer to make it a 54-48 game.
Shortly after a 3-pointer by Anderson that shrunk the lead down to 4 points, Veesaar made a dunk that ignited the crowd once again. This would be followed by another tip-in dunk by the Wildcats, this time by KJ Lewis. Continuing to retaliate against the Red Raiders, Veesaar delivered a punishment of a third consecutive dunk against Texas Tech that forced a timeout as Arizona led by 10.
Texas Tech continued its offensive flow as Anderson hit a shot from beyond the arc, closing the gap to 62-57. The Wildcats tried to take the Red Raiders off the 3-point line as they conjured up 33 attempts from beyond the arc, but only made 12. Despite a small lead, Arizona found a 6-0 scoring run, allowing them to lead 72-63 with four minutes left in regulation.
Texas Tech missed three consecutive 3-point opportunities, but finally made a driving layup that brought the lead down to single digits. The Wildcats tried to keep a steady pace to hold control of the score, but Darrion Williams made a 3-point attempt that made it 74-68 with 1:35 remaining in the second half.
Despite the Wildcats not scoring for three and a half minutes, free throws helped Arizona’s lead to stay afloat as Bryant extended the gap to 9 points after two makes at the line. The Wildcats went on to secure the 82-73 victory to improve to 11-1 in the Big 12.
Looking ahead
Arizona will travel for a one-game road trip to take on Kansas State University on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. in Manhattan, Kan. The game will be streamed on ESPN.
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