The No. 24 University of Arizona men’s basketball team (20-11, 14-6 in Big 12) fell in an upsetting 83-76 loss to the University of Kansas (20-11, 11-9 in Big 12) on Saturday, March 8 at 2:30 p.m. in Lawrence, Kan., in Allen Fieldhouse. With this defeat, the Wildcats close out their regular season as Arizona now shifts its focus to prepare for the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.
Jaden Bradley led Arizona with 21 points, three rebounds and two assists on 7-for-11 shooting for the day. Notably, he shot a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. Caleb Love led second with 16 points and three assists. Trey Townsend came off the bench, putting up 13 points for the Wildcats, hitting three 3-pointers and collecting seven rebounds.
First half
Arizona arrived in Jayhawks territory, having to take on Kansas on its home court in Allen Fieldhouse. Scoring on its first few possessions, Kansas found an early 7-point lead about four minutes into the game. Trading shots back-and-forth, Henri Veesaar made a jumper to trim the lead down to 9-4. After Bradley made it to the free-throw line and made both opportunities, Townsend found an open jumper, cutting the deficit to just 1 point.
Soon after, KJ Lewis hit a jumper of his own that allowed Arizona to gain a brief 15-13 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the first period. The Wildcats’ advantage didn’t last as Zeke Mayo shot a 3-pointer that gave the Jayhawks back the 1-point lead. Hunter Dickinson capitalized on this momentum, hitting back-to-back possessions to stretch the now 5-point lead. With 4:29 remaining before halftime, 6-foot-7 KJ Adams gave Kansas a 30-20 advantage after scoring a jumper.
The Wildcats attempted to come back, but the Jayhawks used a series of runs to freeze Arizona’s offense. Kansas led by as many as 14 points in the first half, but Bradley cut the lead down to 39-30 heading into halftime.
Townsend led Arizona in the first period with 7 points and three rebounds on 3-for-5 shooting.
Hunter Dickinson scored 16 points on 8-for-9 shooting for Kansas, along with five rebounds. The Jayhawks shot a collective 50% from the field compared to Arizona’s 40.7%.
Second half
Out of halftime, Tobe Awaka scored a shot off a defensive rebound but was answered with a 3-pointer by Mayo. Four minutes into the second half, Townsend hit a shot from beyond the arc that brought the lead down to 48-44.
Arizona continued to rally as Love scored on a shot that overcame the Jayhawks’ lead, allowing Arizona to take the 54-53 advantage. The Wildcats led for a moment as Awaka made a dunk on the fast break, building off Arizona’s offensive production. Dickinson gave the Jayhawks a 5-point advantage back after hitting a jumper before Kansas got called for a foul.
Jayhawks Rylan Griffen tied the game at 68 with 5:44 to go in the remainder of the second half, followed by two more made possessions that forced a 30-second Arizona timeout. Despite Love hitting a shot to get within 3 points of the lead with 2:44 remaining, Kansas went on an 8-4 run to seal the game. Despite Arizona overcoming a 14-point deficit, the Wildcats couldn’t find a way to gain a steady lead, resulting in an 83-76 loss in their final game of the regular season. Kansas was led by Dickinson, who scored a game-high 33 points and 10 rebounds.
Arizona shot a collective 47.3% from the field but were outrebounded 36-30 by Kansas. Additionally, the Wildcats only had 7 second-chance points compared to the 16 the Jayhawks put up.
Looking ahead
The Wildcats place as the No. 3 seed as they head to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in Kansas City, Miss. Arizona’s first matchup takes place on Thursday, March 13 in the T-Mobile Center at 7:30 p.m. MST.
