DeAndre Ayton dominates in debut against Eastern New Mexico

The Arizona Wildcats won their opening exhibition game against Eastern New Mexico 91-63 with DeAndre Ayton leading the way.

DOMINATION! DeAndre Ayton showed why he is one of the best players in college basketball this season.  His new nickname should now be Da Dominator! Because that is what happened tonight against Eastern New Mexico, he dominated.

Ayton led the team with a huge double-double scoring 31 points and grabbing ten rebounds. The rest of the team played well, but Ayton was just on another level! He scored the first two points of the game for Wildcats with this two-handed JAM. A sure sign of things to come:

The game was close early on, up until the 13:00-minute mark in the first half, before the Wildcats went on a 9-0 run and never looked back. Eastern New Mexico got as close a five early on, but they couldn’t handle the depth and power of the Wildcats – a theme many opponents will have to worry about all season long. The Wildcats ended up winning 91-63.

With Parker-Jackson Cartwright out due to an ankle sprain, Alex Barcello started at the point guard position and performed well – seven points, three rebounds and two assists, including this layup:

The other starters were Allonzo Trier at the two position, Brandon Randolph at the three position, Dusan Ristic at the four position and Ayton at the five position.

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Trier had a solid performance, finishing with 10 points, two rebounds, and four assists. Randolph had 14 points, four rebounds. Off the bench, Emmanuel Akot was looking confident on the offensive end. He was 4-5 from the field and 2-2 from 3-point range, scoring 10 points in 25 minutes played. Similar to Akot, Ira Lee looked confident, going 4-4 from the field, scoring nine points and pulling down three rebounds. Keanu Pinder had a Pinder like game, scoring three points, logging seven rebounds, and one block.

The MVP of the game would be Ayton. He made it look so easy when he scored from down low, or when he grabbed a rebound with ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY.

https://twitter.com/RealDeandreAy/status/925850459427893248

Even when he had dunked the ball a few times tonight, it looked as if the basket was going to come down. In this example here, he turned his defensive awareness into a steal and then into a THUNDEROUS dunk:

Overall, the Wildcats played well on both ends of the floor, showing why they are ranked at No.3 in the AP Top 25 Preseason Poll. Two things they will need work on going forward are rebounds and more consistent on defense. At halftime, they were being outrebounded 19-13, but picked up things in the second half and ended the game with a 36-32 edge in total rebounds.

Defensively, there were times when they seem a little out of place allowing easy drives to the basket. In a game like this, it’s easy to let your focus down but come regular season they will need to stay attentive on the defensive end.

Enjoy all the highlights from tonight’s exhibition game:

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Next up for the Wildcats will be another exhibition game, this time against Chico State who gave all the Wildcats could handle last season. Ayton and the rest of the team will look to continue to dominate as the progress closer to the beginning of the regular season. As long as No. 13, Da Dominator, is dressed up and ready to go, the Wildcats will have a very good chance of being victorious. Bear Down!