The Arizona Wildcats (22-7, 12-4 Pac-12) put forth a valiant effort but ultimately came up short on Saturday night in a 98-93 overtime loss to the Oregon Ducks (19-10, 9-7 Pac-12) at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene.
As Bill Henry wrote 104 years ago, “The Arizona men showed the fight of wild cats.”
Saturday’s game was the second for Arizona without Allonzo Trier (failed drug test) and Ira Lee (concussion), and the first without Head Coach Sean Miller. Associate Head Coach Lorenzo Romar stepped in to lead the team in Miller’s absence.
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Deandre Ayton led the Wildcats with 28 points and 18 rebounds with 17 and 11 in the first half. Arizona got out to a great start, going 6-6 from the field including 2-2 from three. The first miss came from Rawle Alkins, who promptly followed his shot and tipped in his miss to give Arizona a 16-6 lead with 16:26 to go in the first half.
The Arizona offense was rolling out of the gates, as the Cats scored 31 points in the first 10:10 of action. It would take another 16:22 to score the next 31; Dusan Ristic’s jumper extended Arizona’s lead to 9, 62-53, with 11:38 to go in regulation.
In the second half, Dana Altman’s Ducks made some good adjustments, and the Oregon zone was able to limit Ayton’s touches in the post. His last field goal was a dunk with 10:51 to go in the second half, and his last points came from the line with 6:33 to go in the second half.
With all of the storylines surrounding Saturday night’s game, the stat sheet shows two distinct reasons for Arizona’s overtime loss: turnovers and offensive rebounds. Arizona turned the ball over 17 times to Oregon’s 4. A -13 turnover margin is a great way to lose a road conference game, especially against a talented team such as Oregon.
In a game where Arizona shot the ball at a great 58% mark (34-59), allowing offensive rebounds hurt the Cats. Though allowing Oregon to shoot 43% is respectable, allowing them to shoot 15 more shots is another great way to lose games. The Ducks ended up shooting 32-74 from the field.
Moving Forward
Arizona will be back in action on Thursday, March 1st when they take on the Stanford Cardinal at 9:00 pm at the McKale Center in Tucson. The Wildcats can clinch at least a share of the Pac-12 Regular Season Championship with their next win.
highlights:
In a game where many fans had tempered expectations, the effort level of the Cats cannot be understated. While any loss is a bad loss by Arizona’s standards, tonight’s contest showed a lot that can be built on moving forward. This Arizona team needs our support now more than ever through these trying times. Bear Down!