Facing arguably their most difficult game of the season, Arizona Men’s Basketball prevailed against the Colorado Buffaloes, 88-74.
The Arizona Basketball team entered McKale Center on Monday evening, set to face the Colorado Buffaloes in yet another Pac-12 showdown. In search of their first conference win, the Wildcats were also trying to prove that they are for real.
While there is still a long way to go on the season, the Wildcats took a big step in doing that, coming away with the 88-74 win.
Arizona Wildcats
Following the win, there was a lot to be impressed about, but here are some of the key takeaways from the Cats’ win.
James Akinjo led the way for Arizona Basketball.
The entire team showed a valiant effort against the Buffaloes, but there was one player that stood out above the rest.
So far this season, James Akinjo has struggled to shoot, (particularly from the three-point line), but on Monday evening, the junior forward lit up the Buffaloes, scoring a team-high 22 points on five three-pointers. He was also 7-8 from the free-throw line. I think it is safe to say he had his best game of the year so far.
The defense in the second half played much better for Arizona Men’s Basketball.
After a high scoring affair in the first half in which the Cats led the Buffaloes 50-44, Arizona’s defense was the difference in the second half. Arizona outscored Colorado, 38-30 in the second half, holding the Buffaloes to under 50 percent shooting. That is the type of defense that should be expected out of a Sean Miller coached team.
All five starters scored in double figures for Arizona Men’s Basketball.
As mentioned the player of the game was obviously Akinjo. However, it should be noted that all five starters for the Wildcats scored in double figures. Akinjo had 22, Terrell Brown had 12 points, Jemarl Baker had 14 points, Christian Koloko had 10 points and Jordan Brown finished with 10 as well. All in all, it was a valiant team effort.
At Zona Zealots we are very proud of the team and they should be able to build on this win in their next game against the last-place Washington Huskies. As always Bear Down Arizona!