Well-balanced attack allows Arizona Basketball to cruise in win over Colorado

It was a well-balanced effort for Arizona Basketball as the Wildcats came away with the 14-point win over Colorado on Monday evening.

Led by James Akinjo and his 22 points, eight assists, and five three-pointers, the Arizona Basketball team handled Colorado which was arguably their best game to date in the 2020-2021 season.

On Monday night in a crowd-less McKale Center, it was an all hands on deck approach and true team effort as Sean Miller continues to play nine players, displaying their depth in the early parts of the season.

Arizona Wildcats

Fitting that with the program now being sanctioned this year, this 2020-2021 team may have the best chemistry of any Miller-led team in the last few years.

However, with the impressive win last night, it’s a great building point for the future of this program. So let’s run through the stats and see who is shined the brightest.

-James Akinjo, G, 22 points, 8 assists, 15 points behind the arc, leading the way from 3-point land

-Jermarl Baker, G, 14 points, 3 assists

-Terrell Brown Jr, G, 12 points, 7 assists

-Jordan Brown, F, 10 points,  2 rebounds

-Christian Koloko, C, 10 points, 8 rebounds

-Azuolas Tubelis, F, 9 points, 6 rebounds

-Ira Lee, 6 points, 2 rebounds

-Dalen Terry, 5 points, 6 rebounds

-Ben Mathurin, 0 points

Key Notes:

The Cats shot 74 percent from the free-throw line, a much-needed improvement compared to the Montana and Stanford games. Arizona also, capitalized on a solid transition defensive game, hustling and scoring 18 points in this area.

Christian Koloko came up big off the bench and owned the paint, easily dunking the ball over Colorado defenders and grabbing eight rebounds. Koloko’s confidence is improving with each game, and Sean Miller recognized Koloko’s effort and confidence in the post-game.

Speaking on the teams’ chemistry:

Here is what Akinjo had to say in the post-game press conference “This is probably the closest team I have ever been on in my life,” he said. “We do a lot of things off the court together, we are just going to keep getting better and keep building”.

Akinjo’s maturity and work ethic has impressed me so far, and I love the confidence he brings to the team. Regarding his matchup with Colorado guard McKinley Wright, Akinjo had this to say “I play every player like they are the best Point Guard in the Pac-12”.

Next up for the Wildcats is a road test as they head to Seattle to face Washington in a New Year’s Eve matchup on Thursday. The tip is set for 6:00 pm MST, and the game will be televised on Pac-12 Network.