No. 3 Arizona Basketball delivers Bay Area beatdown on Stanford

PALO ALTO, CA – Despite losing Azuolas Tubelis early in the game, No. 3 Arizona Basketball (15-1, 5-0) still delivered an 85-57 beatdown of Stanford. 

Playing on the road for their first time in nearly a month, Arizona Basketball saw some adversity early on as their star forward, Azuolas Tubelis would go down with what appeared to be a foot injury. Tubelis would not return in this one.

Beyond that, it wasn’t the best night for Kerr Kriisa or Dalen Terry, as the two combined for just 17 points on 5-15 shooting, nor was it for Christian Koloko, as he battled foul trouble all game.

Luckily, it was the Wildcats’ bench that stepped up in a major way. Oumar Ballo would have his best game as a Wildcat, finishing his night with a career-high 21 points while also adding six rebounds and two blocks.

Pelle Larsson would also have a spectacular day, adding 13 points and six assists for the Wildcats, while Justin Kier ended his day with 11 points.

Beginning the first half hot, Arizona would build as much as an 18-point lead before Stanford responded with a 9-2 run, to make things more competitive at the half.

Unfortunately for Stanford, Arizona Basketball would use their deep bench and talent to run away in the second half.

Arizona is considered one of the best teams in the country, and if there was any doubt about this team, hopefully, that was all squashed in that second half last night in Palo Alto, as the Wildcats proved why they are so highly regarded.

Despite facing injury, foul trouble, and inconsistent shooting from a few players, Arizona dominated Stanford, outscoring the Cardinal 43-26 in the second half en route to their 85-57 beatdown.

Where does Arizona go from here?

Well, with the win, the Wildcats improve to 15-1 (5-0) on the season and will return to action on Sunday when they take on Cal (9-9, 2-5) in Berkeley for another Pac-12 showdown.

As for Tubelis, the status of his injury is uncertain at this point, but hopefully, the Wildcats will have some positive answers shortly.