No. 4 Arizona Basketball overcomes slow start, routes Huskies

SEATTLE, WA – Despite falling behind 25-11 early, No. 4 Arizona Basketball (22-2, 12-1), responded in a big way, en route to routing Washington 92-68. 

It is not about how you start, but rather how you finish, and once again, despite Arizona Basketball  stumbling out of the gates and falling behind early, the Wildcats weathered their slow start to come away with a 92-68 route over Washington.

Sophomore wing Benn Mathurin was electric, finishing his day with 25 points and five rebounds, meanwhile Azuolas Tubelis put up another double-double, finishing his day with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Arizona fell behind early, shooting just under 30 percent in the first 10 minutes of play, as former Wildcat Terrell Brown, Jr. helped build a 14-point lead for the Huskies.

Luckily, the offense would finally come alive in this one, outscoring Washington 34-11 over the last 10:39 of the half to take a 45-36 at the half.

Arizona would finish the first half shooting 47.1 percent from the field, including 41.7 percent from three. Tubelis and Mathurin were a big part of that run, scoring 26 of Arizona’s first-half points.

A strong second half by Arizona Basketball would make this one a route as the Wildcats dominated the Huskies.

Arizona is too deep and too talented of a team to stay quiet for long. And as they have shown several times this year, when they get rolling they are a tough team to beat, crushing the souls of teams.

Starting the half on an 11-2 run, Arizona would extend their lead to 18 after the first 4:54 to play in the second half.

Shortly after, the Wildcats would respond with another big run, outscoring Washington 19-9 to extend their lead to 28, their largest of the game.

Arizona would close out the game by holding Washington to just 21 more points, cruising to the 92-68 win, and building an even bigger lead in the Pac-12 Conference standings.

Where does Arizona Basketball go from here?

With the win, the Wildcats improve to 22-2 (12-1) on the year and sit comfortably atop the Pac-12 standings. Arizona will return to action on Thursday against Oregon State, followed by a marquee matchup against Oregon on Saturday evening.

Here are highlights following the Wildcats’ big win over the Huskies!