No. 4 Arizona Basketball falls flat in 81-66 loss to Utah

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Riding high following their tremendous showing in Maui, No. 4 Arizona Basketball (6-1, 0-1) fell flat against Utah (6-2, 1-0), falling 81-66. 

With a week off from basketball action, No. 4 Arizona Basketball traveled to Salt Lake City, and it was a disappointing performance for the Cats on Thursday.

Taking on a solid opponent in the Utah Utes to open Pac-12 play, the Wildcats shot a porous 35.2 percent from the field including 14.3 percent from three in their disappointing 81-66 loss.

Former Gonzaga big man Oumar Ballo and Azuolas Tubelis were the only bright spots for the Cats, combining for 42 of the Wildcats’ 66 points on 17-31 shooting from the field.

No. 4 Arizona Basketball fell behind early and couldn’t recover as turnovers and ice-cold shooting paced Utah to the 16-point win.

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Despite starting the season 6-0 and winning the Maui Tournament while beating then No. 10 Creighton and No. 17 San Diego State, No. 4 Arizona Basketball had a major letdown on Thursday evening.

Unlike their previous games, the Wildcats got off to a slow start in this one. Call it a Maui hangover, or perhaps the team was a bit unfocused, but Utah was the hungrier team from the tip.

Climbing out to an early, eight-point lead in the first 3:35 of play, Utah continued their strong play and effort in the first half, taking advantage of Arizona’s porous shooting and lack of rebounding as the Utes extended their lead to as many as 17 at the half.

Needing a better effort in the second half, Arizona would start strong, opening up by outscoring Utah 18-6 in the first 5:54 of play. Unfortunately, lackadaisical play by the Cats set in again as the Utes turned up the intensity, responding with a 21-7 run to give them a 20-point lead at 70-50 with 7:34 to play.

Arizona would try to climb back in this one, even cutting Utah’s lead down to as little as nine with 4:15 to play, but unfortunately, Utah would respond again, ending the game by outscoring the Wildcats 8-2 to come away with the dominant, 81-66 win.

With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 6-1 (0-1) on the season and will resume basketball action on Sunday when they welcome Cal to town to resume Pac-12 play. Tip-off for Sunday’s game is set for 3:00 PM MST.

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