No. 9 Arizona Basketball gets shellacked by Oregon

EUGENE, OR – Looking to get its first sweep in Oregon since 2015, No. 9 Arizona Basketball (15-3, 4-3) was shellacked by Oregon (10-8, 4-3), 87-68.

Following their win over Oregon State on Thursday evening, No. 9 Arizona Basketball was back in action, looking for its first win in Eugene as they took on the Oregon Ducks.

Taking on a talented, but inconsistent Ducks team, the Wildcats led from the tip, but after Oregon took the lead at 35-33, the Ducks didn’t look back, cruising to the dominant, 87-68 win.

Arizona’s offense was abysmal in this one, shooting just 37.5 percent from the field, despite connecting on 36.0 percent from three. Unfortunately, the turnovers proved costly as Arizona coughed up the ball 16 times.

Freshman Kylan Boswell was one of the few bright spots for the Cats, scoring a team-high 15 points while shooting 6-11 from the field, including 3-6 from three.

Azuolas Tubelis had a respectable game, adding 14 points and six rebounds respectively, meanwhile, Oumar Ballo chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds on 5-10 shooting.

Despite No. 9 Arizona Basketball grabbing the early lead, it was all Oregon in this one as the Ducks’ athleticism and skill overpowered the Wildcats.

Looking to put a more consistent effort together after falling apart in the second half against Oregon State, the Wildcats started hot in this one, jumping out to the early, 16-9 lead with 14:28 to play in the first half.

Unfortunately, the Ducks would begin to find their rhythm, responding with a 12-3 run to take the lead at 21-19.

Arizona would bounce back a bit, keeping things tight and exchanging buckets for much of the first half as the Wildcats regained control at 32-28. Unfortunately, that would be the last time that they would lead in this one.

Closing out the first half on a 15-5 run, Oregon would lead Arizona 43-37 at halftime.

Needing a stronger effort in the second half, the Wildcats would need to come alive if were to come back in this one!

Starting the second half with back-to-back threes from Courtney Ramey, Arizona would tie the game at 43-43. Unfortunately, that would be the last time the Wildcats would be close in this one.

Hoping to continue their momentum, the Wildcats’ offense would look sharp in the second half as well, despite the myriad of turnovers; however, it was the defense that would lose focus.

Oregon would dominate the second half, hitting big shots, dominating the paint, and capitalizing off of Arizona’s porous guard play to cruise to the dominant, 87-68 win over Arizona!

With the loss, the Wildcats now fall to 15-3 (4-3) on the season and have to rebound quickly as they welcome more athletic USC and UCLA teams to town. Tip-off against the Trojans on Thursday is set for 7:00 PM MST.

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