No. 1 Arizona Basketball puts a beating on No. 23 Wisconsin

TUCSON, AZ – Using a dominant effort from start to finish, No. 1 Arizona Basketball (8-0) puts a beating on No. 23 Wisconsin (7-3, 1-0). 

Playing in its first game since last weekend, No. 1 Arizona Basketball returned to the hardwood for another big game as they welcomed No. 23 Wisconsin to town.

Returning to the friendly confines of McKale Center, the Wildcats had a tough challenge on their hands as they took on a physical and upset-minded Badgers team.

And despite being tied 23-23 with 8:50 left to play in the first half, Arizona responded by outscoring Wisconsin 75-50 the rest of the way, en route to a resounding, 98-73 statement win.

Arizona had all five of its starters finish in double-figures with Pelle Larsson leading the way with a game-high 21 points, four rebounds, and four assists as he shot a perfect 4-4 from three.

Caleb Love would add with 20 points, meanwhile, Oumar Ballo feasted, ending his day with 15 points and nine rebounds.

Arizona’s bench was solid as well, combining for 21 points as they helped pace the Cats in their dominant victory!

Leading only by 17 at the half, No. 1 Arizona Basketball would continue to put the clamps on No. 23 Wisconsin, cruising to the dominant win!

Looking to earn yet another statement win on its young season, Arizona Basketball looked ready to go in this one, especially as the Cats were fresh off a win over Colgate and sporting the No. 1 overall ranking

Opening the game by outscoring Wisconsin 8-2, the Badgers would respond with a 7-0 run, taking the lead at 9-8. This one would remain close for quite a while in the first half too as both teams would seemingly trade buckets.

Tied 23-23, Arizona would finally regain the lead for good after Jaden Bradley connected on a three-pointer to make it 26-23 with 8:32 left in the first half.

Not done, the Wildcats would expand its lead to as many as 18 over the next five-plus minutes of game time as Arizona led 43-25 after Ballo converted on a layup near the bucket.

Wisconsin would try to claw its way back, cutting Arizona’s lead to just 14 but a three from Kylan Boswell made it 48-31 in favor of the Wildcats heading into halftime.

Leading comfortably, Arizona wouldn’t let up in this one either, especially as they opened the second half outscoring Wisconsin 9-4 in the first 4:08 to play.

Up 22, Wisconsin would try to claw its way back, cutting Arizona’s lead down to 18 but that’s as close as they would get in this one as the Wildcats continued to assert its dominance, en route to the 25-point win.

Arizona would eventually go on to beat the Badgers by a 98-73 final!

With the win, the Wildcats improve to 8-0 on the young season and will resume basketball action next Saturday, December 16 when Arizona takes on No. 4 Purdue for a neutral-site game in Indianapolis. Tip-off against the Boilermakers is set for 2:30 PM MST!

Don’t forget to follow us at @ZonaZealots on Twitter and like our fan page on Facebook for continued coverage of Arizona news, opinions, and recruiting updates!