After making three of his 10 shots from the field and one of his six three-point attempts in the first half for eight points with three rebounds and one assist, Arizona freshman guard Brayden Burries helped the Wildcats pull away in the second half for a 96-75 win over Alabama on Saturday night.
Burries made eight of his nine shots from the field and all four three-point attempts for 20 points with four rebounds, one assist and one steal in the second half. Burries finished 11 out of 19 from the field, made five of his 10 three-point attempts for 28 points with seven rebounds, two assists and a steal against Alabama.
The 28 points, 11 made field goals, 19 attempts, five made three-point field goals and 10 attempts and seven rebounds all set career highs for Burries. Burries took over the game in the second half. Halfway through the second half, Burries scored 15 consecutive points for Arizona.
During that stretch, Arizona extended its lead from 60-49 to 75-54. Arizona had multiple extended runs against Alabama. Burries' flurry began as Arizona had an 11-0 run to extend their lead to 67-49. The 11-0 run was part of a bigger 28-6 streak as Arizona blew the game open.
Second half barrage
Arizona led by as many as 24 at 80-56 in the second half. Burries' 20 points came in a 13:56 span of the second half. Tommy Lloyd took Burries out with 1:14 left in the game and sent in the seldom-used players. Burries' play had been foreshadowed over the previous three games.
Beginning with a 103-73 win over Denver, Burries is averaging 19.8 PPG, is shooting 56.9 percent from the field, 39.1 percent on three-point attempts, 70.6 percent from the free throw line and has a 65.7 eFG percentage with 5.3 RPG, 2.8 APG and 1.5 steals.
Arizona has not likely hit its peak, despite a nine-game winning streak with five victories against ranked teams. Koa Peat scored 18 and Burries scored 16 in the 97-68 win over Auburn on December 6. That was the only game Burries and Peat both scored in double figures against a ranked team this season.