Koa Peat had good all-around game in return as Arizona blows out Kansas

Koa Peat scored 12 points on four out of nine from the field, made all four of his free throws with seven points and five rebounds in his return from injury as Arizona beat Kansas 84-61 on Saturday to clinch a share of the regular season Big XII title.

Peat helped Arizona take an 18-point first-half lead and a 39-28 halftime lead. In his first minutes in two weeks returning from injury, Peat scored 10 points on three out of four from the field, made all four of his free throws with three rebounds and four assists in 12 first-half minutes.

The minutes from Peat were significant as Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd was able to extend his rotation from primarily six players in the past 3.5 games to seven on Saturday. Dwayne Aristode returned for the first time in four games and received three late minutes.

Peat made one of his five shots in the second half, but contributed four rebounds, two offensive with one assist and one steal. Arizona had a complete team effort with five players scoring in double figures. Brayden Burries led Arizona with 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Peat's return was encouraging

Peat had an encouraging and productive return against Kansas after not playing for two weeks. In the two games before getting hurt, Peat averaged 4.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 block on two out of 11 from the field and four out of eight from the free throw line.

Peat played 31 minutes against Kansas on February 9 and 11 in the first half before being sidelined against Texas Tech on February 14. Arizona lost both of those games. Arizona beat BYU, Houston and Baylor without Peat before earning the win over Kansas on Saturday.

Peat entered the game on Saturday, third on Arizona, averaging 13.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 2.6 APG while shooting 54.2 percent from the field, 33.3 percent on three-point attempts and 60.6 percent from the free throw line with a 55.4 Ef