Arizona's game Sunday night in Corvallis against Oregon State ultimately came down to a 20-minute contest after both teams went into halftime tied at 31. Eventually, the Beavers' experience took over as they used a big late run to pull away scoring 51 points in the second half and earning an 82-65 victory.
It marks the first time Arizona has been swept on the Oregon road trip since the 2005-06 season and it is just the second time the Wildcats have lost to the Beavers in Sean Miller's time as head coach. UA had won 14 of the previous 15 meetings between the two teams.
OSU (12-4, 2-2 Pac-12) was in control for most of the game, but the Wildcats clawed back and took a lead coming out of the halftime break. The Beavers took a lead with just under 12 minutes left and never looked back pushing their lead up to 20 points on two separate occasions.
UA's biggest issue was on the glass as the Wildcats (11-5, 1-2) had just one player with more than three rebounds, Zeke Nnaji who had nine. The Beavers won the rebounding battle 31-28.
"They really just outclassed us," Miller said during his postgame radio interview. "We didn't have the ability to guard their offense. Their offense is slow and deliberate, and they really run it through Tres Tinkle and Ethan Thompson but we really struggled across the board. Alfred Hollins, we had a hard time guarding him and they put 82 points on the board.
"... They were the far superior team."
Nnaji was the only Arizona player to find any kind of consistency in the game as he finished with 21 points and those nine rebounds to lead the team. Backup guard Jemarl Baker Jr. was the only other player to score in double figures as he hit three 3-pointers for 10 points.
Aside from Nnaji, UA's two other freshmen starters accounted for 18 points, 11 assists and five rebounds to wrap up their first conference road trip.
"We're asking those three guys to do an awful lot," Miller said of the trio. "We really are. They have to be on every game. They have to guard players like Tres Tinkle and Ethan Thompson and Payton Pritchard. There's more on our schedule.
"We're gonna catch a number of them this week. It's a heck of a challenge for guys that are freshmen and it's not just them, it's our team."
The losses to Oregon and Oregon State dropped the Wildcats to 0-3 on the road this season.
The Wildcats will return home this week to face the Mountain schools as Utah and No. 25 Colorado comes to Tucson for a meeting with UA with the Utes up first Thursday night at McKale Center.
