Sunday night, Arizona (5-0) looked like a team on a mission against No. 4 Michigan (3-2) and ran the Wolverines right out of the gym with a dominating 80-62 victory.
""It was awesome. I mean, I'm so proud of the guys and for everything we've been through the last six months. It's been a lot of work, but a ton of fun and I love my group.
"I said it over and over and people thought I was given coach speak, but I don't do that. A ton of credit goes to our coaching staff and the players; the coaching staff does a great job implementing game plans making adjustments," said coach Tommy Lloyd after his first top-five win at Arizona.
With the spotlight of Las Vegas on this game, it was center Christian Koloko who shinned the brightest and put on a show against high-touted Michigan Hunter Dickinson.
Koloko finished with a team-high 22 points and collected seven rebounds, two assists, four blocked shots and went 6 for 6 from the free-throw line.
On the defensive end, Koloko held Dickinson to 11 points and seven rebounds while going 4 for 10 from the field.
"Well, that was awesome. But you know what, I got high standards for that guy. And that's what we're going to get out of him every single day, and he's a special player, he's a special person and he deserves everything that's coming his way," said Lloyd on the performance by Koloko.
It wasn't just Koloko for the Wildcats; guard Benn Mathurin followed his 25-point performance against Wichita State with 16 points.
Mathurin scored 16 points on 7 for 13 shooting and collected five rebounds and an assist in 32 minutes against the Wolverines.
As a team, the Wildcats shot 50% from the field and outrebounded Michigan 34 to 29 on the glass leading to 11 second-chance points.
Still, the most telling statistic of the game for Arizona was the battle in the paint. The Wildcats attacked Michigan in the post all night long and outscored the Wolverines 54 to 30, with Azuolas Tubelis and Koloko combining for 35 points.
Through the first four games of the season, Arizona struggled to make its free throws, shooting 70% at the line. But, against the Wolverines, the Wildcats went 10 for 12 with all the shots coming from their frontcourt players.
Although it wasn't a great shooting night for point guard Kerr Kriisa, who finished with 7 points on 3 for 12 shooting, Kriisa still had a great game in true point guard-like fashion with seven assists to zero turnovers.
During the Roman Main Event, Kriisa had 13 assists to two turnovers in 63 minutes combined between the two games.
""We got good players and mean, we got good players. I know we've been out of the limelight; maybe a little bit of that's my fault because I haven't been looking for it. But you know what? We're here now. And we belong and there's no doubt about it," said Lloyd on the talent of his roster.
Arizona will now return home to face Sacramento State (2-2) Saturday at 5:30 p.m. (MST) on Pac-12 Networks.
> DISCUSS the article with other Arizona fans Inside McKale
> WATCH the latest videos from GOAZCATS.com and subscribe to our YouTube channel
> FOLLOW us on Twitter (@goazcatscom, @MattGOAZCATS, @THutch1995, @AverieKlonowski)
> FOLLOW us on Instagram (@goazcats)
> LIKE us on Facebook
> SUBSCRIBE for all the latest Arizona Wildcats team and recruiting news (subscribe now)
