After seeing its game against Washington postponed earlier in the week, No. 11 Arizona (7-0, 1-0 Pac-12) hit the road against Oregon State (1-8, 0-1) in the team's first true road game of the season. The Wildcats offense shot 47% and went on to route OSU 90-65 in the team's first conference game.
"We hadn't played many games in the last couple of weeks. So maybe it took us a little bit to get our rhythm and we got off to a slow start, but I was really proud of the guys and how they responded in the first half.
"I think we had to lead up to 13 and they cut it to eight, which, you know, hey, that's going to happen on the road. But all and all, I'm really happy with the guys when we made some adjustments in our guarding the ball screen throughout the game and in some certain individuals and I thought they did a great job making adjustments," said coach Tommy Lloyd after his team's first conference game of the season.
It was another game where the defense sparked Arizona's offense, which forced 22 OSU turnovers, which led to 27 points for the Wildcats.
Leading the way for Arizona was guard Benn Mathurin, who went 11 for 16 from the field and shot 44% from the 3-point line dropping 29 points and grabbing six rebounds.
In his two games in Gill Coliseum, Mathurin has shot 70% from the field, made 10 shots from the 3-point line, and scored 60 points.
""Yeah, I mean, he had a look about him. I mean, hey, sometimes guys get a certain feel in a certain arena. And obviously, this is a good spot for him.
"I just kept reminding him in the last couple of days, just because you played good down there last year doesn't mean it's going to happen this year; you got to go out and make it happen. And he was really proactive and when I saw him on the offensive glass early, I thought that was a good sign," said Lloyd on Mathurin's performance.
Arizona dominated the paint, outscoring the Beavers 48-36 and had 20 assists on 33 made field goals.
Point guard Kerr Kriisa struggled to find his touch, going 4 for 12 and finished with 11 points. However, Kriisa showed his development as a point guard by collecting five assists to one turnover for the game.
"In the beginning, I think if you watched the game, you could see that we didn't start off as good as we usually do.
"So, you can tell that it was our first real road game and everything's a little bit different. with fans and everything. I think in the beginning, it was a little bit shaky, but once the bench got in, you know, the bench really got us going. And then from that point on, we never looked back," said Kriisa on the team's slow start.
Arizona will be back in action on December 8, as the team will face Wyoming (8-0), which is coming off a 79-58 win over McNeese State.
THE SPORTS GUYS: Recapping Arizona's win over OSU
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