Arizona led for most of the game against No. 10 Creighton, but a late 7-0 run made things interesting. Still, the Wildcats were able to hold the Bluejays off winning the Maui Invitational 81-79 making it the third time in program history UA has won the tournament and the first time since the 2014-15 season.
"Well, it gives you incredible experiences to learn from," coach Tommy Lloyd said. "It's important to learn from the good things as well as the mistakes. Our staff's going to do a great job dissecting these three games -- really haven't had a chance to dissect anything yet -- and try to figure out what direction we need to take this team."
Taking center stage for the Wildcats in the championship game against Creighton was center Oumar Ballo, who dominated the paint scoring a career-high 30 points and racking up 13 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
"I actually haven't arrived because we haven't done anything yet. It's a long season," Ballo said. "It's a marathon. So I'm just trying to run with the pace and trying to be available for my team."
Throughout the three-game tournament, Ballo was able to force his will on teams dominating by averaging a double-double with 21 points and 10.7 rebounds per game, With the performance, he won the Maui Invitational MVP award for the tournament.
The paint was a massive reason why the Wildcats were able to win this game as they dominated the Bluejays 48-24 in the post. AT one point, Creighton was getting beat 20-2 in the paint. The combination of Ballo and forward Azuolas Tubelis was too much for Bluejays' big Ryan Kalkbrenner to handle on the defensive side of the court.
It wasn't all Ballo as Tubelis dropped 12 points with seven rebounds and went an efficient 6 of 10 from the field. However, some foul trouble kept him fro possible putting up more points.
In the backcourt, Arizona received a second half boost from Kerr Kriisa, who scored nine of his 13 points in the half while recording nine assists as well. It wasn't a clean game by any stretch of the imagination for Kriisa, but every time his team needed someone to make a play, it was him with either his shot or setting his teammate up with an assist.
After averaging 19 points, five rebounds and shooting 66.7% from the field in his first two games as a Wildcat. Guard Courtney Ramey had a rough go of it in the first half going 1-for-5 from the field with three points. Ramey was able to pick things up in the second half scoring seven points on three shots.He ended the game scoring 10 points while going 4 of 12 from the field with four rebounds and five assists.
Although he didn't finish great, Ramey is clearly someone the Wildcats can rely upon after the type of Maui Invitational he had. Plus, it gives Arizona another option at the point guard position adding depth to the overall lineup if foul trouble happens.
However, one of the biggest takeaways from the tournament isn't a positive not for the Wildcats. In two of the tree games, Arizona saw its opponents end the game on runs that made the game closer than what it should've been. First it was a 10-0 run to end the game by the Bearcats, now it's a 7-0 run to end the game for the Bluejays.
I know the Wildcats won, but when you allow teams to climb back in games late like they've been doing, eventually it's going to catch up to you and you might lose a game you shouldn't. Plus, that is a common theme of the NCAA tournament where a lower-seeded team makes a historic comeback to clip the high seed. Arizona will need to work on closing out game.
Lastly, I think it is time we consider Ballo as a possible Pac-12 Player of the Year candidate. When you look at the progress he has made in the paint, the difference is night and day. And what stands out is his footwork around the basket, that is something the staff has been working with him on and even put him through boxing classes to get better with his feet.
"Our strength and conditioning coach, Chris Rounds. I mean, he and Oumar are going to share this trophy because they did it together," Lloyd. "And he's done an amazing job with Oumar getting him ready to play."
Well, now Ballo is averaging 19 points and 10 rebounds through six games this season while shooting 76.8% from the field. Around this same time last year, we saw canter Christian Koloko develop more into an offensive player as well.
However, with his size and strength, Ballo has the potential to dominate teams in the Pac-12 in the paint and takeover games. He is someone people need to keep an eye on for end of season awards.
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