If you are the betting type of person, No. 2 Arizona has been a bettor's nightmare if you are picking them to cover the first half spread after trailing 39-37 at the break. Like most of the season, the Wildcats woke up and fought their way to an 81-69 victory over Stanford.

The pivotal moment in the game for Arizona (27-3, 17-2 Pac-12) was when Stanford was leading 54-53 before the Wildcats went on an 8-0 run to take a 61-53, highlighted by two 3-point buckets from guard Justin Kier. From that point on, Tommy Lloyd's squad never looked back.

"I knew it wasn't going to be easy. Stanford played well tonight, and it seems like we're running into a lot of these scenarios where the team that is next on our schedule has a tough game before us," Lloyd said on how his team responded to a slow start. "And then their coaches are good coaches, and they get their guys to respond. And these teams are coming out and playing spirited. So, tons of credit to Stanford, but I'm also happy with how our guys responded and played well in the second half."

The Wildcats started the game struggling from the field, going 4 for 14 and getting the majority of their points from the free-throw line.

Then, Arizona's picked things up and ended the game shooting 51% from the field and went 5 for 15 from the 3-point line.

"Teams are making adjustments, but we're allowed to make adjustments too," Lloyd said when asked what teams are doing differently against the Wildcats. "We're tinkering with some things, and maybe they're not quite game-ready yet, which is frustrating me a little bit because I got to do a better job and get some of these adjustments game ready. So, when it's under the lights, our guys can do them instinctively."

Leading the way for the Wildcats' offense was the combination of guard Benn Mathurin and center Christian Koloko, who combined for 45 of Arizona's 81 points.

Koloko not only scored 21 points on 7 for 10 shooting, but he also recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 10 rebounds. Plus, he was able to get to the line eight times and shot 87% from the free-throw line.

"Christian is a special player. I didn't even realize you had 21 and 10. But they were switching one through five, and Christian is a big guy. So, he should be able to dominate when they switch guards on him," Lloyd said on Koloko's performance. "He should be able to dominate inside, whether it's catching balls over the top, posting a guard up, catching a lob, or offensive rebounds. I mean, that's what he has to do for us. I'm happy he played well, but by no means am I surprised. ...for us to be really good. C-Lo has to be great."

For Mathurin, it was 20-point or more game No. 11 of the season with his 24-point performance. He was efficient from the field, going 8 for 14 and shot 79% from the foul line.

Defensively, the Wildcats struggled to guard the 3-point line at the start of the game as Stanford went 6 for 6 before missing from beyond the arc. Oddly enough, Cardinal guard Michael O'Connell came into the game shooting below 30% from the 3-point line on the season.

O'Connell was one of two Stanford (15-14, 8-11) players that went 4 for 6 from beyond the arc and started the game going 4 for 4 before missing a shot.

After a fast 6 for 6 start from the 3-point line for Stanford, Arizona's defense locked in on the perimeter and held the Cardinal to 3 of 13 the rest of the game.

The Wildcats' defense held the Cardinal to 48% from the field after allowing them to shoot 53% in the first half.

Last week the Wildcats turned the ball over 32 times in their games against Utah and Colorado. This week after wins over USC and Stanford, Arizona has cut down on its turnovers with 17 in two games.

On the flip side of the spectrum, Arizona forced Stanford into 17 turnovers and collected 23 points off those turnovers.

The Wildcats will end the regular season on Saturday with a matchup against California (12-18, 5-14) at 3 p.m. (MST) on Pac-12 Networks.

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