Coming into Saturday night's game, Arizona (17-6, 11-1) was riding a 5-game winning streak and beating opponents by an average 12 points per game. The last time the UA took a loss was against No. 13 Texas Tech on the road, which snapped Tommy Lloyd's team's 7-game winning streak.
With a man down in forward Trey Townsend, Arizona was short-handed but still was able to take the fight to Texas Tech from the jump.
The tone was set on the first possession of the game when Texas Tech gave the ball to its best offensive player in Darrion Williams, who backed down Arizona freshman Carter Bryant near the basket looking to score. Bryant stepped up to the challenge and blocked Williams' shot showing that he wasn't backing down and that it was going to be a dog fight to score on the Wildcats Saturday night.
Arizona not only went toe-for-toe with the Red Raiders but dominated the game from start to finish to lock in an 82-73 win to extend the Wildcats' winning streak to six games and keep pace in the Big 12 conference.
The whole game was able to set a tone for Arizona and doing the dirty work, which showed in the paint where the Wildcats dominated Texas Tech 48-28. Leading the way for UA in the low-post was the duo of forwards Tobe Awaka and Henri Veesaar.
The dynamic pair combined for 29 points and 19 rebounds while going 12 of 20 from the field.
Awaka has now recorded five double-doubles on the season and he continues to be a steady inside force for the Wildcats.
As a team, Arizona played a stellar defensive game by holding TTU to 37% shooting from the field and going a combined 12 of 33 from the 3-point line. The Wildcats managed to crate eight steals, which kept the Red Raiders offense off track.
The two headed defensive monster of KJ Lewis and Bryant made it a difficult night for Texas Tech and its leading players in JT Toppin and Williams. For most of the game, it was Arizona's defensive duo guarding the Red Raiders' best players.
Toppin and Williams scored 38 points on the night which looks amazing. But when you take a closer look, the less impressive the point total is with them shooting a combined 38% from the field while committing five turnovers.
As has been the case for most of the case for most of the season, point guard Jaden Bradley was an unsung hero of the game with his 16 points, five assists and two rebounds he recorded while going 6 of 9 from the field.
The Wildcats have now kept pace with No. 5 Houston (19-4, 11-1) to stay at the top of the conference standings. Now, UA will hit the road to face off against Kansas State (12-11, 7-5) on Tuesday with a tip off time set for 6 p.m. (MST) and will be streamed on ESPN+.
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