No. 4 Arizona has made a habit of getting off to slow starts and having to climb back into games throughout the season. Against Washington State, the Wildcats avoided the slow start shooting 50% from the field. Coach Tommy Lloyd's team was able to continue the momentum and rolled 72-60 over the Cougars.
Coming into the game against Arizona, the Cougars had been red hot and won their last five games in a row holding opponents to 37% shooting from the field.
"They're well put together, and you have two guards that can shoot and score like that. And then you have two bigs that have that active energy, and they have a bunch of really nice role-players. So, I mean, they're a really good team," said Lloyd during his postgame press conference. "And we were just able to get into them defensively a little bit today and made things tough for them and that was the difference."
The Wildcats (21-2, 11-1 Pac-12) found a way to soften WSU's defense, shooting 49% from the field, and went 8 for 19 from the 3-point line.
""I really wanted to guard the 3-point line today, you know, half their attempts are from three and I just felt like if we could make it into a 2-point and free throw game that we'd be in good shape," said Lloyd on his team's 3-point defense.
On the defensive side of the court, Arizona stifled the Cougars' offense by holding them to 34% from the field and dominating 46-31 on the glass.
Another key defensive statistic for the Wildcats was their 3-point defense which allowed eight 3-point shots by WSU (14-8, 7-4) but on 32 attempts from beyond the arc.
Leading the offensive charge for the Wildcats was guard Benn Mathurin, who dropped 20 points on 7 for 12 shooting from the field while hitting three 3-pointers.
Over the last two games, Mathurin has scored 38 points on 54% shooting from the field and has hit four 3-point shots.
"We knew before the game that they were a pretty good defensive team," said Mathurin on the team's offensive performance. "So, our goal was to have a plan and stick to the plan and execute in the game in order for us to win."
It was another game in which the Wildcats were able to get quality minutes from their bench as Pelle Larson, Oumar Ballo and Justin Kier combined for 22 points on 52.6% shooting and collected 11 rebounds.
Basketball is more than a game of scoring. It is a game of being able to do the little things and whatever it takes to win. And although Dalen Terry didn't have a great scoring night, with only three points, he was able to contribute by stuffing the stat sheet with a career-high 12 rebounds and five assists.
One issue that continues to pop up this season for Arizona is the number of turnovers, and against the Cougars, the Wildcats turned the ball over 18 times leading to 24 points off of those giveaways.
That makes it six straight games when Arizona has had double-digit turnovers. During that stretch, the Wildcats have averaged 15 turnovers per game.
Arizona will wrap up its road trip with a Saturday matchup against Washington (12-9, 7-4) at 4 p.m. (MST) on Pac-12 Networks.
* Video provided by Arizona Athletics
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