Fourth-ranked Arizona played its first game since the Maui Invitational Thursday night against Utah and appeared to have a Maui hangover with the team starting off the game shooting 27% in the first half.
The Wildcats trailed 42-25 at half and simply couldn't get things going, eventually falling, 81-66, to the Utes resulting in their first loss of the season.
The Wildcats (6-1, 0-1 Pac-12) couldn't buy a basket shooting a season-low 4 for 28 from the 3-point line and seemed to settle for the perimeter shots during the first half resulting in 2 of 13 made buckets from deep. That was a huge part of the story as Arizona's guards had their worst game of the year scoring 15 points on 22 shots.
"We gotta go out and we gotta earn victories," UA head coach Tommy Lloyd said. "We came out today and we didn't have a great approach. Whether it's the guys being a little bit intoxicated off their success or the things people are saying to them, I don't know. But, we're definitely gonna have to address it, and we're gonna have to play better than we did tonight."
Coming into the game, Kerr Kriisa had been one of the most efficient players in the country shooting 52% from the field and 51% from the 3-point line. However, against the Utes, Kriisa couldn't find his shot and ended up going 1 of 9 from the field ending the game with just four points.
Plus, Kriisa went 0 for 5 from the 3-point line. He managed to collect nine assists to just two turnovers. Still, he just didn't seem right on the court and his rhythm was off from the start of the game.
Meanwhile, guard Courtney Ramey got off to a slow start as well and ended the game scoring 11 points on 13 shots. Ramey had three points at the end of the first half and scored eight in the second half. However, out of the four shots he hit, only one of those shot came inside the arc.
The other issues for Arizona in its loss to the Utes was the poor rebounding throughout the game. The Wildcats were outrebounded for the first time this season with Utah winning the battle of the glass 51 to 42, while UA allowed 17 offensive rebounds that led to 16 points.
On the defensive side of the floor, Arizona allowed Utah to shoot 44% from the field and 36% from the 3-point line. Where the damage was done for the Utes was in the paint where they scored 42 points and became the first team to beat the Wildcats (42-40) in the low-post.
Amazingly, the Wildcats' big man duo of Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo combined for 42 points and 13 rebounds while shooting 54% from the field. So, the issue wasn't that Arizona's post players couldn't score, it was that no one else could get anything going, and defensively there were issues in the paint.
The loss by Arizona marks the first time since 2002, when they beat No. 1 Alabama, that the Utes have upset a top-five team.
Arizona will have two days to get ready for a Cal team that is in search of its first win of the season as the Wildcats will host the Bears on Sunday at 3 p.m. (MST) at McKale Center.
> DISCUSS the article with other Arizona fans Inside McKale
> WATCH the latest videos from GOAZCATS.com and subscribe to our YouTube channel
> FOLLOW us on Twitter (@goazcatscom, @MattRMoreno, @THutch1995)
> FOLLOW us on Instagram (@goazcats)
> LIKE us on Facebook
> SUBSCRIBE for all the latest Arizona Wildcats team and recruiting news (subscribe now)
