After falling behind 16-2 against No. 19 Tennessee (9-2) early in the game, No. 6 Arizona battled its way back and found a way to tie the game at 67-67 with 2:58 left to play. Ultimately, The Wildcats (11-1) couldn't get over the hump falling to the Volunteers, 77-73, ending an 11-game winning streak.
"We hung in there, we gave ourselves a chance, and we just weren't able to get over the top," , said coach Tommy Lloyd after his team's narrow loss to Tennessee. "I'm sure there's going to be lots of lessons to learn and we're going to learn them.
"I think the biggest thing is our guys have got to understand is the seasons are long, you're not going to go undefeated, you need experiences like this and now we got to learn from it and make this like a 'because' moment, because we went through this we were able to take the next step."
Arizona's offense struggled in the first half, shooting 28% from the field, and went a horrendous 2 for 12 from the 3-point line trailing by 14-points at the break.
In the first half, the one consistent offensive presence for the Wildcats was guard Benn Mathurin, who scored 14 points while going 4 for 8 from the field making all five of his free-throw attempts.
Only three other Wildcats scored in the first half with guard Justin Kier second in scoring with three points.
"We came out really tentative against a really good aggressive team and they put us on our heels," Lloyd said. "You can't do that on the road. I was obviously really proud of our response, but you just can't dig that big of a hole against a really good team."
The difference in the game for Arizona was its turnover numbers and how many offensive rebounds the team gave up to Tennessee.
The Wildcats turned the ball over 17 times and allowed the Volunteers to collect 16 offensive rebounds that led to 13 second-chance points.
The front court for Arizona struggled in the game. Forward Azuolas Tubelis and center Christian Koloko combined for 10 points and only managed 10 shots throughout the night.
Tubelis' first points came with 2:01 left in the game when he hit a turnaround layup to get his team back within one possession of Tennessee.
Foul trouble played a massive role for Arizona with Koloko, Kerr Kriisa and Mathurin fouling out of the game.
Koloko and Tubelis were forced to go to the bench throughout the night and were limited to 32 minutes on the court due to foul trouble.
"I always tell our guys, the team that complains to the refs first and complains the most usually loses. So I don't like losing. So let's quit complaining to the refs," said Lloyd when asked about the 28-to-16 foul discrepancy.
Much like the first half, Mathurin put the team on his back down the stretch of the game scoring 28 points on 8 for 16 shooting to keep the Wildcats in the game.
Mathurin also led the team in rebounds with eight, assists with five, and collected two steals while going 9 for 11 from the free-throw line.
However, the slow start was too much for Arizona to overcome and outside of Mathurin, the starting lineup for the Wildcats scored 30 points and all five had four or more fouls in the loss.
"The problem is that we came to the game not ready," Mathurin said. "So that's one of the biggest problems. We were pretty confident coming to the game. It's just about making and adjusting to the plays and doing what will be best for the team, and just stick to the plan."
Things won't get any easier for Arizona as the team will take its winter break and before opening Pac-12 play with games against the LA schools, which are both in the top 10 of the Associated Press rankings.
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