No. 4 Arizona staves off No. 3 UConn basketball in heavyweight prize fight
It’s hard to win a college basketball game without your 6-foot-11, 265-pound preseason all-conference selection at center.
It’s even harder when your opponent, a top five ranked team in the nation, is anchored by a 7-foot-2 Lithuanian battering ram down low that sets a career-high in rebounds.
And even harder when your team leader – who normally averages close to 20 points a game – notches just a single point through the game’s first 24 minutes.
But No. 3 UConn basketball (4-1) was still a Jaden Bradley fadeaway – and a rebound or two – away from erasing a double-digit deficit and conquering No. 4 Arizona (5-0) on Wednesday night, falling 71-67 inside Gampel Pavilion.
Bradley, just as he did against Florida and UCLA, hit on a tough runner with just under 20 seconds to go to put the Wildcats up three.
“Brutal loss,” Dan Hurley rued to the media moments before ripping apart his box score with a wry smile. “Just because we fought so hard to get a lead down the stretch and then they had that bad miss at the rim up one; got to secure that defensive rebound.”
He’s referring to Motiejus Krivas’ put back off a Bradley miss with 1:12 remaining that put the Cats, who now have three top 15 wins under their belt in mid-November, up 65-64.
Krivas, who was starting his fifth career game on Wednesday, set a career-high in rebounds (14) as the Wildcats outrebounded the Reed-less Huskies by 20 on the glass.
“We got a good hop today,” Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd said post-game. “Reed being out of the game, we’re not going to say that doesn’t change things. We know it changed things.”
Oh how it did. Connecticut was bullied around the rim by the Wildcats’ imposing frontcourt, giving up 16 second-chance points on 13 offensive rebounds.
Loose balls seemed to find their way into a Wildcat’s hands all night long. Koa Peat wrestled around the rim for 12 boards and frequently found the bottom of the net from mid-range. The freshman sensation finished 7-of-14 from the field and totaled 16 points.
UConn finished 25-of-56 from the field and 8-of-25 from three. The Wildcats weren’t much better, sinking only 25 of 54 attempts from the field, but when Lloyd’s squad needed a bucket, it got one.
Whether it was Bradley on a drive, Krivas on a put back or Peat on a riser, the Cats seemed one step ahead of the Huskies all night. As soon as Connecticut would muster up enough momentum to tie the game or take the lead, the Wildcats would rattle off a multi-possession run to pull further away.
The themes of the game – the Huskies’ porous effort on the glass and sub-par shooting — were established within the game’s first handful of possessions.
The first three Connecticut shots – all floaters from just outside the restricted area –caromed off the rim before landing in the hands of a Wildcat, who pushed the ball down the court in search of transition points.
It was a synopsis of the entire night for the Huskies offensively – oh so close.
Arizona jumped out to an early two possession lead thanks to a pair of floaters from Bradley and Peat before Eric Reibe converted on the Huskies’ first field goal of the day down low.
The freshman center made his third start this season in the absence of Tarris Reed Jr., who missed the game due to an ankle injury sustained against BYU, and, from Hurley’s perspective, played well considering Krivas’ burly frame.
“I don’t think I could be prouder of Big Eric,” Hurley said. “Eric’s going to be an awesome player. The developmental moment for him tonight is going to do so much for his confidence.”
Reibe was fouled in the process by Brayden Burries, hit the shot and was awarded with two foul shots after it was upgraded to a flagrant one. In his matchup with Krivas in the low post (and on some possessions, the perimeter), Reibe finished with 15 points and four rebounds on five field goals – two of which came from behind the arc.
Solo Ball added three more from the charity stripe on the next possession, giving the Huskies their first lead of the night. Ball scored over a third of his points in a four minute window
An Alex Karaban turnover turned into a Bradley lay-in, the first basket of Arizona’s 9-2 mid-first half run.
Karaban struggled to even find open looks from the field, attempting just five shots in his 34 minutes of game time. The fifth year leader finished with eight points, three rebounds and an assist, but connected on perhaps the game’s most electrifying play.
Karaban curled off a screen, took the dribble-hand-off and launched from three feet behind the arc along the left wing.
It brought the Huskies within one just before the final media timeout, chopping Arizona’s once-13-point lead to a single possession.
Malachi Smith hit on a jumper as the shot clock expired give the Huskies the lead. But, as the Lloyd’s Cats did the entire night, Arizona clawed back.
Peat cashed in on a free throw, Krivas slammed one through the heart of the Husky defense and – inevitably – Bradley cashed in on a driving lay-up to put the Wildcats up three.
Hurley engineered a look for Silas Demary Jr. at the rack, but after drawing the attention of both Krivas and Peat, dished it to Reibe who was fouled while shooting and watched the ball roll off the front rim and bounce on the court. He held his face in hands, went to the line and shot two.
And missed the first. It felt like the dagger. The crowd was silent, Reibe visibly rattled and the Huskies with their hands on their hips.
The usual late-game fouling drama soon followed, but the Cats hung on thanks to four free throws from Tobe Awaka.
Oh so close.
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