Arizona uses team effort to handle Colorado in Pac-12 opener

The Pac-12 is up for grabs this season, and it would be unwise to discount the defending champions.

The Arizona Wildcats handled the Colorado Buffaloes 64-56 on Thursday to open Pac-12 play, their ninth straight win in a conference opener.

The victory comes the same day two of the Pac-12’s top teams suffered devastating losses. Arizona State fell at home to Utah by double digits while Oregon lost star center Bol Bol for the season due to a foot injury.

Arizona (10-4) outplayed Colorado (9-4) in virtually every facet of the game, using a total team effort to do it.

Nine Wildcats registered in the point column, Brandon Williams leading the way with 14. Brandon Randolph (11) was the only other Wildcat to score in double figures.

Arizona shot 43 percent, won the turnover battle, and held the Buffs to 36 percent shooting. The Buffaloes owned the rebounding margin (36-30), but narrowly.

The only Wildcat who failed to score was Justin Coleman, who only played four minutes off the bench due to a supposed shoulder injury he suffered in practice this week.

Williams started at point guard in his stead and took advantage of the opportunity, tallying a game-high six assists. Dylan Smith started at shooting guard, finishing with seven points and three rebounds.

Arizona led by 15 at the half and maintained a double-digit lead until a layup by Colorado’s McKinley Wright IV made it a nine-point game with 5:19 left in regulation. Smith answered with a 3 to push UA’s lead back to 12.

CU’s D’Shawn Schwartz hit a corner 3 in transition to make it a seven-point game with 2:43 left, but Randolph responded with an acrobatic layup to extend UA’s lead to nine.

Williams put the game on ice by sinking an awkward jumper in the lane to put UA up 10 with 1:18 left. The Wildcats only shot 33 percent in the second half, but the Buffaloes were worse at 32 percent.

Colorado stayed in the game by going 12 for 14 from the free-throw line.

The Buffaloes got off to a hot start by sinking five of their first six shots of the game, but the Wildcats answered with a 13-2 run to take their first lead. They then continued to build on their cushion from there, leading by as many as 16 in the first half.

Freshman Devonaire Doutrive was instant energy off the bench for Arizona, posting eight points and four rebounds in a season-high 12 minutes.

Arizona continued its shooting struggles by going 5 for 18 from 3. Smith made two triples. Randolph, Ryan Luther, and Emmanuel Akot each made one. Williams was 0 for 4.

The Wildcats host Utah on Saturday at noon to complete the first week of conference play.

Ayton inducted into Ring of Honor

A special guest attended Thursday’s game in the form of Deandre Ayton. The former Wildcat was inducted into Arizona’s Ring of Honor, reserved for the top players in program history:

Deandre Ayton was inducted to Arizona’s Ring of Honor at halftime pic.twitter.com/Anc7kf0BUU

— Ryan Kelapire (@RKelapire) January 4, 2019

In one year at Arizona, Ayton earned these accolades:

• Consensus First-Team All-American
• Pac-12 Player of the Year
• Karl Malone Award
• First-Team All-Pac-12
• Pac-12 Freshman of the Year
• Pac-12 All-Defensive Team
• Set a new Pac-12 record for double-doubles by a freshman with 24 for the season, which was also the most double-doubles in a season by any player in UA history.

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://bit.ly/2Qnm2Ld
via IFTTT