The Arizona Wildcats lead wire to wire and easily defeated their rival, the Arizona State Sun Devils, 74-47 Saturday night in both teams Pac-12 conference opener. The difference in talent was apparent in this game. It’s not often that one team dominates another in this rivalry but that was the case on Saturday night.
Four Wildcat freshmen accounted for 49 of the 75 points. Those four freshmen outscored the Sun Devils. Although it’s just one game, this game showed the difference between a Pac-12 title contender and a pretender.
Game Recap
Arizona controlled this game from the start and their largest lead was 32 points as they got an easy win at the Mckale Center Saturday night in Tucson. This is Sean Miller’s best recruiting class at Arizona and it showed.
Zeke Nnaji and Josh Green had very efficient games. Nnaji had 17 points on 7-11 from the field while grabbing 11 rebounds and two steals. Meanwhile, Green scored 12 points on five of nine from the field and also had seven rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Guards Nico Mannion and Dylan Smith combined to score 20 points.
Just like the last time the Sun Devils played they were the underdog. Sun Devils players struggled to produce. Remy Martin scored 20 points while making just seven of his 19 field goal attempts. Two Arizona State starters, Romello White and Taeshon Cherry scored zero points. Alonzo Verge Jr. and Kimani Lawrence both scored eight points. This game seemed too big for Jaelen House as he only totaled three points making just one shot.
The Difference
Arizona dominated inside the paint, outscoring Arizona State 50-18, as well as fastbreak points, 25-9. Neither team shot well from the free-throw line. Arizona State shot 43 percent compared to 50 percent for Arizona. The Sun Devils missed their first six free throws.
The Wildcats shot almost 48 percent from the field while the Sun Devils shot 30.5 percent from the field. Arizona’s advantage in size was the main reason they outrebounded the Sun Devils 49-35 and their superior guard play was why they accounted for 17 assists compared to Arizona State’s two assists.
Looking Ahead
Arizona has a big game against Oregon in Eugene, Thursday night. It is a game that will help determine who wins the Pac-12 title. Arizona State plays at Oregon State on Thursday night.
Main Photo
Embed from Getty Images
