- Slug: Sports–Arizona Men’s Basketball Update. 540 words.
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By Yousef Mabrouk
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – Coming off their biggest win of the season against No. 3 Iowa State, the Arizona Wildcats charge full speed ahead into enemy territory for a Saturday game against rival Arizona State.
In the first meeting of the teams as new members of the Big 12, Arizona (14-6), riding a three-game win streak, looks to improve to 9-1 in Big 12 play and stay within striking distance of No. 6 Houston for the top spot.
On the other side, the Sun Devils have been dealing with injuries all season long, but that hasn’t altered the Wildcats’ game plan or preparation.
“Listen, my preparation is that they are all going to play,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said Friday. “I don’t know how serious the injuries are, I haven’t heard anything one way or another. I’m assuming they are all going to be playing against us (Saturday) morning.”
Arizona’s leading scorer Caleb Love drilled a halfcourt heave Monday night at the buzzer to force overtime, when the Wildcats locked down defensively to deliver a final blow in an 86-75 victory. The Cyclones shot 1 of 6 and had three turnovers in the extra period.
Love, who paced the offense with a game-high 22 points, admitted the matchup, and more importantly the victory, meant more than a regular season game in January would suggest.
“This was going to be a statement win for us,” Love said. “I think we needed a statement win like this just for our confidence and belief system. We know we have got every tool and everybody we need is in the locker room. Like I said, I give credit to our teammates and I thank God.”
Arizona brings that renewed faith to Saturday’s intrastate rivalry at Desert Financial Arena against a Sun Devil team still finding its footing this season at 12-8 overall, with a 3-6 conference record. Trailing Houston by a game in the conference standings, the Wildcats want to maintain momentum after a slow start to the season.
Arizona opened the regular season ranked No. 10 in the AP Poll, but a 4-5 start dropped them out of the Top 25 and raised questions about the team’s ceiling. Now the Wildcats are playing like contenders experts predicted after winning 10 of their last 11 games.
A key factor in Arizona’s resurgence has been the trio of Love, Tobe Awaka and Jaden Bradley, who have stepped up to turn the season around. Behind Love’s 15.3 points per game, Bradley is second on the team in scoring (11.7 points) while leading the team in assists (3.7) and steals (1.8). Awaka, who had 12 rebounds in Monday’s win, leads the team in boards (8.0).
The Arizona-ASU rivalry always brings out the best in both ball clubs. The Wildcats hope to improve a 161-87 all-time record, dating back to 1913, while the banged-up Sun Devils look to play spoiler on their home court.
ASU freshman forward Jayden Quaintance sat out against Colorado with an ankle sprain, and BJ Freeman left the contest with a thigh injury. It remains uncertain whether Quaintance and Freeman will be available against Arizona.
“You have to let the guys know what this game means to Arizona,” Lloyd said. “You want to let your players know this is a meaningful game and it should be treated as such.”
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