Arizona
No. 6 Arizona manages ASU comeback attempt for rivalry win
TEMPE — No. 6 Arizona separated itself from rival Arizona State early and then stayed solid enough in the second half to pick up an 85-67 victory on Wednesday to sweep the season series.
All five Wildcat starters were in double figures, which is nothing new for that group. Kylan Boswell was the top scorer with 17 points, Caleb Love added 16 and Oumar Ballo’s 14 points and 13 rebounds made up his eighth straight double-double.
Throughout the first half, there was a clear difference in shot quality. Arizona (22-6, 13-4) jumped out to a 14-2 lead for points in the paint just a little over 10 minutes in, which was a big part of jumping out to a 16-point lead. The Sun Devils (14-15, 8-10) did generate some open shots but the majority of them were ones the opposing defense was OK with giving up, as ASU’s five volume 3-point shooters all own percentages between 28-33%.
Boswell and Pelle Larsson did a great job finding the lanes to attack and threaten the defense. Arizona’s movement on and off the ball was crisp, an area where Larsson’s cutting really works wonders. A few minor lapses came in the back half of the first 20-minute period but nothing to let ASU back in it.
A loud Arizona contingent inspired an ASU home crowd that was already hyped to get even louder, creating a great environment immediately. That sort of washed away at points in the first half before Arizona State’s terrific resilience in the second half got everyone up and vocal once more.
After the Wildcats responded to an 8-0 ASU run to open the second half that cut the advantage to six, Arizona State again crept back in it. For the next 10-plus minutes of the second half, the Sun Devils were grinding through a great effort to drag this game so close to the danger zone for the Wildcats, where the score could get down to just one or two possessions and in “anything can happen” territory on the road with only a few minutes left.
But with just over six minutes remaining and Arizona up eight, the Sun Devils produced back-to-back bad shots that allowed Arizona to get uptempo and play off a miss. One of those resulted in a Love 3 and the other a Jaden Bradley free throw, increasing the Wildcats’ lead to a dozen with 5:08 remaining. It was just enough to avoid getting strapped into that roller coaster. Love drilled his fourth triple two minutes later and a Bradley steal set up a Keshad Johnson lob to all but wrap it up.
“We stayed poised, stayed calm, stayed together,” Bradley said. “(I) like games like that, close games kind of get us ready for the tournament and what’s next.”
The most impressive part of the win for the Wildcats was it was just the third game out of their 28 in which they’ve lost the battle on the free throw line. Arizona only attempted two in the first half and ended up 13-of-18 (72.2%) to ASU’s 18-for-25 (72%) mark. It would have been easy to lose a bit of composure within the atmosphere and not having the usual steady diet of instant offense at the foul line.
Boswell has had an up-and-down year and really needed a performance like that in a rivalry game to find a rhythm offensively.
“I know he’s been under the microscope a little bit and that’s what happens when you’re the point guard at Arizona,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “I thought he played exceptional tonight.”
Outside of one live ball turnover, Boswell’s decision-making was solid all night and he did a good job seeking out his shot.
“If I’m not open pass the ball, if I’m open let it fly,” Boswell said. “Whatever the game comes to me I just try to let it flow.”
“I always want Kylan to be aggressive,” Lloyd said. “I think Kylan’s playing with two of the best playmaking wings in the country in Caleb and Pelle, so when Kylan’s out there he doesn’t necessarily need to dominate the ball. … When he’s hunting catch-and-shoot shots he’s a really good player.”
Boswell was coming off a moment on the bench a game prior when Lloyd really got into him during a heated exchange, something Lloyd addressed by noting Boswell apologized while also saying Boswell didn’t even have to do that.
“A lot of people had their own opinions about the moment (but) nobody on the outside knows me and coach Lloyd’s real relationship,” Boswell said of it. “I was upset at myself. Sometimes you don’t want to hear the truth but after reflecting on it I realized of course he’s always going to be trying to get on me, he’s always going to support me and he always wants the best for me.”
Boswell did pick up four fouls midway through the second half, though, and Bradley once again closed the game over him, a somewhat regular occurrence in the last two months.
Bradley’s been a big-time spark plug off the bench defensively and plays with a downhill mentality offensively that brings a different dimension to the lead guard spot. Ironically enough, Arizona is pretty darn good with both on the floor, and Boswell said he thinks he plays his best ball when he’s out there with Bradley.
A deep Arizona run in the NCAA Tournament is highly unlikely without Boswell playing more like he did on Wednesday, and the balance between the two point guards has been something for Lloyd to figure out all year that will certainly loom over tight games in March.
Love provided eight rebounds, five assists and a steal to go with his 14 points. He has all but locked up Pac-12 Player of the Year honors.
Ballo’s double-double streak is two away from tying the school record. There are conveniently three regular season games left for him to break it.
Arizona State was led by Adam Miller’s 16 points and 15 more out of Frankie Collins.
Arizona
Arizona, career nights from Burries, Krivas beat K-State
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Brayden Burries scored 28 points, Motiejus Krivas added a career-high 25 and No. 1 Arizona remained unbeaten with a 101-76 win over Kansas State on Wednesday night.
Arizona (15-0, 2-0 Big 12) is off to its best start since winning the first 21 games of the 2013-14 season. Arizona won by at least 18 points for the 10th consecutive game, matching a mark Michigan had earlier this season that tied for the longest such run since 2003-04.
Burries had his fifth 20-point game and matched his career high by going 12 for 16 from the field while adding nine rebounds. It was his 10th straight game in double figures, including at least 20 points in five of those, after just one over his first five.
Krivas was 7 of 10, making 11 of 13 free throws, and had 12 rebounds.
Koa Peat had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Tobe Awaka added nine and 11 as Arizona outrebounded Kansas State 55-32. Arizona shot 49.3% from the field but was just 3 of 16 from 3-point range.
Kansas State (9-6, 0-2) went 8 for 36 from deep and shot 33.8% overall. PJ Haggerty led the way with 19 points on 8-of-20 shooting, while Nate Johnson added 15 and Dorin Buca 12.
Down 15 at the half, Kansas State pulled within 58-49 with 16:09 left on a 3-pointer by Johnson. Arizona responded with a 6-0 run and kept the margin at least 12 the rest of the way. Back-to-back dunks by Burries and Peat and a corner 3-pointer by Jaden Bradley keyed a 13-0 run to put Arizona ahead 92-65 with 3:31 remaining.
It built a 10-point lead less than six minutes into the game and upped it to 20 with 2:52 left in the first half. Burries had 16 before halftime.
Arizona
Arizona HS football’s No. 1 2027 prospect has ASU, Miami high on list
Arizona Open Division football championship MVPs on Basha’s big win
“As soon as we stepped on the field, nerves went away and it was just playing football,” Rogers said of Basha’s performance.
Chandler Basha left tackle Jake Hildebrand, the state’s No. 1 2027 college football prospect, said Arizona State and Miami are among the top potential schools on his recently revealed 10-best list.
Miami is playing in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff semifinal against Ole Miss at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Jan. 8.
Hildebrand, 6-foot-6, 293 pounds, has started every varsity game since his freshman year and helped lead the Bears to the Open Division state title this past season. He won’t be able to attend the Fiesta Bowl because he’s in San Antonio, getting ready to play in the Jan. 10 Navy All-American Bowl. The game airs at 11 a.m. MST on NBC.
Hildebrand also has CFP semifinalists Indiana and Oregon, along with Texas A&M, Alabama, USC, Ohio State and Texas among his top 10 colleges.
“A few schools that are my favorite from the top 10 are ASU, Alabama, Texas A&M, Miami and USC,” Hildebrand said in a direct message to The Arizona Republic. “They have definitely been the schools that have been contacting me the most and built the best relationship with.”
There is no timetable for when Hildebrand will commit. He could wait until he makes trips this spring, summer and fall. But he is among the most coveted left tackles in the country, who has 38 offers, according to 247Sports.
The 247Sports Composite has Hildebrand ranked as the No. 13 overall offensive tackle in the country in the 2027 class. He is ranked No. 1 in the class of 2027 by The Republic.
Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don’t miss a thing. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert
Arizona
Future of Arizona’s Oak Flat faces pivotal day in Phoenix courtroom
Apache Stronghold leader’s propane lines severed
Apache Stronghold leader Wendsler Nosie’s propane tank lines were severed. Nosie claims it is related to the controversy surrounding Oak Flat mine.
Three lawsuits aiming to keep the U.S. Forest Service from turning over Oak Flat to a mining company for a massive copper mine go in front of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for arguments Jan. 7.
The British-Australian firm Resolution Copper has long sought the exchange to build a mine that bodes to obliterate a site Apaches and other Native peoples hold sacred. It also is one of Arizona’s few functional wetlands.
Two lawsuits filed by the San Carlos Apache Tribe and a coalition of environmentalists and the Inter Tribal Association of Arizona challenged the land exchange, authorized by a last-minute amendment to a “must-pass” defense bill in December 2014. The arguments in the lawsuits are based on the tribe’s religious beliefs and on environmental concerns, including disputes over water usage and possible damage of one of central Arizona’s key aquifers.
In the third suit, the latest to be filed, a group of Apache women who have spiritual and cultural connections to the site argue that the exchange would violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the First Amendment’s religious rights protections and two environmental laws.
Their lawsuit also brought two new factors into play: a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that affirms parental rights to direct their children’s religious education and references to Justice Neil Gorsuch’s blistering dissent to the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear another case related to the land exchange.
A three-judge panel will hear the cases at the Sandra Day O’Connor U.S. Courthouse in Phoenix.
Religious rights advocates and First Amendment experts have said the ability of Native peoples to exercise their religious rights is at stake.
Oak Flat story: As an Apache girl enters womanhood, lawsuits and tariffs cast shadows
The struggle over Oak Flat nears 30-year mark
For more than two decades, Oak Flat Campground, known to Apaches as Chi’chil Biłdagoteel, “the place where the Emory oak grows,” has been ground zero in a battle over Native religious rights on public lands as well as environmental preservation for a scarce Arizona ecosystem.
The 2,200-acre primitive campground and riparian zone, within the Tonto National Forest about 60 miles east of Phoenix, also lies over one of the nation’s largest remaining bodies of copper ore.
To obtain the copper, Resolution, which is owned by multinational firms Rio Tinto and BHP, plans to use a method known as block cave mining in which tunnels are drilled beneath the ore body, and then collapsed, leaving the ore to be moved to a crushing facility.
Eventually, the ground would subside, leaving behind a crater about 1,000 feet deep and nearly 2 miles across, obliterating Oak Flat.
Resolution Copper, a British-Australian mining firm, sought Congressional approval to exchange other parcels of land it had purchased with the U.S. Forest Service for nearly 10 years when the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and other officials engineered a late-night rider to a must-pass defense bill in December 2014. Then-President Barack Obama signed the bill and ever since, tribes, environmentalists and their allies have fought to stop the exchange.
Resolution has said that the mine would bring much-needed jobs and revenues to the economically challenged Copper Triangle to the tune of about $1 billion a year. The company has provided funding to support recovery from the floods that devastated downtown Globe in October and has supported other community organizations.
In November, Resolution announced it had completed rehabilitation of the historic No. 9 shaft at the Magma minehead, including deepening it to nearly 6,900 feet and connecting it to the No. 10 shaft, which plunges about 6,940 feet below the surface.
Vicky Peacey, president and general manager of Resolution, said the shaft project was a huge milestone, employing homegrown talent from surrounding communities to get the job done.
Despite the ongoing litigation, she said, “We are ready to advance this important copper project, enabling thousands of high-paying jobs, billions in economic development for rural Arizona, and access to a domestic supply of copper essential to American security and modern infrastructure.”
Grassroots group Apache Stronghold, led by former San Carlos Apache Tribal Chairman Wendsler Nosie, filed the first lawsuit to stop the exchange. That litigation was declined twice by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2025, but Apache Stronghold continues to fight the land exchange as the group supports the other three lawsuits.
Debra Krol reports on Indigenous communities at the confluence of climate, culture and commerce in Arizona and the Intermountain West. Reach Krol at debra.krol@azcentral.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @debkrol and on Bluesky at @debkrol.bsky.social.
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