Arizona
No. 8 Arizona MBB secures fifth straight win with triple-overtime thriller against Utah and a blowout win over Colorado
![No. 8 Arizona MBB secures fifth straight win with triple-overtime thriller against Utah and a blowout win over Colorado No. 8 Arizona MBB secures fifth straight win with triple-overtime thriller against Utah and a blowout win over Colorado](https://wildcat.arizona.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IMG_0042.jpg)
The No. 8 Arizona men’s basketball team went on the road this week for its two games, first meeting the University of Utah on Thursday, Feb. 8, at 6 p.m. in Salt Lake City, Utah, where the Wildcats secured a 105-99 victory over the Utes in triple overtime at Jon M. Huntsman Center. The Wildcats then traveled to Boulder, Colorado, to take on the University of Colorado, Boulder on Saturday, Feb. 10, at 8 p.m. in CU Events Center, dominating the Buffaloes with a secure 99-79 win, pushing Arizona to its fifth straight win.
Game 1: Arizona vs. Utah – Thursday, Feb. 8
Arizona managed to gain a 5-0 lead in the beginning minutes as Kylan Boswell sank a 3-pointer. It wasn’t long until Utah was able to find an answer, going on a 7-0 run to catch up to the score, quickly turning it around to 11-10. Out of the first timeout, Arizona regained the lead as shots stopped falling for the Utes, allowing Caleb Love to shoot a 3-pointer and push the lead to 22-15. Utah ended its scoring drought as a jumper by Deivon Smith helped get within six points of the score.
Under five minutes to go in the first half, a jumper by Jaden Bradley helped the Wildcats obtain a 10-point lead to gain a 31-21 advantage. Arizona went into halftime leading 41-25 as Keshad Johnson led the first quarter with nine points and four rebounds as Arizona also collected five steals, forcing eight Utah turnovers. Utah shot only 32.4% from the field and was 2 for 10 from the 3-point line in the first quarter as Smith led the Utes in the first half with six points, four rebounds and three assists.
Arizona kept its 16-point lead a few minutes into the second quarter until it was chipped away as Gabe Madsen made a shot from beyond the arc, lowering the deficit to 10. Branden Carlson made his own 3-pointer and proceeded to score on a dunk shortly after to bring the score to 56-48 and the lead down to single digits. Utah improved on defense throughout the second quarter, forcing Arizona to go 36.7% on field goal attempts. Carlson made another 3-pointer to get Utah within one-point of the score as the Utes improved to 8-11 on shots from beyond the arc in the second half. Arizona was unable to reclaim control of the score in the final minutes of the second quarter as Johnson made two free-throws to push the lead to five with one minute remaining. Madsen made a 3-pointer that tied the score at 76 and propelled the game into overtime.
Pelle Larsson gave Arizona its lead on one of the six made collective shots from both teams in the first overtime. Carlson then gave Utah the lead off a layup with under two minutes to go in the added regulation when Love tied the game at 82 on a layup, forcing a double overtime. The Wildcats had a four-point lead gained from Love making all three free throws he was called for. Utah center Keba Keita made two of his free throws with a minute remaining, forcing the third and final overtime with the score sitting at 91.
Shots started to fall for the Wildcats in the third overtime as Love sank a 3-pointer to reclaim control of the 99-93 score. Bradley secured a nine-point lead on a made free throw, giving no room for the Utes to make a comeback. Arizona won 105-99 in triple overtime with all starters for the Wildcats scoring in double digits. Larsson achieved a career-high 27 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Love provided 19 points and 10 rebounds while acquiring two blocks as Oumar Ballo made an impact with 16 rebounds and three blocks. Carlson led Utah with 27 points and 15 rebounds and Smith finished with a triple-double putting up 14 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds.
Head coach Tommy Lloyd was asked about how crucial it is to win on the road during this time in the season:
“If you want to compete for a conference Championship, you have to be able to compete and win some games on the road […]. I think we’re playing better basketball now, I think we’re building, and I think all these experiences are accumulating, and listen, we’re going into another place on Saturday, that they haven’t lost at home, they have really good players and a good coach it’s going to be tough. You know, we just need to dig down and see if we can find a way.”
Game 2: Arizona vs. Colorado – Saturday, Feb. 10
Arizona went into this game looking for its fifth win in a row as they succeeded with a blowout 99-79 victory over Colorado. The Buffaloes had a six-point lead at the start of the game but quickly lost consistency in scoring. Larsson made a layup to tie the game at eight when shortly after, Boswell made a 3-pointer to give Arizona the lead that it maintained for the rest of the game. Colorado guard KJ Simpson got within one-point of tying the game off a jumper halfway through the first quarter as the lead fluctuated when both teams traded turnovers back and forth.
The Wildcats continued to be a few points ahead as Love extended the lead to 28-21 with a 3-pointer, not allowing Colorado to take over. Bradley made a layup off a turnover, pushing the lead to 10 with five minutes left in the quarter. A 3-pointer made by Julian Hammond Ⅲ got the Buffaloes within seven points which was as close as they got to the 47-40 score at halftime. Larsson and Love both collected 11 points leading the Wildcats in the first half, as Tristan da Silva had 11 points for Colorado.
Arizona never led under double-digits in the second quarter as the offense came out strong collectively shooting 54.1% from the field. The Wildcats dominated the second half, quickly building a 20-point lead caused by Love off a 3-pointer. With Colorado trailing the rest of the way, the deficit only shrunk to 14 points with needed free throws taken by J’Vonne Hadley with under eight minutes to go in regulation. Ultimately, Colorado was never able to chip away the score to regain control of the game, giving Arizona its first win in Boulder, Colorado, since 2015. Love led the Wildcats with 19 points going 4-6 from the 3-point line while Larsson followed with 18 points and 3 steals. Ballo had 16 points and 13 rebounds, collecting his fourth straight double-double in the past four games. Simpson and Da Silva each scored 20 points to lead Colorado as Simpson also managed to gain nine assists. Three technicals were assigned during the game with one on Johnson and two assigned to Colorado guards Hadley and Simpson.
“Nothing different, it was just like hey, we know what we’re playing for […]. Competing for the league championships is important to us and we knew playing well at Colorado, you know, it’s not make or break but it goes a long way to helping you so, we knew we had to play good, and our guys respect Colorado. We knew that they’re a dangerous team especially at home so they came out and responded.” said coach Lloyd when asked about the key to figuring out ways to stay consistent in the second half.
Looking ahead:
Arizona will return home to get ready for a rivalry matchup against ASU on Saturday, Feb. 17, at 7:30 p.m. in McKale Center.
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Arizona
Arizona Basketball Reportedly Has ‘Moved On’ From Recruitment of Top 20 Player
![Arizona Basketball Reportedly Has ‘Moved On’ From Recruitment of Top 20 Player Arizona Basketball Reportedly Has ‘Moved On’ From Recruitment of Top 20 Player](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4808,h_2704,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/inside_the_wildcats/01j6n74w50b9eekgnctc.jpg)
While all eyes in Tucson are on the Arizona Wildcats getting their football season underway, basketball is slowly starting to get things in motion.
Two scrimmage dates have been announced for fans to get their first look at this year’s team, with one being held on their home floor and the other being played in Glendale.
Expectations are high for the Wildcats to hit the ground running during their first season in the Big 12 Conference, and with the way this program has performed under head coach Tommy Lloyd, that should be of little surprise to anyone.
In the three years since he’s taken over, Arizona has won two Pac-12 regular season titles and two Pac-12 tournaments, earning a top two seed in the NCAA Tournament every year.
But despite that success, they have topped out on the national stage by being unable to advance past the Sweet 16 round.
Solving that riddle will be the key for Lloyd during his time in Tucson, and by being inserted into a more competitive conference, it will be more difficult for them to maintain a stranglehold on the regular season.
So how can Arizona emerge as true national powers again?
They need to start recruiting at a much higher level than they have under Lloyd.
His first full cycle in charge was the 2022 class, and since that time, the Wildcats have failed to secure a ranking in the top 15.
There are signs this is changing since they finished with the 16th overall class last year, but only landing two four-star recruits makes it tough to maintain long-term success when they have to rely on the transfer portal.
Seemingly knowing that, Lloyd and his staff are attacking the recruiting trail by trying to land some of the best players in the 2025 class.
With visits set up for the fall, the Wildcats are poised to make a huge splash this year.
However, there is at least one recruit in this cycle Arizona had interest in who they are moving on from.
When referencing Tounde Yessoufou, Joe Tipton of On3 reports, “Arizona has moved on from his recruitment and will look to fill the small forward position elsewhere.”
The California native is ranked as the No. 19 player in this class and has garned national interest from some of the top programs around the country like Kentucky, Baylor, UCLA, Tennessee, Kansas, and UConn.
The 6-foot-5, four-star forward has taken two trips to see Arizona, including an official visit back on June 16.
But clearly they feel like their attention is better served elsewhere, whether that’s because the interest has waned from a singular party, or if both are more interest in other options.
Still, this cycle will be one to closely monitor for the Lloyd and the Wildcats as they look to secure their best recruiting class in this era.
Arizona
Why did Diamondbacks go to Paul Sewald in key moment of loss to Dodgers?
![Why did Diamondbacks go to Paul Sewald in key moment of loss to Dodgers? Why did Diamondbacks go to Paul Sewald in key moment of loss to Dodgers?](https://arizonasports.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GettyImages-2169528983-e1725084944217.jpg)
PHOENIX — In a shootout 10-9 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, the Arizona Diamondbacks had to make some tough decisions with the bullpen. Ryan Thompson was unavailable and manager Torey Lovullo wanted to stay away from Justin Martinez, as the duo had pitched in each of the previous two games.
Lovullo had some maneuvering to do, and his pitchers did not get the job done.
Starter Zac Gallen did not have great feel for his pitches early, although he gutted out five innings and left with the two sides tied 5-5.
The biggest moment for the bullpen came in the seventh inning when Paul Sewald entered down 6-5 with two runners on and one out.
Two batters into Sewald’s outing, Dodgers catcher Will Smith broke the game open with a three-run homer. Sewald missed his spot with a fastball in after Smith looked pretty hopeless on back-to-back sweepers. Lovullo thought the pitch should have been down-and-away to freeze Smith.
HR No. 17 for Will Smith is an insurance BLAST 💥 pic.twitter.com/ljT3REZHRn
— MLB (@MLB) August 31, 2024
Why Sewald? Kevin Ginkel, who has not allowed an earned run in his last 11 games, had previously warmed up, but Lovullo wanted to save him and A.J. Puk for a situation in which the D-backs were ahead. Jordan Montgomery was also not available.
“I can’t run away from everybody, and I want to give Paul a chance to get some rhythm and go in there and and find his way,” Lovullo said.
“It’s getting better. Believe it or not, I know it’s hard for me to sit here and convince you guys of that based on what his line score look like, but it’s getting better. I think we’re an arm fake away from executing an out at third base and being out of that inning.”
Sewald then allowed a second home run, this time a solo shot by Shohei Ohtani in the eighth inning on an 0-2 fastball right down the middle.
Ohtani’s homer became the difference in the game, as an Eugenio Suarez two-run shot cut the deficit to one run in the ninth inning.
The D-backs have not named Martinez the closer despite the 23-year-old filling that role over the past three weeks. Lovullo continues to leave the door open for Sewald to retain that status, but Sewald has allowed runs in three straight games and Friday’s performance proved costly.
“The thing I like about him is he’s landing the slider and I know last year it was kind of reverse. It was a lot of four-seam fastballs, and he couldn’t find the slider,” Lovullo said. “He’s got to find that fastball location.”
The Dodgers took a 6-5 lead in the sixth inning on a Joe Mantiply wild pitch, scoring a run charged to Dylan Floro. Mantiply was charged with two runs on Smith’s homer.
Diamondbacks’ first-and-third play
Lovullo highlighted a first-and-third play just before Smith’s home run that he felt made a significant difference in the game.
With runners on the corners, Los Angeles’ Teoscar Hernandez stole second. Instead of throwing down, catcher Jose Herrera pump faked to second and ran toward third. Mookie Betts was caught well off the bag, but Herrera had to wait a beat for Suarez to cover before throwing the ball. Betts just beat the throw to keep Smith’s at-bat alive.
“I thought we got him, but I played deep. I played almost in the grass. That’s why I didn’t make it to third,” Suarez said. “I thought if I played short there, we got him because that was a good play. … As a runner, when you see the third baseman play that deep, you got a chance to break off hard like he did and you’ve got a chance to be back. That’s what happened on that play.”
Lovullo admitted he had not yet reviewed the play, but he was frustrated by the failure to record the out. He said they practice it in spring training a lot, and he would take a closer look at the execution.
Arizona
Exploring the Charm and Adventure of Clarkdale, Arizona
![Exploring the Charm and Adventure of Clarkdale, Arizona Exploring the Charm and Adventure of Clarkdale, Arizona](https://gray-kpho-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/https%3A%2F%2Fdo0bihdskp9dy.cloudfront.net%2F08-31-2024%2Ft_b17d59d684014c9591ac3bc6fdfeb257_name_clarkdale_arizona.jpg?auth=21e1daf9b600be3af1356ca927671f1981a77617440d7c6594b526d4a78e2230&width=1200&height=600&smart=true)
In this episode of Arizona Highways TV with Robin Sewell, explore the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, a unique blend of a zoo, aquarium, botanical garden, natural history museum, and art institute. Learn about its immersive exhibits, including the hummingbird aviary and the 147-species cactus garden. Meet the animal ambassadors like Knight, a barn owl, and discover the role of education and conservation at the museum. Later, visit Ingo’s Tasty Food in central Phoenix for a gourmet alfresco dining experience, and explore George Aberbeck’s handcrafted glass art in Flagstaff. Finally, stay at the historic Armory Park Inn in Tucson, filled with stories of iconic Arizonans. The episode also touches on the music scene in the valley, including the Zubia Brothers and their journey from mariachi roots to the local music landscape.
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