 traded ugly possessions with the Huskies in the first half before both teams found an offensive rhythm in the second. The Wildcats took control behind their defense during a late 8-0 run that pushed their lead to 65-55 and on to their seventh straight win since an 0-3 trip to the Bahamas. Arizona made 14 of 23 shots in the second half to win its 47th straight non-conference home game and beat UConn for the first time in six attempts all-time. Wildcats guard Allonzo Trier scored 15 points after leaving in the second half of Monday's game against North Dakota State with a sprained left knee. UConn (7-4) started slow after an 11-day break for exams before coming alive in the second half behind the trio of Terry Larrier, Jalen Adams and Christian Vital. The Huskies traded baskets with the Wildcats for most of the second half, but a scoreless drought of more than 3 minutes at the wrong time sent them to another loss against a power program. Larrier finished with 18 points, Adams had 13 and Vital 11. The Huskies have been criticized for not always playing hard while winning the games they were supposed and have mostly stumbled against how-we-measure-up opponents. UConn did beat Oregon, but lost to No. 2 Michigan State, Arkansas and Syracuse. The Huskies faced a monumental task Thursday night, trying to earn a statement win at one of the most difficult road venues in college basketball. They have been plagued by slow starts and did it again against Arizona, missing shots, losing the ball on self-caused turnovers and lots of fouling. Good thing for UConn, the Wildcats were doing the same thing in an ugly first half that included nearly as many combined turnovers (19) and fouls (17) as made field goals (20). Arizona led 30-23 at halftime in large part because UConn had trouble matching up with Ristic, who had 10 points and six rebounds at halftime. Deandre Ayton, the Wildcats' other 7-footer, was limited to 7 minutes due to foul trouble. Both teams weeded out most of the ugliness to start the second half. UConn scored the first seven points to tie it and the teams played with a fluidity that was missing in the first half. Ristic kept getting the ball inside and scoring, while Alkins gave Arizona a lift, scoring eight quick points after a shoulder to the face sent him briefly to the bench. Larrier, Adams and Vital kept the Huskies within reach, answering nearly every time Arizona tried to pull away. Arizona made a late push and the Huskies had no answer, losing by 15 in a game that was still close with 5 minutes left. BIG PICTUREUConn played well in the second half, but is still searching for that signature win. Arizona continues its roll with a big second half, doing it with Ayton limited to nine points. UP NEXTUConn plays at Auburn on Saturday. Arizona hosts rival No. 3 Arizona State on Dec. 30.---More college football: https://collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/-Top25)
Time: 9:00 PM EST If it's not one thing, it's another for Arizona it seems this season. Less than two weeks after Rawle Alkins made his return to the floor after missing the first nine games of the season with a broken foot, the Wildcats had to watch leading scorer Allonzo Trier writhing in pain in an 83-53 win over North Dakota State on Monday night. The play came with about 10 minutes to go in the game as Trier was looking to stick with North Dakota State guard Paul Miller when the two collided. The Arizona guard quickly hit the ground and grabbed his knee, bringing silence to McKale Center. Eventually, Trier was helped off the floor, and he returned a short time later with an ice bag on the injured knee. Arizona head coach Sean Miller classified the injury as a bone bruise and Trier remains day-to-day because of it, but indications are that he will be able to play in Thursday night's meeting with Connecticut." It's scary for a player when that happens, it doesn't feel right," Miller said of the play that injured his standout junior. Trier had been playing well up until that point, and he even finished the win with a team-high four assists to go with no turnovers and 15 points in 21 minutes of action. The injury came on a night when the 18th-ranked Wildcats (9-3) were having one of their best all-around performances of the season. Deandre Ayton led the way with 25 points and nine rebounds while Alkins scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds. It was what the team looked like on the other side of the floor that impressed Miller, though." We put it together on both ends and we've talked a lot about it," Miller said after the game. "We're working very hard as a group to improve defensively and tonight I believe we took a step forward." It will mark the sixth meeting between UConn (7-3) and Arizona, with the Huskies winning all five of the previous games. The last time the two teams played was back in 2011 in the NCAA Tournament, with UConn winning the game 65-63 and going on to win the national title. The contest will mark the first for Kevin Ollie's team in 12 days, and it will also be the first time his team will play a road game this season. Turnovers were the concern for Ollie after a 72-59 win over Coppin State on Dec. 9, and its something he hopes his team can get cleaned up heading into its game at Arizona." I see a lot of the turnovers seem to come without a lot of pressure," Ollie said. "Coppin State was not pressing or overplaying our team and we still had 15 turnovers. I want our team to have poise, and we are going to keep working at it." The Huskies are led by junior guard Jalen Adams, who is averaging 19.2 points and is coming off a 15-point performance against Coppin State. Redshirt junior Terry Larrier is coming off a torn ACL last season, but he leads the team in rebounding (5.7) and is second in scoring with an average of 15.6 points.
Looking for More Picks?
You can browse all the individual handicapper picks below.
Connecticut
Arizona
Pick Center
NCAAB
FINAL (12/21/2017)
ProfessorsPicks
