Arizona is back in action tonight closing out the last week before Christmas and that means the end of nonconference play. Tonight it's North Dakota State on the other side. The Wildcats are going with their same starting lineup again with Rawle Alkins back in the starting five once again. Alex Barcello was dealing with an ankle injury in the game against New Mexico, but he is back tonight for UA and suited up.
Just a note but updates might be intermittent and potentially shorter tonight. The McKale Center wifi is the absolute worst and it's been going in and out for me already so I'll do the best I can on my laptop and on my phone.
1st half
- Arizona was cold to start the game missing all three of its shots from deep and only shooting around 40 percent in the first four minutes. Meanwhile, North Dakota State started out the game shooting 60 percent and with an early 7-6 lead at the first timeout. [SCORE UPDATE: NDSU 7 ARIZONA 6 15:39 - 1st]
- Allonzo Trier finally gets a 3-pointer to fall for Arizona to bring the Wildcats closer but NDSU has been shooting it well in this part of the game; UA mixing up the rotations a bit here early and Ira Lee gets a bucket to fall to pull the Wildcats within two; Arizona has turned up the defense a bit here in this stretch and Dusan Ristic ties it up at the 11:47 mark with a turnaround hook; Arizona now just 1-for-7 from 3-point range as NDSU has made four 3-pointers now [SCORE UPDATE: NDSU 16 ARIZONA 13 10:40 - 1st]
- A nice streatch for Deandre Ayton out of the last timeout as he had a big dunk on the out-of-bounds play and then he followed that up with a three-point play on a bucket at the rim; Another big dunk for the Arizona big man as he continues a strong stretch here with nobody on NDSU to defend him; A layup by NDSU continues its streak of three straight shots made [SCORE UPDATE: NDSU 22 ARIZONA 22 6:32 - 1st]
- Trier with a 3-pointer to get Arizona the lead out of the media timeout; Dylan Smith gets his own rebound and helps the Wildcats extend the lead; PJC with a big 3-pointer on the kick out from Dusan and the Arizona lead widens to eight points [SCORE UPDATE: ARIZONA 30 NDSU 22 3:52 - 1st]
- Welp, WiFi issues just deleted the update but Arizona closed the half strong with some more free throws and a big dunk from Ayton to cap the half; Arizona closed the final minutes on a 16-0 run and held NDSU scoreless for nearly the final seven minutes
Halftime: Arizona 38 NDSU 22
Just a note but updates might be intermittent and potentially shorter tonight. The McKale Center wifi is the absolute worst and it's been going in and out for me already so I'll do the best I can on my laptop and on my phone.
1st half
- Arizona was cold to start the game missing all three of its shots from deep and only shooting around 40 percent in the first four minutes. Meanwhile, North Dakota State started out the game shooting 60 percent and with an early 7-6 lead at the first timeout. [SCORE UPDATE: NDSU 7 ARIZONA 6 15:39 - 1st]
- Allonzo Trier finally gets a 3-pointer to fall for Arizona to bring the Wildcats closer but NDSU has been shooting it well in this part of the game; UA mixing up the rotations a bit here early and Ira Lee gets a bucket to fall to pull the Wildcats within two; Arizona has turned up the defense a bit here in this stretch and Dusan Ristic ties it up at the 11:47 mark with a turnaround hook; Arizona now just 1-for-7 from 3-point range as NDSU has made four 3-pointers now [SCORE UPDATE: NDSU 16 ARIZONA 13 10:40 - 1st]
- A nice streatch for Deandre Ayton out of the last timeout as he had a big dunk on the out-of-bounds play and then he followed that up with a three-point play on a bucket at the rim; Another big dunk for the Arizona big man as he continues a strong stretch here with nobody on NDSU to defend him; A layup by NDSU continues its streak of three straight shots made [SCORE UPDATE: NDSU 22 ARIZONA 22 6:32 - 1st]
- Trier with a 3-pointer to get Arizona the lead out of the media timeout; Dylan Smith gets his own rebound and helps the Wildcats extend the lead; PJC with a big 3-pointer on the kick out from Dusan and the Arizona lead widens to eight points [SCORE UPDATE: ARIZONA 30 NDSU 22 3:52 - 1st]
- Welp, WiFi issues just deleted the update but Arizona closed the half strong with some more free throws and a big dunk from Ayton to cap the half; Arizona closed the final minutes on a 16-0 run and held NDSU scoreless for nearly the final seven minutes
Halftime: Arizona 38 NDSU 22
