Arizona Wildcats Game Recap: 67-63 OT Win Over Utah
Feb 19, 2014; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson(23) moves the ball against Utah Utes center
Dallin Bachynski(31) during overtime at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Arizona Wildcats won the game in overtime 67-63. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports
Salt Lake City — The Arizona Wildcats are getting quite used to this. It wasn’t pretty and the effort wasn’t consistent, but at the end of the day, they’ll take the win. After getting outscored by nine in the second half and going to overtime, the Wildcat defense tightened up and took home the 67-63 win over Utah.
Gabe York scored 15 points with four rebounds, two assists and a steal, with Nick Johnson adding 15 points and two rebounds. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson went back to the bench with some success, scoring 13 points on four rebounds in 31 minutes.
T.J. McConnell scored 11 with three rebounds, six assists and three steals and Kaleb Tarczewski scored eight points with 10 rebounds and three blocks.
The vaunted Wildcats (24-2, 11-2) defense stood tall but as usual, the offense continues to struggle. In the last 4:37 of regulation, Utah scored just five points. Unfortunately, the Wildcats were able to score just four, both on Nick Johnson jumpers. There was just one point scored by either team in the last 2:23 of the game.
Arizona never trailed in overtime and was able to ice the game from the foul line, making five out of six in the last 22 seconds.
Freshman sensation Aaron Gordon continues his massive struggles, as he scored just three points with three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in 20 minutes. He turned the ball over five times and fouled out of the game.
Wildcats by the Numbers
- Arizona made 14-of-19 free-throws for the game (73.7 percent)
- The Wildcats are now 133rd in the nation in scoring, with 72.8 points per game.
- Arizona has not allowed 70 points in 11 games (Jan. 9 at UCLA)
He was a Wild Cat
Nick Johnson didn’t have the best game, but he did make important shots when his team needed it. He scored the last four points in regulation and made four free-throws in overtime to ice the game.
He was a Mild Cat
Aaron Gordon continues to badly struggle and while we expect struggles from a freshman, it looked like Gordon wasn’t going to be that kind of player. We were wrong. He’s hit the wall very hard and is struggling to find his offense.
Coming Up
The Wildcats will travel to Colorado on Saturday, February 22nd to face the Buffaloes at Coors Events Center in Boulder, Colorado.