Arizona Wildcats Hold Off Kansas State, Head To Finals For SDSU

It’s not Arizona Basketball unless it plays with your emotions. In the first thriller of the season, Arizona holds off the Kansas State Wildcats by a final score of 72-68 to advance to the Maui Invitational Finals. They will meet the San Diego State Aztecs, who have advanced with a double OT win over BYU (92-87) and dominate performance over Pitt (74-57).

Arizona got a bit of a scare from Kansas State, with a slow start forcing Sean Miller’s squad to come from behind to take a 31-30 lead at the half. Arizona held the lead through most of the second half, but couldn’t run away with it. Kansas State was able to shoot their way back into the game, shooting just shy of 60% from the arc.

Marcus Foster led the way for Kansas State, shooting 6-9 from the arc, finishing with 23 points. Between the other 10 K-State Wildcats that entered the game, only three attempted a 3-point shot. Whenever Arizona started to pull away, there was Foster coming up big. K-State had three players finish nine points, with Wesley Iwundu relieving some of the pressure of the backcourt duties with Marcus Foster.

Arizona continues to goes on those streaks where they cannot make a shot. Some of the ugliest shots are thrown up and it just makes you shake your head. But Kaleb Tarczewski led the way for Arizona, scoring a career high 18, going 7-9 from the field, 4-8 at the line. Gabe York had his first big game of the season as a starter, finishing with 15 himself, shooting 60% on the night.

The scary part about Arizona is that there is no go-to scorer. Stanley Johnson is no where near where everyone expected him to be. Given some time, he will definitely iron out, but he must learn the system and find his role. He finished with 14 points, half of which came from the free throw line late in the game to seal the win. Johnson also added seven hustle rebounds, second to Rondae Hollis Jefferson’s eight rebounds. Hollis-Jefferson didn’t have too many opportunities to score, but he came through with his usual, athletic plays and added six points and three blocks to his stats.

TJ McConnell continues to be the floor general, serving up his teammates to make plays. McConnell is averaging eight points, seven assists and five rebounds a game for the Wildcats. But the leader of the team is Brandon Ashley. Consistency is key, as he’s scored double digit figures in all five games this season, coming through when needed.

This San Diego State team is going to be tough in the Finals. In a defensive battle, the Wildcats should have the advantage. Winston Shepard is going to put in most of the work along with Trey Kell and a very motivated Angelo Chol. Two years ago, Chol was an Arizona Wildcat, but decided to transfer due to a lack of playing time. Since he has been at SDSU, his dream has been to play against Arizona and show them what they missed out on, proving that he was better off transferring. But most people would get that feeling too, especially when your former team beats you twice in the season. Once in the regular season at SDSU and again in the NCAA Tournament to advance to the Elite 8.