The world of college basketball and life in the Big 12 is an unforgiving. One moment you’re No. 1 in the nation riding a program-setting 23-0 start to the season and the next you’re on a two-game losing streak.
That’s the case for No. 1 Arizona (23-2, 10-2 Big 12) with a tough 78-75 (OT) loss to No. 16 Texas Tech.
Arizona was already down one player off the bench in forward Dwayne Aristode, who missed the game due to an undisclosed illness, which was followed with forward Koa Peat exiting the game at halftime with what is being called a lower-body injury.
The short-handed Wildcats were unable to protect a seven-point lead with 3:29 left and managed to come up with just two points the rest of the way, causing the game to go into overtime.
It’s like the song “That’s Life” by Frank Sinatra says:
“That’s life. That’s what all the people say. You’re riding high in April, shot down in May. But, I know I’m gonna change that tune when I’m back on top. Back on top in June.”
That’s life in college basketball.
Yes, Arizona was on a historic roll and has looked like the best team in college basketball for most of the season. However, going undefeated in this sport and in this conference was never realistic.
“We had enough to win. You know, we had enough to win,” said head coach Tommy Lloyd. “We’re up by seven with three minutes and change to go, you got to find a way to close that out.”
Losses happen.
You’re going to get a bad call, bad bounce and tough injury along the way. But, it’s what you take from those tough times that create the culture of a championship team.
Now, with the game wrapped up and in the books we at All Sports Tucson have come up with our three takeaways from the Wildcats’ loss to Texas Tech (19-6, 9-3).
Koa Peat Watch
Even with Peat unable to finish the game against Texas Tech, his first half performance wasn’t good and saw him score two points while not taking a single shot.
“Yeah, it hurts us. It definitely hurts our rotation but that’s how these seasons go,” said Lloyd when asked about missing Peat.
“It’s kind of funny. You’re just seeing a lot of it across the nation this week. These seasons are long. They’re hard. These kids work hard. These games are physical. And it looks like some of them are starting to get dinged up a little bit.”
Over the last couple of weeks Peat has averaged 10 points in a five game span. That’s 4.3 points less than his current season average.
It seems that Peat has hit a little bit of a wall like most freshmen do around this time and is working through an injury on top of that.
Battle in the Paint
Arizona has been one of the most dominant offenses in the paint this season and has been able to not only control the glass, but outscore opponents in the low-post making them maybe the most dangerous team in college basketball.
On Saturday, the Wildcats had some issues in the paint and allowed Texas Tech to match them for points in the paint with 26. Plus, UA barely won 41-38 on the glass, which allowed the Red Raiders to secure the win in overtime.
Jaden Bradley just fine
Realistically , I don’t think point guard Jaden Bradley struggling in back-to-back games is a major concern and is more of the highs and lows of the college basketball season. However, it is noteworthy to mention that Bradley did slow down his production around this same time last year before turning things back up in March.
Right now, I would still say he is the frontrunner for Big 12 Player of the Year but will need to get back on track on Wednesday against BYU.
His minutes might be starting to catch up to him and it will be interesting to see if Lloyd gives a few minutes to Evan Nelson over the next few games to get Bradley a few minutes of rest during games.
Arizona will be back in action on Wednesday as the Wildcats take on No. 22 BYU (19-6, 7-5) and will be looking to sweep the regular season two-game series over the Cougars. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. (MST) on ESPN.
