Following a loss to Gonzaga, No. 20 Arizona got back on track against UC Irvine on Tuesday night, blowing past its Big West opponents, 79-57.
That game was pretty much decided in the first half, during which the Wildcats used a 9-0 spurt to give themselves a safe-enough 16-point lead at the break. Their European standouts—Dusan Ristic and Lauri Markkanen—led the team with 18 points apiece, including 14 first-half points from the former.
Guards Rawle Alkins and Kadeem Allen also scored in double-figures, pitching in 14 and 12, respectively.
Overall, the Arizona offense was red-hot (53.8 FG%) all game long, while the defense also got the better of the Anteaters, who, as a team, shot 38.2 percent from the floor and just 20.0 percent from down town.
Arizona, however, will really have to work for the points this weekend, when they take a shot at a Missouri defense that’s given up no more than 62 points in all but one game this season. The Wildcats are 2-0 SU and ATS in the all-time series with the Tigers.
Missouri is coming off back-to-back victories over Western Kentucky and Miami (OH); a pair of games in which Frankie Hughes (14.0 PPG) and Kevin Puryear (12.5 PPG) continued stabilizing themselves as the team’s top offensive options.
Hughes, who began the season with two-consecutive 20-point outings, scored 18 points in the win versus the Hilltoppers and then followed it up with 13 points against the RedHawks, giving him a team-best 112 points thus far on the season.
Puryear, meanwhile, was three points shy of tying a season-high in the Miami game, racking up 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting along with eight rebounds.
It’s also nice to know that head coach Kim Anderson’s young squad didn’t succumb to the adversity in both games, overcoming their ugly starts, rough shooting stretches and careless mistakes. If they keep this up, the Tigers may just find themselves on the right side of the box score in this Saturday’s home game with No. 20 Arizona.
