A packed house at Gampel Pavilion tried to will the Huskies to a win. They fell just short, 71-67.
The clash between No. 3 UConn and No. 4 Arizona was, as expected, a heavyweight bout on Wednesday night in Storrs, Conn.
And while neither team could muster a knockout punch, Arizona’s Tobe Awaka delivered the final blow, making four free throws in the final six seconds to seal the 71-67 victory for the Wildcats.
It was the first matchup between two top-five teams – and just the second ever – at Gampel Pavilion since No. 3 UConn defeated No. 4 Villanova 70-59 on Feb. 26, 2006.
The Huskies (4-1) played without starting center Tarris Reed Jr., who is game-to-game with an ankle injury. They missed Reed’s proficiency on the glass; they were outrebounded 43 to 23, which led to 16 second-chance points for the Wildcats (5-0).
"We got a good hop [break] today with Reed out today,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “We're not going to say that doesn't change things. We know that changes things."
Arizona scored 43 points in the paint, compared to 24 for UConn.
Huskies coach Dan Hurley was not happy after the game.
"We got punked. It's going to be a bad film session coming out of here,” he said. “There was a street fight going on in the paint. ... You can't stand on the outside when your buddies are in the fight."
Still, this game had the feel of a March Madness affair, with the teams playing at packed Gampel Pavilion. Students began lining up outside on Sunday to grab a seat.
Not that anyone was sitting, especially late in the second half.
Back-to-back layups by Koa Peat and Jaden Bradley gave Arizona its biggest lead of the game, 53-40, with 13:34 left in the half. Over the next 10-plus minutes, UConn outscored Arizona 22-7 to go up 62-60 and take its first lead of the second half. Arizona was 3-of-11 shooting in that span.
A tip-in by Peat tied the game, and UConn’s Malachi Smith hit a stepback jumper to take a 64-62 lead with 2:16 left.
Arizona went up 65-64 following a free throw by Peat and a second-chance jumper by Motiejus Krivas in the paint. Then, following a turnover by UConn’s Silas Demary Jr., the Wildcats extended the lead to three with 16.3 seconds remaining on a Bradley basket.
UConn had a golden chance to score, but a layup attempt by freshman Eric Reibe, subbing for Reed, hung on the rim and wouldn’t fall. He was fouled but missed both free throws.
Left to fouls to try to regain possession, UConn twice fouled Awaka – a 46.7% shooter from the line entering the game. He sank all four shots.
Arizona took a 35-33 lead into halftime and was ahead nearly 34 minutes of game time. The clash was tied seven times with 10 lead changes.
Reibe led the Huskies in points (15) and rebounds (four), and Malachi Smith had eight assists.
Bradley topped the Wildcats with 21 points, Krivas had 14 rebounds and Peat led with three assists.
Arizona shot 46% for the game, UConn 45%. The Huskies were 8-of-25 shooting from 3-point range, the Wildcats just 2-of-10.
The Wildcats made 76% of their free throw attempts (19 of 25). The Huskies hit just half of their 18 attempts.
Arizona has won the past three games in the all-time series between the teams, which the Huskies lead 5-3.
