

Etienne fouled out two minutes later, leaving the Bruins dangerously thin in the frontcourt for the remainder of the game. So even though UCLA led by five points, the game’s momentum seemed to favor the defending Pac-12 Tournament champions.
#Big 12 champs mac
Both Nwuba and redshirt freshman forward Mac Etienne picked up their fourth fouls with over 12 minutes remaining, as Arizona constantly fed its dominant big men on offense. Tubelis was held silent in the latter period, with just three points on 0-for-7 shooting, but he was still named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.īut, the Wildcats turned around the foul-trouble tables in the second half. Arizona was creating open threes and getting second chances on offensive rebounds, but it simply couldn’t cash anything in. The Bruins came out of the break strong, with a 9-2 run to start a second half that was just as intense and entertaining as the first. “ perfectly comfortable … dictating the tempo, and then they’re just so good defensively. “We’re built to play a lot of styles,” Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd said. However, UCLA limited the rest of the Wildcats’ starters to just two points.
#Big 12 champs plus
Tubelis starred with 16 points, including 6-for-7 shooting from the line, plus six rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. That helped soften the loss of Bona for UCLA, allowing it to play with a small-ball lineup while Tubelis and Ballo both sat.Ī tightly contested and endlessly exciting first half ended with a narrow 34-33 Bruin advantage. Jaquez eventually got things going too, with an and-one of his own to put UCLA in front again a few minutes later.Īrizona’s frontcourt tandem of Tubelis and redshirt junior center Oumar Ballo were both in foul trouble late in the first half, obtaining two fouls each. Freshman guards Amari Bailey and Dylan Andrews made their first five shots combined, while redshirt senior guard Tyger Campbell converted a layup plus the foul to give the Bruins a 21-20 lead. Meanwhile, UCLA relied on its other stellar guards to stay right in the game. With the Bruins missing their starting forward - freshman Adem Bona, who sustained a shoulder injury Friday against Oregon - Tubelis feasted on his matchup against redshirt senior forward Kenneth Nwuba, who made just his third start of the season. He frequently found himself at the line or with an easy layup for the Wildcats, compared to a 1-for-7 start from the field by UCLA senior guard Jaime Jaquez Jr.

In a matchup between the Pac-12 Player of the Year and the conference’s leading scorer and rebounder, Arizona junior forward Azuolas Tubelis held the advantage early on. “My job was to make a play, so I was grateful for the shot to go in.” “I kept telling myself the next shot was going in,” Ramey said.

In the end, Arizona successfully defended its Pac-12 Tournament championship, as fifth-year guard Courtney Ramey’s late three lifted the Wildcats to a 61-59 win in an extremely entertaining contest start to finish. 2 seed Arizona, but also possible redemption from last season, a potential top seed in the NCAA tournament and, of course, some hardware.
#Big 12 champs series
Who doesn’t love a good ol’-fashioned best of three? Not only was a season series victory on the line in Saturday’s matchup between No.
