Just over 400 miles — about a six-hour drive — separate Tucson, Arizona, from Las Vegas. But Friday night’s Pac-12 tournament semifinal game felt like a home game for Arizona against its rival Arizona State. Deafening “U Of A” chants rang through T-Mobile Arena all night long, and, to put it lightly, the crowd was made up of a lot more red and navy than maroon and gold.
Perhaps it was the Wildcats’ heartbreaking loss on a deep buzzer-beater by Arizona State fifth-year guard Desmond Cambridge Jr. when these teams last played on February 25 that prompted the increased enthusiasm from Arizona fans. Regardless, the Wildcat faithful wouldn’t be silenced this time, as Arizona pulled away late to take down the Sun Devils 78-59 to advance to the Pac-12 tournament finals.
“When you play Arizona State, you know what you’re in for,” Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd said. “I thought our guys did a really good job stepping up to the challenge … Today I thought we were even-keeled and it really worked out well for us.”
Junior forward Azuolas Tubelis, who led the Pac-12 in both scoring and rebounding this season, continued to impose his will on the conference. He had a game-high 17 points on 8-for-11 shooting to go with nine rebounds to guide Arizona to its second straight appearance in the conference tournament’s championship game.
Surprisingly, it was the Sun Devils’ offense that kept them in it early, as opposed to their elite defense. After hitting 14 threes the previous night against USC, Arizona State hit four more threes to start the game and lead 16-15. However, the Sun Devils cooled off for the rest of the night, making just two of their next 15 attempts from deep.
But the Wildcats needed just one run to really get the crowd rolling, and they got it quickly after via a three, then a transition dunk by junior guard Pelle Larsson. Back-to-back threes by fifth-year guard Courtney Ramey and freshman guard Kylan Boswell soon followed to make it a 13-3 run for Arizona and a 10-point lead.
“I think a lot of times our momentum accumulates a little bit,” Lloyd said. “It leads to these moments in games when we can get out to these little spurts.”
Both offenses slowed to a halt for the remainder of the first half, though Arizona kept a 35-28 advantage heading into the break. If anything, the Sun Devils were somewhat lucky to be trailing by just seven points, having taken eight more shots in the first half. Arizona gave away some extra chances via turnovers and offensive boards, but ASU wasn’t converting those additional opportunities, shooting just 29% in the first half against a less-than-stellar Wildcat defense.
Arizona continued to shoot the lights out in the second half, making nine of its first 13 shots. However, turnovers — and missed free throws — continued to prevent the Wildcats from separating themselves, despite plenty of success shooting both from behind the arc and in the paint. Arizona finished with 15 turnovers against a feisty Sun Devil defense but also missed plenty of freebies, converting just six of 14 attempts at the line.
Arizona State still wouldn’t quite go away, though, keeping the deficit to six with under seven minutes to go. That’s when the home-like crowd factored in again to the benefit of the Wildcats, particularly on defense. The Sun Devils didn’t make a field goal for the rest of the night.
Meanwhile, on offense, consecutive baskets by redshirt junior center Oumar Ballo, complemented by another Larsson three, put Arizona back up double digits. Moments later, junior guard Kerr Kriisa, who entered the game banged up with a shoulder injury, effectively sealed it with a triple from the top of the key. That gave Arizona a 14-point cushion with about four minutes to go and generated perhaps the loudest roar of the night from Wildcat fans.
“They show up, U of A people love this tournament,” Lloyd said. “They love our program. It makes it a special atmosphere, and we love being a part of it.”
The only thing missing? Another thundering “U of A” chant in the final seconds, as Arizona comfortably closed out its semifinal win. Now, for the second year in a row, the Wildcats will play UCLA in the title game of the Pac-12 tournament. Arizona won that matchup in 2022 and will look to win its second straight conference tournament championship on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, Arizona State will have to patiently wait until Sunday’s selection show to find out on which side of the NCAA tournament bubble it will fall.