Arizona Wildcats Blowout Davidson Wildcats in First Round of Battle 4 Atlantis
The Arizona Wildcats have had their fair share of struggles on the hardwood out of the gate of the 2024-25 college basketball season.
After blowing out the Canisius Golden Griffins and Old Dominion Monarchs in their first two games, they struggled when stepping up in competition. In a true road game against the Wisconsin Badgers and a home game against the Duke Blue Devils, they lost by 15 and 14, respectively.
It is certainly too early to panic, but it was eyebrow-raising that they struggled so much. Regarded as one of the most talented teams in the nation, being on the receiving end of blowouts was not expected.
That kind of negative momentum isn’t what Tommy Lloyd’s crew was hoping to head into the Battle 4 Atlantis with. But, their coach made a few tweaks to the lineup and they responded in a major way.
In desperate need of a win, they blitzed the Davidson Wildcats early and never relented. Despite trailing by as many as seven points in the game, Arizona took a 12-point lead into the locker room at halftime and blew the doors off their opponent in the second half.
A 55-34 shellacking in the final 20 minutes resulted in a 104-71 dominating performance by the Wildcats, who handed Davidson their first loss of the campaign.
It was a complete team effort as five players scored in double-figures. Leading the way with 21 points off the bench was Anthony Dell’Orso, a sharpshooting transfer from the Campbell Fighting Camels.
In 16 minutes of action, he knocked down 5-of-7 3-point attempts, going 8-of-11 from the field overall. Joining him in the 20-point club was Caleb Love, who struggled mightily against Wisconsin and Duke but had a great bounce-back performance on Wednesday.
He scored 20 points, going 7-of-13 from the field and 3-of-7 from 3-point range. The preseason All-American added five rebounds, four assists and one steal in 28 minutes.
Also scoring in double-figures was Trey Townsend, an Oakland Golden Grizzlies transfer, with 17 and Tobe Awaka, a Tennessee Volunteers transfer, with 13 in the starting five. Awaka grabbed 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season already.
Off the bench, Motiejus Krivas had 10.
That kind of talent and depth in the frontcourt is a major advantage for Lloyd, as he can mix and match depending on matchups and won’t have to overuse players.
The Wildcats will play again on Thanksgiving at 5:30 p.m. ET against the undefeated Oklahoma Sooners, who defeated the Providence Friars 79-77 on Wednesday.
