UCLA Men's Basketball Topples Arizona in Decisive Battle of Top 10 Powers

The Bruins welcomed back their home crowd with one of their biggest wins of the past decade and a six-straight against the Wildcats.

Change the rosters, the setting, the schedule, the crowds, the rankings or the stakes – Mick Cronin's Bruins continued their ownership of the Wildcats on Tuesday night.

No. 7 UCLA men's basketball (14-2, 6-1 Pac-12) hosted No. 3 Arizona (16-2, 6-1), which boasted one of the hottest offenses and best resumes in the country entering the showdown, and largely dismantled them in a 75-59 victory. The Wildcats came into Tuesday averaging 88.7 points per game on the season, winning their six previous conference games by an average of 22.1 points, only for the Bruins to lock them down and take control for almost the entire contest.

The game between the two top-10 programs was supposed to tip off Dec. 31, but COVID-19 issues by UCLA at the time. Arizona eventually made its way to Westwood, for the first time since hiring former Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd, but the new coach seemed to take the torch from Sean Miller in more ways than just his job title.

Since Cronin joined the Bruins, the blue and gold beat Miller's Wildcats in all four tries. With Lloyd in charge, nothing changed, and UCLA's rivalry winning streak over Arizona has now reached six games.

UCLA has now picked up two wins against top-five opponents so far this season, and they have launched themselves into first place in the Pac-12 in the process.

The Bruins opened up 7-of-9 from the field and 3-of-3 from deep, while the Wildcats started the night 6-of-7 overall and 4-of-4 on 3s. With UCLA up 17-16 through just five minutes, he teams were on pace to score 255 combined points, and there were eight lead changes and two ties in that span.

Guard Johnny Juzang was bombs away from beyond the arc and the midrange alike, and forward Cody Riley got working early in the post against the Pac-12's premier shot-blocker, center Christian Koloko. Guard Tyger Campbell scored seven points right off the bat after averaging 4.5 a game last weekend.

On Arizona's end, it was Koloko catching lobs and the backcourt combo of Bennedict Mathurin and Pelle Larson hitting 3s, answering Juzang's string of buckets in those opening moments.

The insane, seemingly non-stop offensive blockbuster took a sharp turn after Juzang's triple at the 14:50 mark, though.

All of a sudden, the game turned into a defensive battle, as the Bruins and Wildcats missed a combined nine shots in a row with three turnovers over the next three minutes. UCLA started swarming, jumping passing lanes and fighting for loose balls, even if their offense wasn't able to convert Arizona's empty possessions into points right away.

It didn't take long for the Bruins to ride that defensive energy into offensive, as Riley, Juzang and Campbell got back on the board and strung together a 10-0 run.

The offensive pace had surely fallen off for both teams, however, and the physical defenses continued to pick up steam – as did the eager crowd at Pauley Pavilion.

Patrons were allowed back in the arena for the first time since Dec. 1, as a string of games were canceled or played without fans due to COVID-19 over the past month. Those fans lined up as early as 6 a.m. to get in, and they were plenty loud more than 14 hours later once the game finally tipped off.

UCLA was up 27-20, and instead of seeing that lead shrunk by 82.2% career free throw shooter Mathurin at the line, the home crowd got loud and rejoiced when the prospective Pac-12 player of the year missed both attempts. A 3-pointer by guard/forward Peyton Watson got the crowd rocking even harder, forcing coach Tommy Lloyd to burn a timeout, and Watson got a steam and fast break score immediately following that timeout.

Arizona followed up its 6-of-7 start with a 3-of-21 stretch from the field while the Bruins continued to extent their lead, and guard Jules Bernard got in on the fun with a few buckets of his own.

A clock error by the referees got Cronin hot before the break, as it led to a fast break score by the Wildcats at the buzzer, but the Bruins still went into halftime up 40-29.

Riley hit another scoop layup off a post move on the opening possession of the second half, while Arizona didn't get their first shot of the half to fall until 2:23 into the period. By that point, UCLA had gone up by 15, and the lead grew to as many as 16 when Lloyd refused to call a timeout to try and halt the Bruins and their fans' momentum.

Unlike the home games against Villanova and Oregon that both came down to the wire and went to overtime, the Wildcats were unable to make it a real game down the stretch.

Arizona converted on back-to-back and-1s, then Mathurin drilled a 3, but guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. got the lead by to double-digits when he rattled home a triple of his own. After the media timeout, Jaquez's signature pump fake on the block got two Arizona defenders to bite, leading to an open layup, and his block on Mathurin eventually led to an and-1 for center Myles Johnson.

Jaquez had singlehandedly powered an 8-0 run after a scoreless first half, while UCLA started a block party on the other end and held Arizona to 1-of-11 shooting in the five minutes following Mathurin's 3. Both Jaquez and Watson rejected multiple Wildcat shots during that span, with Watson's stuff and ensuing staredown of guard Justin Kier topping them all. 

Arizona closed the gap to eight once again, then it was guard David Singleton whose 3-pointer gave UCLA more breathing room again. After forcing a few more misses, Jaquez drove and kicked out to Bernard, who swished a 3, then he got yet another block to get the crowd at Pauley Pavilion buzzing.

The Wildcats ended the night shooting 31% from the field, and that includes the torrid start in those opening five minutes. After that stretch, UCLA held Arizona to 17-of-68 shooting despite their opponent shooting 50.1% as a team on the season.

Guards Dalen Terry and Kerr Kriisa combined to shoot 0-of-17 from the field and 0-of-11 from deep, and even Mathurin's team-high 16 points came on a 5-of-22 clip.

The Bruins had four double-digit scorers, led by Juzang and Bernard's 15, while Riley had 12, Jaquez had 10 and Campbell went for 9. Getting beat 21-4 on the offensive boards didn't mean much to the final score, with the Wildcats heading back home with their tails tucked between their legs.

UCLA and Arizona will rematch in Tucson on Feb. 3, but not before the Bruins host Cal and Thursday and Stanford on Saturday.

Follow Connon on Twitter at @SamConnon
Follow All Bruins on Twitter at @SI_AllBruins
Like All Bruins on Facebook at @SI.AllBruins
Subscribe to All Bruins on YouTube

Read more UCLA stories: UCLA Bruins on Sports Illustrated
Read more UCLA men's basketball stories: UCLA Men's Basketball on Sports Illustrated