Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Arizona lumbers to victory
NO. 1 ARIZONA 74, NEW MEXICO STATE 48
TUCSON, Ariz. — Brandon Ashley scored 15 points, Kaleb Tarczewski added 14 and No. 1 Arizona shook off a slow start to dominate New Mexico State 74-48 on Wednesday night.
Arizona (10-0) labored out of the gate in its first game as the nation’s top-ranked team before pulling away from the Aggies for another impressive all-around victory.
The Wildcats shot 52 percent, dominated the glass (38-22) and held their fifth opponent under 60 points to open 10-0 for the second consecutive season.
T.J. McConnell had nine points and six assists while orchestrating Arizona’s offense, and do-it-all freshman Rondae Hollis-Jefferson provided a big lift with 12 points and eight rebounds.
Daniel Mullings had 18 points to lead New Mexico State ( 7-5), which made 2 of 11 from three-point range and shot 33 percent to lose its fourth in a row.
Arizona reeled off an impressive list of victories during its opening nine-game winning streak, including at San Diego State, Duke at Madison Square Garden to win the NIT Season Tip-off and a grind- it- out victory over UNLV last week.
With former No. 1 Michigan State’s loss to North Carolina last week, the Wildcats moved atop The Associated Press poll for the first time since 2003 and became the Pacific-12’s first top-ranked team since UCLA in 2006.
They didn’t get much time to celebrate with two difficult opponents this week, including Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday.
Before Arizona hits the road, though, it had to deal with the Aggies and Sim Bhullar, their paint-filling 7-foot-5 center.
Bhullar wasn’t much of a factor, but the Wildcats got off to a ragged start, turning it over three times in the first 4 minutes while missing seven of their first nine shots.
Arizona shifted into gear behind its defense, forcing the Aggies to go deep into the shot clock on nearly every possession and force up difficult shots during a 13-3 run.
Ashley keyed the Wildcats’ offense early — 10 points in 10 minutes — and Hollis-Jefferson provided an energy boost after that.
The freshman hit a pullup jumper, tracked down a rebound and throwing a ball off a New Mexico State player to keep a possession alive, then found Aaron Gordon for a reverse layup.
Hollis-Jefferson followed with one of the most spectacular dunks so far this season, throwing down a left-handed tomahawk over Renaldo Dixon that drew a huge “Ohh!” from the McKale Center crowd and earned him a three-point play.
NO. 3 OHIO STATE 86, BRYANT 48
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Lenzelle Smith Jr. scored 19 points and No. 3 Ohio State pulled away early to beat Bryant.
Amir Williams added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Buckeyes (9-0).
It was an early round game in the Blackrock Gotham Classic which will conclude on Dec. 21 with the Buckeyes meeting Notre Dame at Madison Square Garden.
Dyami Starks had 16 points for Bryant (6-5), which was playing its second game in three nights. The Bulldogs lost at Notre Dame, 70-59.
The Bulldogs hung around with the Buckeyes for a while, but then went scoreless over the last 5:25 of the first half and watched the Buckeyes close on an 8-0 run to take a 43-23 lead.
Ohio State then scored the first five points of the second half before Garvin’s layup ended a drought of 6:40.
Smith hit 6 of 9 shots from the field including half of his four three-point attempts. He had eight rebounds and three assists.
NO. 4 WISCONSIN 78, MILWAUKEE 52
MADISON, Wis. — Ben Brust scored 18 points and Frank Kaminsky added 16 as No. 4 Wisconsin remained undefeated with a victory over in-state rival Milwaukee.
Sam Dekker and Traevon Jackson scored 12 points each for Wisconsin (11-0).
Kyle Kelm scored 17 points to lead Milwaukee (9-3), while Matt Tiby added 11.
The Badgers took control in the first half after shaking off some early shooting troubles. Brust kept the Badgers afloat during their struggles, hitting his first six shots, including four from behind the three-point line.