Randolph leads Wildcats to season-opening win
TUCSON – Arizona was shaky with the ball early, had trouble getting shots to fall from the perimeter. With a roster full of new players and old players in new roles, it was kind of expected.
Once the Wildcats got rolling, Houston Baptist really had no chance.
Brandon Randolph scored 25 points, Brandon Williams added 13 and Arizona opened a transitional season with a 9060 win over Houston Baptist Wednesday night.
“We didn’t have a great deal of confidence, which that’s kind of who we are right now,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said of the first half. “We’re a bunch of guys who haven’t played together and our hope is as we continue to work in practice, those experiences will help us improve.”
The new-look Wildcats had a slew of turnovers in the first half as they fought first-game jitters, but shook those out at halftime to quickly turn a nine-point lead into a rout with 57 second-half points.
The perimeter shots weren’t falling most of the night – 6 for 22 from the 3point line – but the defense was good all night, allowing Arizona to extend its nonconference home winning streak to 48 straight games.
Chase Jeter had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats.
“I thought we were a little nervous and they came out to play,” Randolph said. “We just had to settle down.”
Houston Baptist figured to have a hard time playing a Power Five program in one of college basketball’s toughest road environments and was put at a further disadvantage with 6-foot-11 senior center Josh Ibarra unable to play due to a leg injury.
The Huskies held up OK inside, but struggled from the perimeter, going 5 for 21 from the 3-point arc while shooting 32 percent overall.
Jalon Gates led Houston Baptist with 12 points.
“When you’re shooting over 6-7, 6-8 guys at times, you’re not getting in a comfort zone of shooting the ball,” Huskies coach Ron Cottrell said. “It was more about who was on the floor for them than who was in the stands.”
Arizona entered a season unranked for the first time since 2010 after a major roster overhaul.