Gordon powers Wildcats blowout
Freshman scores 23 as UA jumps to large early lead and cruises
BOULDER, Colo. — For a team that built its reputation on stifling defense, fourth-ranked Arizona sure showed some offensive prowess Saturday night.
The Wildcats routed the Buffaloes 88-61 for their first win in Boulder since 1973.
They did it by holding Colorado without a bucket until 9:50 remained in the first half, then by shooting 84.6 percent in the second half.
“They whipped us tonight every which way you can whip a team,” Colorado coach Tad Boyle said.
Freshman Aaron Gordon shook off a poor performance at Utah last week by scoring 21 of his seasonbest 23 points in the second half and Nick Johnson added 20 points for the Wildcats, who made 22 of 26 shots after halftime.
“We’ve had a few shootarounds here, we felt comfortable in their gym; it all just clicked for us,” Johnson said.
It was a rare breather for the Wildcats (25-2, 12-2 Pac-12), who scrapped their way through a series of close games since beating Colorado by 12 in Tempe on Jan. 23, before close losses at Cal and archrival Arizona State dropped them from the top spot in the AP Top 25.
After that first game in Tempe, Buffaloes forward Xavier Johnson dissed the ‘Cats, saying, “They’re not that good.” He also said that even without injured star Spencer Dinwiddie, the Buffaloes were the more talented team and he suggested the rematch in Boulder would be a blowout.
He was right, but it was the Wildcats who made this one a laugher, not the Buffaloes, who were throttled by Arizona’s suffocating defense and their hot shooting hands.
“I don’t think you have any of our players saying anything negative about Colorado, saying, ‘We’re going to win by 20,’” Arizona coach Sean Miller said. “We don’t do that. For us, we have to play the right way. We have to compete hard. And certainly we respect Colorado.”
Coming off an emotionally drain- ing win over the Sun Devils on Wednesday night that burnished their NCAA Tournament credentials, the Buffaloes (20-8, 9-6) came out ice cold, missing their first 14 shots.
They trailed 22-5 before Jaron Hopkins sank a 3-pointer from the left side 10:10 into the game.
That sparked a 16-4 run by Colorado — with seven points coming from the free-throw line — to make it 26-21 and force an Arizona timeout.
The Wildcats settled down thanks to a baseline drive by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and a pull-up jumper by T.J. McConnell.
The only field goal by a Buffa- loes starter before halftime came on Askia Booker’s jumper with two seconds left in the first half.
After a horrendous start, however, the Buffaloes clawed their way back before Gordon sank three straight layups and Johnson’s jumpers helped the Wildcats pull away.