Different day, same basic result. Just much more lopsided.
10th-ranked Arizona jumped out to an 11-0 lead en route to a 102-44 win over Old Dominion on Saturday afternoon at McKale Center. It was the fifth-largest margin of victory in school history and marked the fourth time the Wildcats have won by 50 or more points under Tommy Lloyd.
The start was reminiscent to Monday’s win over Canisius, which saw the Wildcats score the first 13 points and lead 23-4 before cruising most of the rest of the way. This time, however, the UA (2-0) kept the offensive lulls to a minimum, leading 50-21 at halftime and keeping the Monarchs off the scoreboard for 3-plus minutes to start each half.
Tobe Awaka had his first double-double with the UA, scoring a team-high 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting and adding 15 rebounds. He had eight on the offensive glass as Arizona pulled down 24 offensive boards, most since 2005, and outrebounded the Monarchs (0-2) 50-27.
Carter Bryant had 12 points, Anthony Dell’Orso 11 and both Henri Veesaar and Caleb Love scored 10 as Arizona (2-0) shot 50.7 percent outscored Old Dominion 58-24 in the paint.
Old Dominion didn’t score for almost four minutes to start the game, getting on the scoreboard via a dunk after a steal, but later got as close as 14-9 after making three straight baskets. Arizona then scored 33 of the next 41 points, including a 13-0 run late in the first half that included back-to-back 3s by Love and a putback dunk from KJ Lewis.
The second half began with UA scoring the first six points, holding the Monarchs off the scoreboard for almost four minutes and leading 70-27 with 11:31 left.
The UA is on the road for the first time next Friday at Wisconsin, the back half of a home-and-home with the Badgers. Arizona won the first meeting 98-73 last December in Tucson.
