Utah’s attempt to sweep Arizona for the first time since 1978 fell woefully short Thursday night as the No. 8 Wildcats routed the Utes 88-62 at McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona, in the battle for second place in the Pac-12.
Arizona took a 43-31 halftime lead and was only briefly threatened in the second half before taking the win after having lost to the Utes 81-66 on Dec. 1 in Salt Lake City.
Arizona improved to 23-4 overall, 12-4 in Pac-12 play. The Utes fell to 17-10 and 10-6.
Here are 3 keys to Utah’s 88-62 loss to Arizona:
• Branden Carlson led the way for Utah with 19 points, after scoring 22 in the win in Salt Lake City, but the Utes shot 32% percent from the field and were never really in the game after the first media timeout.
• Freshman Wilguens Exacte gave the Utes a lift off the bench in the second half and finished with 10 points, his most since the second game of the season. Marco Anthony added 12 points but no other Utes were in double figures.
• Pac-12 Player of the Year candidate Azuolas Tubelis was saddled by foul trouble and didn’t score in the first half, but finished with 11 points for the No. 8-ranked Wildcats, who shot 57% from the field.