Arizona and Utah entered their Saturday night showdown with the Pac-12 regular season championship hanging in the balance. Only two games remained for each team before the start of the conference tournament, with Arizona holding a one-game lead thanks to a victory over Utah in Tucson last month. On Saturday, Utah had the Wildcats on their own home floor but the result wasn’t any different.
Arizona vs. Utah final score: Wildcats clinch at least a share of Pac-12 title with road win
It wasn’t pretty, but Arizona earned a tough road win on Saturday.
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Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
After a frantic final two minutes, Arizona pulled away for a 63-57 victory. The game got tense at the end when Utah’s Brandon Taylor hit a pull-up three-pointer to give the Utes a one-point lead with about 1:55 remaining. On the next possession, Arizona’s Gabe York was fouled. He made the first free throw and missed the second, but rebounded the shot and put it back in to give the Wildcats a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson iced the game with free throws at the end.
It was not a pretty game. Both teams were shooting under 30 percent from the floor well into the second half. Arizona star freshman Stanley Johnson struggled throughout, finishing with 12 points and eight rebounds but shooting only 3-of-19 from the field. Utah only shot 30.9 percent from the floor on the night.
Four Arizona scorers finished in double-figures, led by 13 points from Kaleb Tarczewski. He also did this:
Delon Wright was great for Utah in the loss. The senior only shot 3-of-10 from the floor but still finished with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Arizona now has a two-game lead in the conference. The Wildcats still face against Cal and Stanford, both at home. Utah faces Washington State and Washington, both on the road.
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