UMBC @ Arizona preview
McKale Center
Amid a pair of suspensions and the lingering uneasiness over the ongoing FBI investigation into college basketball corruption, No. 5 Arizona tipped off the season Friday with a 101-67 win over Northern Arizona. Game 2 of the Wildcats’ season-opening three-game homestand continues Sunday when they host UMBC.
Already short-handed due to injuries, Arizona announced prior to Friday’s game that assistant Mark Phelps had been suspended for five days, but added that the discipline is unrelated to the FBI probe. Also, the Wildcats announced that senior forward Joshua Pinder would serve a one-game suspension during the contest, leaving Arizona with only eight scholarship players. In the end, it mattered little on the court as junior guard Allonzo Trier poured in a career-high 32 points and highly-touted freshman Deandre Ayton debuted with 19 points and 12 rebounds. “It’s always great to start off with a win,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said in his post-game news conference while refusing to elaborate on the ongoing investigation and/or in-house disciplinary matters. “At this time of year, there are so many things that teams need to work out, and there were a number of things we need to get better at moving forward.”
TV: 6 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network
ABOUT UMBC (0-1): The Retrievers, the 2017 America East regular-season champions, showed well in their season debut Friday, outscoring SMU in the first half and still leading 63-61 with a little more than five minutes remaining before the host Mustangs pulled away for a 78-67 win and their 23rd straight home victory. Senior guard Jarius Lyles and sophomore forward Arkel Lamar led the way, combining for 47 points, 15 rebounds and six assists. UMBC, though, was without a trio of players, including senior guard K.J. Maura, who is suspended for the first three games due to a violation of team rules.
ABOUT ARIZONA (1-0): Trier picked right up after winning Most Outstanding Player honors in the Pac-12 Tournament, scoring 22 in the first half and finishing 10-of-13 from the field and 10-of-11 from the free-throw line while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out four assists. The 7-foot-1 Ayton, meanwhile, looks to be everything as advertised as a consensus top-five freshman, hitting 6-of-11 shots, 7-of-8 free throws and adding a trio of blocked shots in 30 minutes of action Friday. Arizona’s other 7-footer, senior Dusan Ristic, was the only other Wildcat in double figures (20 points, 10 rebounds) as they shot 59.6 percent from the field as a team and enjoyed a 43-23 rebound advantage.
TIP-INS
1. The game will serve as the first meeting between the schools.
2. Arizona also was missing starting G Rawle Alkins (broken foot) and reserves Brandon Randolph (concussion) and Dylan Smith (one-game suspension), and the lack of depth was evident Friday as the Wildcats’ bench was outscored 30-18 by Northern Arizona’s reserves.
3. Arizona concludes its three-game, season-opening homestand Thursday by hosting Cal State Bakersfield and then heads to the Bahamas to play in the Battle 4 Atlantis on Thanksgiving weekend.
PREDICTION: Arizona 94, UMBC 70