No. 1 Wildcats roll on

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


The No. 1 team in the land struggled a bit at the outset before turning on the after-burners and rolling to an easy 74-48 win over New Mexico State last night at McKale Center.

Monster dunks by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Nick Johnson highlighted the Arizona Wildcats' encounter with the Aggies, a team with a roster which included a 7-5 center. The big front line for the Aggies just weren't quick enough to stay with the Wildcats as Brandon Ashley (15 points, six rebounds), Kaleb Tarczewski (14 points, five boards), Aaron Gordon (11 points, four boards) and Jefferson (12 points, eight boards, three assists) ran around, over and through New Mexico State en route to their 10th win of the season.

T.J. McConnell led the team in assists with six, while Johnson served up four. McConnell added nine points, three rebounds and three steals, while Johnson tallied eight points before fouling out late in the game.

Arizona is just one of two teams in Division 1 sporting a 10-0  record this season. The Wisconsin Badgers have also won their first ten games.

The Wildcats won the rebound battle last night, 38-22, and ended up shooting 51 percent from the field (29 for 56), while holding the Aggies to 48 points. New Mexico State hits only 15 of 46 shots from the field.

Next up: Arizona travels to Michigan for a 10 AM, Saturday morning tip-off.

An early start for the Wildcats. Here's hoping the Wildcats get off to a good start against the Wolverines (6-3). Michigan is 4-0 at home this season, but lost on the road to Duke 79-69 on Dec. 3. Both teams have played Long Beach State this season. Arizona beat Long Beach at home 91-57, while the Wolverines knocked off the 49ers 85-61 in an early-season tourney in Puerto Rico.

B-ball Update: Fourth-ranked Wisconsin improved to 11-0 late last night with an easy 78-52 win over in-state rival Milwaukee.