Another rush-the-court loss in Tempe

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


Another rush-the-court loss in Tempe.

The sixth-ranked Arizona Wildcats fall 81-78 to Arizona State today at the Wells Fargo Arena and it was mayhem at mid court as the Sun Devils and their fans celebrated the upset win.

Despite 25 points from point guard T.J. McConnell, Arizona struggled getting the ball in the basket, hitting 32 of 71 shots (45 percent), while Arizona State did just enough to get the job done, canning 50 percent from the field (26 of 52).

Another foul-plagued game for the Wildcats as freshman standout Stanley Johnson was whistled for his fourth foul with 11 minutes remaining in the game and spent precious time on the bench. The Wildcats were whistled for 25 fouls, while ASU committed 20 and got away with a bunch more, which were uncalled by the referees.

A typical game at the Wells Fargo Arena.

Arizona falls to 20-3 overall and 8-2 in the Pac-12 and for the third time this season has to stand back and witness the opposing team's fans rush the court. It happened at Oregon State, at Las Vegas and now, the worst of the three -- IN TEMPE.

Johnson finished with 16 points while Rondae Hollis-Jefferson pumped in 14 and Brandon Ashley finished with 13.

The loss just may knock the Wildcats out of the top 10 next week, after 33 weeks of being ranked among the top 10 teams in the country, not to mention the fact,  Arizona's second loss in the Pac-12  could prove costly as their lead in the conference has now vanished -- barring a loss later tonight by Utah at Colorado.