Top-ranked Arizona finish non-conference play with 13-0 record

 Arizona Wildcats Basketball

From the desk of Dan Price

The top-ranked Arizona Wildcats finished their non-conference schedule and improved to 13-0 with a 99-71 win over South Dakota State (7-8) tonight at the McKale Center.

Koa Peat, who scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the first half, finished the night with 19 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Wildcats. Six Arizona players scored in double figures, and three players produced double-doubles.

Moe Krivas blocked six shots, scored 13 points, and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Jaden Bradley scored 13 points and dished out 10 assists. Brayden Burries chipped in 14 points, Tobe Awaka scored 10, Ivan Kharchenkov added 12, while Anthony Dell'Orso finished with nine points.

Another balanced attack from Arizona. The Wildcats, as usual, spent a lot of time at the foul line, canning 24 of 31, while grabbing 45 rebounds to just 30 by the Jackrabbits.

And now it's off to Utah on Saturday for the Big 12 opener against the Utes.

#1 Arizona rolls over Bethune-Cookman despite no elbow room for Mo Krivas

 Arizona Wildcats Basketball

The game plan for the opposing team in this one: throw some bodies around or near Arizona's 7-feet-2 Mo Krivas. The referees may whistle some fouls on the Wildcats' giant... and mix in a couple of fragrant fouls due to lack of elbow room, getting Krivas out of the game.

It did work once and maybe twice -- one of the fouls was called a fragrant, the other a common foul, limiting Moe's time on the court tonight at McKale.

In the end, #1 Arizona rolled to an easy 107-71 win over Bethune-Cookman, improving to 12-0. Krivas spent more time on the bench than on the court, with three fouls and 14 points in 18 minutes of work. 

With Krivas resting comfortably, six of his teammates scored in double figures as Brayden Burries led the way with 20 points, hitting 6 of 10 field goal attempts and 3 of 4 from long range. Ivan Kharchenkov added 14 points and five steals, while Dwayne Aristode and Tobe Awaka each had 12. Jaden Bradley and Koa Peat chipped in 11 points apiece.

Arizona led at the half, 49-35, and turned it on in the second half, outscoring Bethune-Cookman, 58-36.

From the desk of Dan Price

Awaka leads #1 Wildcats to 68-45 win over San Diego State

 Arizona Wildcats Basketball

Tobe Awaka made sure the Arizona Wildcats won the rebound battle tonight in Phoenix.

Arizona grabbed 51 rebounds -- 32 on the defensive end of the court and turned a 28-27 score at the break into a 68-45 win over San Diego State, a team that had set its sights on slowing down the top-ranked Wildcats for 40 minutes.

The Aztecs' plan worked in the first half as Arizona hustled off to the locker room with a slim one-point advantage. But then along came Tobe, who finished the game with nine points but, more importantly, collected a game-high 15 rebounds in 22 minutes of work off the bench. Mo Krivis added to the rebound count with 13 of his own as the Wildcats improved to 11-0 on a night which saw Duke fall from the unbeaten ranks.

The pesky Aztecs ended up shooting just 26 percent from the field (15 of 57), while Arizona regrouped from poor shooting in the first half to finish 22 for 58 (37.9 percent). The Wildcats made just six of 25 from long range, and one of those came at the end of the first half from Anthony Dell'Orso, who finished the game with 10 points.

Koa Peat and Jaden Bradley scored 11 points apiece, while Ivan Kharchenkov and Brayden Burries both finished in double figures with 10.

As for #3 Duke, they lost to #19 Texas Tech 82-81 at Madison Square Garden today. 

Way to go, Wildcats!

from the desk of Dan Price

#1 Arizona slams Abilene Christian at McKale, 96-62

 Arizona Wildcats Basketball

Top-ranked Arizona spent a lot of time at the foul line tonight en route to a 96-62 win over Abilene Christian at McKale.

Arizona sank 30 of 39 foul shots on the night in an awful-looking matchup with the visiting Wildcats from Abilene.

With eight minutes to go in the game, Arizona already had six players in double figures, and the reserves up and down the bench were chomping at the bit to get in the game. Brayden Burries led the Arizona scoring with 20 points, Moe Krivas added 15, Ivan Kharchenkov netted 11, while Koa Peat, Jaden Bradley and Tobe Awaka chipped in 10 points apiece.

Arizona improves to 10-0.

Way to go, Wildcats!

Burries leads 2nd-half surge in #1 Wildcats 96-75 win over #12 Alabama

 Arizona Wildcats Basketball

The top-ranked Arizona Wildcats, behind a 28-point shooting, seven-rebound performance from freshman Brayden Burries, buried the Alabama Crimson Tide 96-75 tonight in Birmingham.

The Wildcats traveled across the country to face #12 Alabama and trailed 41-39 at the half, and then posted 57 points in the second half, while holding the Crimson Tide to just 34 points. 

And it wasn't just Burries, who scored 20 of his points in the second half to finish with a career-high in points and rebounds, but in the paint, it was Moe Krivas with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Jaden Bradley has 14 points and seven assists to add to the onslaught, while Anthony Dell'Orso scored 13 points off the bench. Starter Ivan Kharchenkov added 10 points and five steals.

Of course, it was Tobe Awaka doing his thing underneath the bucket with a game-high 15 rebounds and seven points in 23 minutes of action.

All of the above happened with freshman Koa Peat and the senior guard Bradley in foul trouble. Peat played 20 minutes and scored six points.

Arizona (9-0) returns home to face Abilene Christian on Tuesday (Dec. 16).

Way to go, Wildcats!

Arizona reaches Number 1 in AP college basketball poll

 Way to go, Wildcats!

#2 Arizona slams #20 Auburn at McKale, 97-68

Arizona Wildcats Basketball 

from the desk of Dan Price

My Wildcats are rolling!

Arizona took care of business tonight at McKale Center with a 97-68 trashing of #20 Auburn. When the polls come out late Monday, the Wildcats should be No. 1 in the country.

Tonight, in front of a packed house, #2 Arizona scored 60 points in the paint and dismantled Auburn with 18-year-old Koa Peat leading the way with 18 points, four rebounds, and five assists, while Brayden Burries and Jaden Bradley added 16 points apiece as the Wildcats led 44-32 at the half and then enjoyed 30-point leads at times in the second half.

Ivan Kharchenkov scored 12 points and dished out eight assists, and Anthony Dell'Orso chipped in 11 points. Motiejus Krivas played just 24 minutes, grabbed nine boards and scored eight points, while Dwayne Aristode scored eight points in just 13 minutes.

Arizona moves to 8-0 and keeps pace with #3 Michigan and #4 Duke. But this week's No. 1, Purdue, lost by 23 to No. 10 Iowa State, 81-58, as the Boilermakers fell to 8-1. It's very scary at the top, and it may be too early for my Wildcats to be ranked No. 1. But I'll take it!

It has been quite the journey for the University of Arizona over the last few weeks, with both the football team posting a 9-3 record and now bowl-bound, while Tommy Lloyd is all smiles, or should be, with the way his basketball team is performing.

Lloyd would be the first to caution the Arizona fans that it's way too early in the season to be strutting around the Old Pueblo, holding our hands in the air and yelling at the top of our lungs, "We are No. 1!" We are a long way from Big 12 play, and next week we head across the country to face a non-conference foe, Alabama.

Still, I'm a happy camper. Go, Wildcats!

It's time to turn over a new leaf...

 

Amelia, Oh Amelia, you have that eye when you walk along those Colorado highways with that camera of yours -- especially those captured images along the Western Slope.

And you have a knack for getting my juices flowing, so to speak, igniting a thought or two in my head and springing this 80-year-old brain into action.

Lately, that's been a problem. I find myself shying away from my old laptop. It's not that I have writer's block. That has never been a problem. It's more like: do I have anything worthwhile to say, and honestly, does anyone care whether I post my thoughts?

I'll explain my dilemma away and blame it on old age.

But thanks to Amelia, the owner of Priceless Captures Photography by Amelia and the wife of my grandson, Daniel, I'm back for at least a moment.

In Amelia's photo, it's just a lone leaf in the middle of the road. But what if it's the final journey for that wandering leaf? The final sunset. It must be tired, after all, the poor leaf has been around a while. It has bounced around for some time now, joining other leaves from time to time, seemingly at its best when surrounded by other leaves. When they are together, they have a purpose and a direction.

The leaves are powerful in numbers, and the wind doesn't bother them at all, but keeps them alive.

Thanks, Amelia. If I were a leaf, I'd love to be on that highway near you.

Your pictures are my calendar.

Happy holidays to my family.

TOTS Chronicles: In the spotlight -- Dennis Crowley and Spiro Roberts

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60 and over baseball

Honoring two TOTS centerfielders this week who can play the position -- Dennis Crowley, 76, and Spiro Roberts, 69.

Way to go, boys! Well, they aren't boys anymore, but they can cover some ground.

TOTS Chronicles: Cuttler's return

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Gary Cuttler, 70, battled through back surgery in 2023 and is back in the batter's box doing his thing, taking to the pitcher's mound on occasion, while playing a mean first base when called upon.

The New Jersey native joined the TOTS in 2022, and it didn't take long for his new teammates to discover he could play the game. In fact, Cuttler would fast-forward his way to the top of the club's monthly batting statistics.

Unfortunately, the back surgery came calling and has kept Cuttler (photo on the left) from the batter's box regularly... until now.

 Cuttler, who is just weeks away from his 71st Birthday, led the club in November with 15 RBI. He batted .444 with 12 hits in 27 at-bats and played in eight of the 10 games.

Welcome back, Gary!

Dan Gruniesen, the youngest member of the TOTS, led the club in hits in November with 15 (15 for 29), a .517 batting average with 12 RBI, while Jon Beady and Joe Opocensky tied for second in hits with 14 apiece. Beady went 14 for 24, and Opocensky finished 14 for 28. 

John Mathews, still working for a living, played in just five games but batted a blistering .733 with 11 hits in only 15 at-bats. Other top hitters included Randy Livingston and Sam Dean with 13 hits apiece, while Doug Harding and J.B. Bulawin tied with Cuttler in hits with 12.