Arizona head coach Sean Miller has a chat with his players, including Arizona forward Deandre Ayton (13) during a second half huddle against Alabama at McKale Center, Saturday, December 9, 2017, Tucson, Ariz.
By Justin Spears / Arizona Daily Star
You know what they always say, basketball is a game of ups and downs. Arizona's contest against Alabama was one helluva roller coaster in terms of tempo and both teams controlling the pace.
In the first half, the Wildcats jumped out to a 11-point lead after Rawle Alkins' first free throw and point of the season. Alkins returned to the rotation after missing 10 weeks with a broken foot injury and received a huge ovation when he checked in, three minutes into the game.
Even Alkins' return couldn't stop the Crimson Tide from making things interesting down the stretch. Alabama went on a 7-0 run to end the first half including a buzzer-beater three-pointer from freshman point guard Collin Sexton to take a 40-38 lead.
Second half was no different. Arizona found a spark and teeter-tottered between a two- to three-point lead and it came down to whichever team would either stop making buckets or turned the ball over. After eight ties and seven lead changes, the Cats were the ones that came out on top in the end, 88-82.
Deandre Ayton finished with a career-high 29 points and 18 rebounds while Allonzo Trier finished with 25 points on 4 of 6 shooting from the field along with 14 of 16 from the free throw line.
However, Sean Miller still isn't pleased with the defensive effort and believes Arizona has ways to go before hitting its stride, but Alkins back in the mix means all of the rotation players are in order. And that's the silver lining for the Cats at this point.
Miller, Ayton and Trier spoke in the postgame press conference, hear what they had to say:
