Arizona Wildcats head coach Sean Miller looks for a foul call from official Kevin Brill to end the first half.
By Justin Spears / Arizona Daily Star
Every second of Saturday night's game between No. 17 Arizona and No. 3 Arizona State lived up to the hype. What's better than a Top 20 matchup to start the Pac-12 slate and "Guard U" matching up against the behemoth 7-foot-1 Deandre Ayton?
From start-to-finish, Ayton produced for the Wildcats and he had to considering Allonzo Trier, Rawle Alkins and Parker Jackson-Cartwright had their hands full with ASU's guard play all night.
Trier struggled to get his jump shot flowing in the first half, starting the game shooting 0 of 6 from field.
Ayton received a technical foul with 9:38 left to play in the first half after a shooting foul was called on ASU's Vitaliy Shibel. The McKale Center video board showed the replay several times and fans were confused as to why the officials made the call. And so was Sean Miller.
It didn't matter. Ayton continued to show dominance on the low block while Trier eventually found his groove in the second half. Ayton finished the night with 23 points and 19 rebounds while Trier finished with 23 points, 4 assists and zero turnovers as the Wildcats dodge ASU 84-78. The Sun Devils received their first loss of the season and the Wildcats begin conference play on the right note.
Miller, Ayton and Trier spoke at the postgame press conference, here's what they had to say.
