The Arizona Wildcats used hot three-point shooting and stifling defense to bury Washington State in a blowout win Thursday night. UA found themselves open on the perimeter all evening, and made WSU pay time and time again. The Wildcats finished 15-27 from the three-point line.
The Cougs lost more than just the game as Faisal Aden went to the ground without contact on a fastbreak midway through the first half. Aden injured his knee and it appeared to be serious. It would be surprising if he came back to play at any point the rest of the year. A shame, as he was having the best stretch of basketball in his Cougar career. EDIT: Aden's injury has been diagnosed as a Sprained MCL (per Caple).
Arizona's guards abused their Washington State counterparts on both ends of the floor. On offense they were able to create dribble penetration consistently, forcing help off three-point shooters. On defense they were able to get into the faces of Reggie Moore, DaVonte Lacy, and Aden, forcing them into a number of poor decisions and weak passes.
Kyle Fogg got things rolling for the WIldcats in the first half and finished with 20 points on 8-13 shooting. Solomon Hill finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Brendon Lavender came off the bench to knock down four threes and chip in 14 points.
Brock Motum led WSU with 18 points and 10 rebounds. He did most of his damage at the line, going 10-10 on free throws. Arizona did their best to frustrate Brock and were physical with him all night long. In the end, it worked out pretty well as Motum was just 4-12 from the field and turned the ball over four times.
No other Cougar finished in double figures as the team posted an abysmal 39 eFG%. The Cougs also turned the ball over on 23% of their possessions on the way to just 0.88 points per possession.
WSU will look to try and bounce back against Arizona State on Saturday at 2pm Pacific Time.