No. 13 Arizona races away from Missouri in 88-52 blowout
Dec 13, 2015, 8:47 PM
Arizona head coach Sean Miller talks to Parker Jackson-Cartwright (0) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Missouri, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
TUCSON, Ariz. — Mark Tollefsen scored 17 points, Gabe York added 16 and No. 13 Arizona jumped on Missouri early in an 88-52 rout Sunday.
Arizona (9-1) made easy work of Missouri (5-4), racing out to an 11-point lead in the opening minutes and pushing it to 19 by halftime
Even with 7-foot center Kaleb Tarczewski (foot) out for a fifth straight game, the Wildcats dominated the smaller Tigers inside. Arizona outmuscled Missouri in the paint and had a 44-27 rebounding advantage to win its 44th straight home game, the longest streak in the nation.
Ryan Anderson had 14 points and nine rebounds, Allonzo Trier added 15 points and Arizona shot 56 percent.
Freshmen Kevin Puryear and Terrence Phillips, Missouri’s two leading scores, combined for 11 points on 4-of-19 shooting.
The Tigers spent some unwanted time in Lubbock, Texas, after their plane experienced mechanical issues. Coach Kim Anderson was worried his team wouldn’t get its morning walkthrough, so he held practice in an airport hangar with a makeshift ball and a court marked off on the floor.
It didn’t get much better when Missouri arrived at the McKale Center.
Arizona jumped on the Tigers from the start of a fill-up-the-highlight-reel first half.
Soaring in for dunks and knocking down 3-pointers, the Wildcats raced out to a 15-4 lead in the opening 4 1/2 minutes. Arizona poured it on again with an 11-0 run later in the half, bringing the already-revved-up crowd to its feet when Kadeem Allen turned a steal into an alley-oop to York in transition.
Trier had 12 points by halftime, Anderson 10 and the Wildcats made 17 of 30 shots — on 12 assists — to lead 42-23.
Missouri had nothing but trouble against Arizona’s length. The Tigers had a scoreless span of more than 5 minutes, shot 9 of 29 in the half and were 1 for 9 from 3-point range
It got worse for Missouri in the second half. The Tigers shot 8 for 27 and were 1 of 5 on 3-pointers as Arizona continued to hit shots and stretch the lead.
TIP-INS
Missouri: Phillips had seven points on 2-of-9 shooting. … Puryear made 2 of 10 shots for four points.
Arizona: Junior guard Elliott Pitts missed his second straight game due to what coach Sean Miller said is a personal issue. … The Wildcats have won 30 straight nonconference home games.
UP NEXT
Missouri hosts North Carolina State on Saturday.
Arizona hosts Northern Arizona on Wednesday.
