Comeback attempt not enough for No. 24 Arizona men’s basketball vs. Oklahoma

A comeback effort for No. 24 Arizona men’s basketball came up short 82-77 to Oklahoma on Thanksgiving in a Battle 4 Atlantis semifinal game.

After the Wildcats had clawed back into the game, a line of demarcation was drawn with an official review of a shot clock violation with about 90 seconds remaining and Arizona down five.

Within the final segment, Jaden Bradley cut the deficit to three with a pair of free throws, but the Wildcats’ following possession included two 3-point misses and a foul on an Oklahoma rebound to gift free throws and put the game out of reach.

Where Arizona’s offense struggled against Duke (55 points) before breaking through against Davidson on Wednesday (104 points), the Wildcats fought through similar inconsistencies on Thursday, especially early.

Oklahoma coach Porter Moser is known for mucking up offenses and forcing them to slow down, which can work particularly well against an Arizona system that relies on its pace.

Arizona missed 12 of its first 13 shots, including four 3-point attempts. As it slipped to trail by 13, the offense picked back up to hit seven of its final 15 shots in the half, getting within six at the half, close enough for a better second half to potentially make a difference.

With an 8-for-15 start to the second half, the Wildcats got within one score with 10 minutes remaining as Caleb Love made four of his first five looks in the half. However, as quickly as he knocked down four second-half buckets, the Oklahoma shooters knocked down more 3s and Love cooled down.

Oklahoma’s 12 of 29 (41.4%) 3-point numbers provided a clear advantage over Arizona’s 5 of 19 (26.3%) marks, as the Wildcats lost a third time in their last four games.

Valley prep standout keeps Arizona at arm’s length for Oklahoma

Jeremiah Fears is Oklahoma’s marquee freshman and despite reclassifying up to the 2024 class, he has settled in very comfortably to average 22 points and 5.7 assists over the past three games.

He hit two quick 3s on Thursday to help put the Wildcats in the early hole, and he had another lethal run in the second half with four straight buckets (10 points) as the Arizona offense was finding its footing. He also knocked down the final free throws to put Arizona away.

The Illinois native starred for two seasons at AZ Compass Prep in Chandler, where he benefitted from a late growth spurt up to a long 6-foot-4. Where Fears was previously undersized, the skills he gained to work around the disadvantage became all the more useful with the size difference.

Now, he resembles Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a bit, utilizing herky-jerky handles to smoothly get in the paint or separate for perimeter shots.

Should he keep up the production, Fears has a chance to play himself into one-and-done territory.

Arizona gets another crack at it on Friday in its final Battle 4 Atlantis game — and an all-Big 12 affair — against West Virginia at 1 p.m. MST on ESPN2.