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The Arizona Wildcats melted another 18 points off a big lead Tuesday, but this time it was somewhat different.
For one thing, they still hung on for an 81-70 win over Baylor at McKale Center, beating their toughest-yet Big 12 opponent to stay undefeated after five games in their new league. They also continued to showcase their ever-improving, multi-skilled big man Henri Veesaar, who threw in 9 of 11 shots while collecting a career-high 19 points.
“He’s a pro,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said.
Jaden Bradley (0) of the Arizona Wildcats goes up for a layup during the first half against the Baylor Bears at McKale Center on January 14, 2025, in Tucson, Arizona.
Also, as opposed to during their 88-80 win over UCF on Saturday, when UA coach Tommy Lloyd complained they made “dumb” mistakes, at least part of the Wildcats’ late-game slumber could be attributed to sheer fatigue: UA outrebounded the normally rugged Bears 21-14 in the first half and held them to just 25.9% shooting before halftime.
Then UA went ahead by up to 27 points early in the second half before, maybe, it was time for a breath or two.
“We kind of let it dwindle,” Lloyd said. “I mean, we didn’t let it get as close as we did (against UCF) last time. But it’s something we’ve got to focus on. I’ve got to figure out, why is that happening? Is it human nature? Is it fatigue? Is it a little bit of selfishness? These are the things I got to figure out.”
Arizona led by 23 at halftime and again with eight minutes left but broke down while Baylor went on a 17-4 run to pull within 69-59 with 3:17 left, prompting a timeout from Arizona.
At that point, Baylor had made seven shots in a row and was hitting 76.2% from the field, before going on to cut UA’s lead to as little as nine points in the final minutes.
“I think it was just pride,” Drew said of the Bears’ late resurgence. “We were embarrassed how we played.”
Baylor, which dropped to 11-5 and 3-2, was playing without key reserves Jalen Celestine and…
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Author : AZCentral | The Arizona Republic
Publish date : 2025-01-15 17:39:00
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