Arizona uses offense to blow out Texas Southern

Published 12:00 am Thursday, March 19, 2015

Arizona did what a No. 2 seed is supposed to do against a No. 15 seed.

The Wildcats put their second- round NCAA Tournament game against Texas Southern out of reach early Thursday at Moda Center, never took their foot off the accelerator and left no doubt in a 93-72 victory.

“Anytime you’re in this tournament, it’s a great moment for your team,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said. “Our offense was efficient. We were difficult for Texas Southern to stop.

“I’m hoping we learned a few things and can move into Saturday and be both the offensive team we were today and the great defensive team we’ve been all season.”

The Wildcats (32-3) will play either No. 7 Virginia Commonwealth or No. 10 Ohio State.

“Now that we’ve advanced, it gets even more difficult,” Miller said.

Arizona led by as many as 27 points and dominated the stat sheet. The Wildcats used their size advantage to bully the Tigers inside, outscoring them 48-30 in the paint. Arizona also made 32 of 53 from the field (.604).

But the Wildcats, normally a terrific defensive team, allowed the Tigers to go 24 of 51 (.471).

Every Arizona starter scored in double figures. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had a game-high 23 points, Stanley Johnson scored 22, Brandon Ashley had 14 points, Kaleb Tarczewski 13 points and T.J. McConnell 12.

“We didn’t play that well on defense,” Hollis-Jefferson said. “But offensively we knew things would fall.”

Arizona immediately obliterated any hope Texas Southern (22-13) might have had of pulling off an upset. The Wildcats opened with a 15-2 run and led by as many as 21 points in the first half, which ended 54-33.

“It’s always positive when you get great starts,” Johnson said. “We got a couple of easy baskets early, and we got inside early. We got the kill, three stops in a row, early in that quarter.”

Arizona shot .690 in the first half.

For the Tigers, Madarious Gibbs finished with a team-high 15 points. Chris Thomas had 13, Deverell Biggs added 10, and Malcom Riley scored eight.

“In the second half, we started making adjustments, and it was a better half for us,” Riley said.

The Wildcats continued dominating in the second half, though, while the Tigers just tried to tread water and make the game as respectable as they could.

“I’m so proud of this basketball team,” Tigers coach Mike Davis said. “We overachieved. (Arizona) just overwhelmed us with length, size. They’re a one seed for sure. It was so difficult for us to adjust to their talent level. But I can’t tell you how proud I am of this basketball team. We’ll be back next year in the tournament.”