4. Arizona Wildcats - 8-1
Coming off a big win over Wisconsin, Arizona was the clear No. 1 team in NCAA Basketball. They had the resume to confirm it, with wins over Michigan State and Duke among the opponents. However, since those two teams had struggled a bit, many were waiting on the biggest matchup of the season to date, battling Zach Edey and the Purdue Boilermakers.
In a game with a lot of firepower, Arizona simply wasn't able to keep up. They were down double-digits throughout and gave up 49 pts at the break. Better defense and some clutch shot-making turned it into a one-possession game in the second half but Arizona could never break through, falling 92-84.
Caleb Love did his best to keep the Wildcats in the game, scoring a game-high 29 pts on 9/19 shooting. Keshad Johnson had 24 pts and 8 rebs, while Omuar Ballo held strong against Edey, going for 13 pts and 6 rebs. They did shoot 52% from the field, though Purdue's 54% shooting and 10 made three-pointers proved to be better.
The schedule still doesn't let up for the Wildcats, with two more neutral site battles against top-25 caliber teams. Up first is Alabama on Wednesday, followed by a game versus Florida Atlantic next weekend to round out non-con play.
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