But surprisingly, No. 5 Arizona is still undefeated.
The Wildcats held on late to beat No. 15 UCLA 69-65 at the Intuit Dome on Friday night, moving them to 4-0 on the season with now a second ranked win under their belt. While it’s a good start for a team that has seemingly been stuck in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament under head coach Tommy Lloyd, Peat’s disappearance could be kind of a pretty big problem if it’s not resolved quickly.
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“I knew they were going to load Koa today,” Lloyd said. “You can prepare him for it, but at the same time, one of the things that makes Koa good is how physical and how aggressive he is. I didn’t want to overdo it with him and have him come into the game afraid.”
Peat seemed nearly unstoppable against Florida early in the season. The recruit scored 30 points and was 11 of 18 from the field to help the Wildcats to a convincing victory over the defending national champions in Las Vegas. He made a pair of huge back-to-back dunks to help finish them off in the second half as well and undoubtedly jumped into the conversation among the nation’s top freshmen. Peat backed that up with an 18-point performance in which he also missed a shot in their blowout win over Utah Tech a few nights later.
But the mob has hardly been a factor since then. He was just 3-of-10 from the field with 10 points in their win over Northern Arizona earlier this week, not that it was necessary. That trend got much worse Friday night in Southern California.
The 18-year-old finished with seven points and was just 2 of 5 from the field in the four-point victory. He only had one shot attempt total in the second half and seemed nervous when UCLA targeted him. He was called for a hooking foul while trying to fight for post position early in the second half, which sent him back to the bench. When he returned, 6-foot-3 UCLA guard Skyy Clark expertly forced him to travel as he tried to backtrack in the paint for a quick turnover almost immediately. That led to a 3-pointer on the other end by Tyler Bilodeau, and then a Clark jumper that put UCLA back in front for the first time in the second half.
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Peat picked up his fourth foul with just over eight minutes left in the game when he simply lowered his shoulder and collided with a UCLA player at the top of the key while trying to drive to the hoop. That sent him back to the bench, where he remained the rest of the night.
But while Peat struggled, Arizona’s seniors stood their ground. Anthony Dell’Orso scored 20 points off the bench and hit a huge 3-pointer late to cap a 7-0 run. Jayden Bradley, who scored 15 points and was 6 of 10 from the field, scored one with about 90 seconds left that put them up by two points, and then got a layup that dropped to make it a two-possession game. From there they held on until they won by four points.
The Bruins, who briefly looked capable of stealing the win, missed 10 of their final 13 shots. Tyler Bilodeau led the way with 19 points. Arizona shot 60% from the field in the second half alone.
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“We didn’t execute down the stretch, they did,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “That was the story of the game… I don’t even know how we were winning, to be honest.”
Clearly, Arizona is more than just a team centered around a talented freshman. The wildcats can survive the nights when he disappears. But, as he showed almost two weeks ago, it’s much, much easier when he plays at the level that widely projects him as a lottery pick in just a matter of months.
Sneaking past UCLA is one thing. The Bruins, despite being nationally ranked, have already looked shaky at times this fall. But the Wildcats will have to turn around and face No. 3 UConn, a team with real national championship aspirations, next Wednesday, and do it on the other side of the country, at Gampel Pavilion. The Huskies will almost certainly target Peat just like the Bruins did.
Lloyd, now that it’s happened to him once, is ready to guide Peat through this.
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“I think it’s going to be a great learning experience for him…I can’t wait to get the film for him, for (freshman Braden Burries), and for them to see what adjustments they can make to make the game a little easier for them,” he said.