The No. 2 Arizona Wildcats can now call themselves conference champions after defeating the No. 6 Iowa State Cyclones 73-57, their 32nd conference championship and first in the Big 12.
It was Senior Night at McKale Center at ALKEME Arena and five Wildcats were honored before the start of the game. Anthony DellOrso, Jaden Bradley, Tobe Awaka, Evan Nelson and Jackson Francois were all recognized for their contributions to the team throughout their careers.
The Wildcats came into Monday's high-stakes matchup with the opportunity to clinch the outright Big 12 title and the Wildcats seemed to be unstoppable given the chance to raise the trophy in front of their home crowd.
Arizona also forced the Iowa State offense to shoot less than 30% (29%) from the field for the first time this season. Bradley, the leader of the Wildcats led in points with 17, going 9-for-10 from the free throw line.
Motiejus Krivas was seond in scoring with 13 points and Brayden Burries was third with 11. Tobe Awaka led the team in rebounds with 15 to go along with 10 points scored.
First half
A physical, back and forth game from the moment it started as both teams forced the other to take tough shots. Arizona was able to take a 10-8 lead after Dwayne Aristode came off the bench and nailed a 3-point shot at the corner of the floor.
That was the start of a 7-0 run, as Bradley knocked down both free throws and Dell'Orso's jump shot went in after the Cyclone's turned the ball over.
The Wildcats then took a 18-12 lead following Bradley's made jump shot in the paint. Despite the surge in energy, Arizona hadn't been able to pass the six point lead until it got closer to the end of the half.
With jut under two minutes remaining, the Wildcats went on an 8-0 run to close out the half with a 37-25 lead on the Cyclones. That run was started by Dell'Orso's 3-point shot. Awaka scored the final basket of that run with a second chance layup.
Second half
Arizona continued to build off the big led it took towards the end of the first half and began rolling in the second. The Wildcats took a 43-27 lead with 16 minutes to go after Bradley's layup went through the basket. The leader of the team had an electric first half, scoring 12 points.
Eventually, it was the Cyclones who would go on a scoring run of their own, going on a 10-1 run to make it a 44-37 game with 13 minutes left to play. The Wildcats then went on a 10-2 scoring streak to make it a 54-39 game with nine minutes left.
Arizona eventually eclipsed the 20-point lead mark after Dell'Orso's 3-point shot in the corner was nailed, making it a 71-50 game with just over two minutes remaining. The Wildcats then cruised towards their 73-54 victory, a dominating performance for the final game in front of the McKale faithful.