WISC

ARIZ

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No. 1 Arizona looks comfortable in top spot, rolls past No. 23 Wisconsin 98-73

AP
Dec 10, 2023

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) Pelle Larsson nailed his third 3-pointer of the first half, Caleb Love followed with a steal and a thunderous fastbreak slam, then Oumar Ballo capped the spectacular stretch with an alley-oop dunk.

The outburst took a scant 55 seconds. Top-ranked Arizona can flip a game in a hurry.

Larsson scored a career-high 21 points, Love added 20, and the No. 1 Wildcats rolled to a 98-73 win over No. 23 Wisconsin on Saturday.

“We kept our energy,” Larsson said. “I feel like when you play us, you've got to have your energy the whole game. As soon as you relax, we're going to keep going.”

The Wildcats - playing as the top team in the country for the first time in nine years - looked comfortable in their new role, using a 25-8 run to end the first half and take a 17-point halftime lead.

“It felt like 50-2,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said.

Larsson finished 6 of 6 shooting from the field, including 4 of 4 on 3-pointers. The Wildcats (8-0) shot 58% from the field.

It was tight game for the first 10 minutes, and the score was tied at 23-all with 8:50 left in the first half before a stretch of overwhelming offense from the Wildcats gave them a 48-31 advantage at the break.

“The snowball happened, it kept getting bigger and bigger, and it was hard for us to get it under control,” Gard said. “We'll learn a lot from this as we go through the tape. I didn't think we were as good defensively as we have been, but that's in large part due to Arizona.”

The Badgers (7-3) came into the game on a six-game winning streak, including a win over then-No. 3 Marquette.

John Blackwell led Wisconsin with 17 points. Steven Crowl added 11 points and AJ Storr had 10.

Arizona hasn’t been No. 1 in the AP Top 25 since an eight-week stint that ended in January 2014 under former coach Sean Miller. Current coach Tommy Lloyd is in his third season after a long run as an assistant at Gonzaga, and his first two teams each spent multiple weeks inside the top five.

It was Arizona's biggest margin of victory against a nationally ranked opponent since beating Western Kentucky by 39 in 2002.

“Our guys were pretty locked in, focused and made it really tough on them,” Lloyd said. “All in all, really happy with our performance.”

BIG PICTURE

Wisconsin: The Badgers hung with the Wildcats for a little while, but simply ran into a buzzsaw. Wisconsin should learn from the hostile road environment and there's no reason it can't be a significant factor in the Big Ten race.

Arizona: Lloyd said last week that his team needed to embrace the high expectations of being a No. 1 team. Mission accomplished. The Badgers gave the Wildcats some fight early, but Arizona's late first-half run is a sign that this could be a team that stays in the top spot for a while. A big game awaits against Purdue next weekend.

UP NEXT

Wisconsin: Host Jacksonville State on Thursday.

Arizona: Faces No. 4 Purdue next Saturday in Indianapolis.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

1st Half
WISC
Badgers
31
ARIZ
Wildcats
48

Time		Play	Score
20:00		Steven Crowl vs. Oumar Ballo (Oumar Ballo gains possession)
19:44		Keshad Johnson misses two point jump shot
19:42		Tyler Wahl defensive rebound
19:21	+2	Steven Crowl makes two point hook shot	2-0
19:10	+2	Keshad Johnson makes two point layup (Oumar Ballo assists)	2-2
18:54		Chucky Hepburn turnover (bad pass) (Caleb Love steals)
18:48		Max Klesmit shooting foul (Caleb Love draws the foul)
18:48	+1	Caleb Love makes regular free throw 1 of 2	2-3
18:48		Caleb Love misses regular free throw 2 of 2
18:48		Oumar Ballo offensive rebound
18:44	+3	Pelle Larsson makes three point jump shot (Kylan Boswell assists)	2-6
18:28		Steven Crowl turnover (bad pass) (Keshad Johnson steals)
18:16	+2	Keshad Johnson makes two point layup (Kylan Boswell assists)	2-8
17:49		Steven Crowl misses two point layup
17:47		Keshad Johnson defensive rebound
17:36		Kylan Boswell misses two point jump shot
17:34		Chucky Hepburn defensive rebound
17:27	+2	AJ Storr makes two point layup (Chucky Hepburn assists)	4-8
17:27		Pelle Larsson shooting foul (AJ Storr draws the foul)
17:27	+1	AJ Storr makes regular free throw 1 of 1	5-8
17:15		Caleb Love misses three point jump shot
17:13		Badgers defensive rebound
17:00		Chucky Hepburn misses two point jump shot
16:58		Tyler Wahl offensive rebound
16:53	+2	Tyler Wahl makes two point layup	7-8
16:42		Keshad Johnson misses three point jump shot
16:40		Tyler Wahl defensive rebound
16:31	+2	Chucky Hepburn makes two point layup	9-8
16:16	+3	Pelle Larsson makes three point jump shot (Caleb Love assists)	9-11
16:01		Tyler Wahl misses three point jump shot
15:59		Caleb Love defensive rebound
15:51		Kylan Boswell misses three point jump shot
15:49		Chucky Hepburn defensive rebound
15:42	+2	AJ Storr makes two point jump shot	11-11
15:24		Caleb Love misses three point jump shot
15:22		Badgers defensive rebound
15:20		TV timeout
15:10		Steven Crowl misses three point jump shot
15:08		Wildcats defensive rebound
15:04		Carter Gilmore personal foul
14:53	+2	Motiejus Krivas makes two point layup (Caleb Love assists)	11-13
14:36		AJ Storr misses two point jump shot
14:35		Caleb Love defensive rebound
14:35		John Blackwell personal foul
14:30		Motiejus Krivas offensive foul
14:30		Motiejus Krivas turnover (offensive foul)
14:18		Motiejus Krivas blocks Steven Crowl's two point layup
14:16		Pelle Larsson defensive rebound
14:09	+2	Caleb Love makes two point layup (Kylan Boswell assists)	11-15
13:51		KJ Lewis personal foul (John Blackwell draws the foul)
13:46		Caleb Love personal foul (Steven Crowl draws the foul)
13:31	+2	Max Klesmit makes two point jump shot	13-15
13:14		Connor Essegian shooting foul (KJ Lewis draws the foul)
13:14		KJ Lewis misses regular free throw 1 of 2
13:14	+1	KJ Lewis makes regular free throw 2 of 2	13-16
12:54		Tyler Wahl misses two point layup
12:52		Pelle Larsson defensive rebound
12:39		Jaden Bradley misses two point jump shot
12:37		John Blackwell defensive rebound
12:21		Max Klesmit misses two point jump shot
12:19		Motiejus Krivas defensive rebound
12:11	+2	Kylan Boswell makes two point jump shot	13-18
11:55		KJ Lewis blocks John Blackwell's two point jump shot
11:52		Badgers offensive rebound
11:52		Pelle Larsson personal foul (Tyler Wahl draws the foul)
11:52		TV timeout
11:36	+3	John Blackwell makes three point jump shot (Chucky Hepburn assists)	16-18
11:10	+3	Kylan Boswell makes three point jump shot (Keshad Johnson assists)	16-21
10:48		Motiejus Krivas personal foul (Steven Crowl draws the foul)
10:40	+3	John Blackwell makes three point jump shot (Chucky Hepburn assists)	19-21
10:29		Kylan Boswell offensive foul (Chucky Hepburn draws the foul)
10:29		Kylan Boswell turnover (offensive foul)
10:22		Chucky Hepburn misses two point jump shot
10:20		Keshad Johnson defensive rebound
10:12		KJ Lewis misses three point jump shot
10:10		Tyler Wahl defensive rebound
9:51	+2	Tyler Wahl makes two point layup	21-21
9:41	+2	Oumar Ballo makes two point layup (Keshad Johnson assists)	21-23
9:19		AJ Storr misses two point jump shot
9:17		Oumar Ballo defensive rebound
9:10		Kylan Boswell turnover (bad pass)
8:50	+2	Carter Gilmore makes two point jump shot	23-23
8:31	+3	Jaden Bradley makes three point jump shot (Oumar Ballo assists)	23-26
8:12		Max Klesmit turnover (bad pass)
7:55		Kylan Boswell misses three point jump shot
7:53		Nolan Winter defensive rebound
7:40		Connor Essegian misses three point jump shot
7:39		Wildcats defensive rebound
7:39		TV timeout
7:21		Keshad Johnson turnover (bad pass) (Carter Gilmore steals)
6:55		Carter Gilmore misses three point jump shot
6:53		Oumar Ballo defensive rebound
6:43	+2	Oumar Ballo makes two point hook shot (Pelle Larsson assists)	23-28
6:18		Max Klesmit misses two point jump shot
6:16		Keshad Johnson defensive rebound
6:05	+3	Caleb Love makes three point jump shot (Keshad Johnson assists)	23-31
6:03		Badgers 30 second timeout
5:54		Keshad Johnson personal foul (Tyler Wahl draws the foul)
5:54	+1	Tyler Wahl makes regular free throw 1 of 2	24-31
5:54	+1	Tyler Wahl makes regular free throw 2 of 2	25-31
5:42	+3	Pelle Larsson makes three point jump shot (Caleb Love assists)	25-34
5:27		Max Klesmit turnover (lost ball) (Caleb Love steals)
5:21	+2	Caleb Love makes two point dunk	25-36
4:57		John Blackwell misses two point jump shot
4:55		Oumar Ballo defensive rebound
4:48	+2	Oumar Ballo makes two point alley-oop dunk (Caleb Love assists)	25-38
4:24		Tyler Wahl turnover (traveling)
4:15		Keshad Johnson misses three point jump shot
4:13		Wildcats offensive rebound
4:07		Steven Crowl personal foul (Oumar Ballo draws the foul)
4:01	+3	Caleb Love makes three point jump shot (Kylan Boswell assists)	25-41
3:45		Keshad Johnson personal foul (Tyler Wahl draws the foul)
3:45		TV timeout
3:45		Tyler Wahl misses regular free throw 1 of 1
3:45		Caleb Love defensive rebound
3:30	+2	Oumar Ballo makes two point layup (Pelle Larsson assists)	25-43
3:12		Steven Crowl turnover (traveling)
3:02		Kylan Boswell misses two point jump shot
3:00		Chucky Hepburn defensive rebound
2:44		John Blackwell misses two point jump shot
2:42		Oumar Ballo defensive rebound
2:30		Caleb Love misses three point jump shot
2:28		John Blackwell defensive rebound
2:23	+3	Max Klesmit makes three point jump shot (John Blackwell assists)	28-43
2:07		Paulius Murauskas misses three point jump shot
2:05		Steven Crowl defensive rebound
1:49		Oumar Ballo blocks Tyler Wahl's two point layup
1:47		Caleb Love defensive rebound
1:42		Chucky Hepburn shooting foul (Pelle Larsson draws the foul)
1:42	+1	Pelle Larsson makes regular free throw 1 of 2	28-44
1:42	+1	Pelle Larsson makes regular free throw 2 of 2	28-45
1:31		Connor Essegian misses two point jump shot
1:29		KJ Lewis defensive rebound
1:11		Caleb Love misses two point layup
1:09		Badgers defensive rebound
0:57		AJ Storr misses two point jump shot
0:55		Caleb Love defensive rebound
0:42		Caleb Love turnover (lost ball) (Chucky Hepburn steals)
0:38		KJ Lewis shooting foul (AJ Storr draws the foul)
0:38	+1	AJ Storr makes regular free throw 1 of 2	29-45
0:38		AJ Storr misses regular free throw 2 of 2
0:38		Oumar Ballo defensive rebound
0:24		Jaden Bradley turnover (bad pass) (AJ Storr steals)
0:15	+2	AJ Storr makes two point layup	31-45
0:03	+3	Kylan Boswell makes three point jump shot	31-48
0:00		End of period

2nd Half
WISC
Badgers
42
ARIZ
Wildcats
50

Time		Play	Score
19:37		Steven Crowl misses two point hook shot
19:35		Keshad Johnson defensive rebound
19:29	+2	Caleb Love makes two point jump shot	31-50
19:05		AJ Storr misses two point layup
19:03		Steven Crowl offensive rebound
18:59	+2	Steven Crowl makes two point layup	33-50
18:46		Caleb Love misses three point jump shot
18:44		Chucky Hepburn defensive rebound
18:30		AJ Storr misses two point jump shot
18:28		Pelle Larsson defensive rebound
18:20		Kylan Boswell misses two point jump shot
18:18		Chucky Hepburn defensive rebound
18:07	+2	Steven Crowl makes two point hook shot	35-50
17:43		Oumar Ballo misses two point hook shot
17:41		Badgers defensive rebound
17:24		Oumar Ballo blocks AJ Storr's two point layup
17:22		Keshad Johnson defensive rebound
17:14	+3	Caleb Love makes three point jump shot (Pelle Larsson assists)	35-53
16:51		Tyler Wahl misses two point hook shot
16:49		Caleb Love defensive rebound
16:38		Tyler Wahl shooting foul (Pelle Larsson draws the foul)
16:38	+1	Pelle Larsson makes regular free throw 1 of 2	35-54
16:38		Pelle Larsson misses regular free throw 2 of 2
16:38		Tyler Wahl defensive rebound
16:07		Tyler Wahl misses two point layup
16:05		Oumar Ballo defensive rebound
15:55		Tyler Wahl shooting foul (Oumar Ballo draws the foul)
15:55		TV timeout
15:55	+1	Oumar Ballo makes regular free throw 1 of 2	35-55
15:55		Oumar Ballo misses regular free throw 2 of 2
15:55		Keshad Johnson offensive rebound
15:54	+2	Keshad Johnson makes two point dunk	35-57
15:45	+3	Nolan Winter makes three point jump shot (Chucky Hepburn assists)	38-57
15:23	+2	Oumar Ballo makes two point dunk (Keshad Johnson assists)	38-59
14:57		Nolan Winter misses three point jump shot
14:55		Badgers offensive rebound
14:55		Oumar Ballo personal foul
14:55		Badgers 30 second timeout
14:55		TV timeout
14:41	+3	Chucky Hepburn makes three point jump shot	41-59
14:22		Keshad Johnson misses three point jump shot
14:20		John Blackwell defensive rebound
14:20		Motiejus Krivas personal foul (Nolan Winter draws the foul)
14:03		Chucky Hepburn misses two point jump shot
14:01		Motiejus Krivas defensive rebound
14:00		Carter Gilmore personal foul (Motiejus Krivas draws the foul)
13:41	+2	Kylan Boswell makes two point jump shot	41-61
13:22	+2	John Blackwell makes two point layup	43-61
13:11	+2	Keshad Johnson makes two point layup	43-63
12:53		Motiejus Krivas blocks John Blackwell's two point layup
12:51		John Blackwell offensive rebound
12:39	+2	Carter Gilmore makes two point layup	45-63
12:32	+3	Keshad Johnson makes three point jump shot	45-66
12:27		Kylan Boswell personal foul
12:16		Markus Ilver misses three point jump shot
12:14		Kylan Boswell defensive rebound
12:09	+2	Pelle Larsson makes two point layup (Kylan Boswell assists)	45-68
12:09		Nolan Winter shooting foul (Pelle Larsson draws the foul)
12:09		Pelle Larsson misses regular free throw 1 of 1
12:09		John Blackwell defensive rebound
11:42	+3	Markus Ilver makes three point jump shot (John Blackwell assists)	48-68
11:25		KJ Lewis misses three point jump shot
11:23		John Blackwell defensive rebound
11:17		Jaden Bradley shooting foul (John Blackwell draws the foul)
11:17		TV timeout
11:17	+1	John Blackwell makes regular free throw 1 of 2	49-68
11:17		John Blackwell misses regular free throw 2 of 2
11:17		Oumar Ballo defensive rebound
11:03		Markus Ilver shooting foul (Pelle Larsson draws the foul)
11:03		Pelle Larsson misses regular free throw 1 of 2
11:03	+1	Pelle Larsson makes regular free throw 2 of 2	49-69
10:45		Steven Crowl turnover (lost ball) (Oumar Ballo steals)
10:31	+2	Pelle Larsson makes two point layup (Kylan Boswell assists)	49-71
10:15		Markus Ilver misses three point jump shot
10:13		Jaden Bradley defensive rebound
10:07		Kylan Boswell misses three point jump shot
10:05		Chucky Hepburn defensive rebound
9:55		Chucky Hepburn misses two point layup
9:53		Markus Ilver offensive rebound
9:49	+2	Markus Ilver makes two point tip layup	51-71
9:34	+2	KJ Lewis makes two point dunk (Kylan Boswell assists)	51-73
9:25	+2	AJ Storr makes two point layup (Chucky Hepburn assists)	53-73
9:09	+2	KJ Lewis makes two point layup (Kylan Boswell assists)	53-75
8:55	+3	Steven Crowl makes three point jump shot (Chucky Hepburn assists)	56-75
8:39	+2	Oumar Ballo makes two point alley-oop dunk (Pelle Larsson assists)	56-77
8:13		Markus Ilver turnover (lost ball) (Oumar Ballo steals)
8:07	+2	Caleb Love makes two point layup	56-79
7:43	+2	Tyler Wahl makes two point layup (Nolan Winter assists)	58-79
7:30		TV timeout
7:13		Jaden Bradley misses two point jump shot
7:11		John Blackwell defensive rebound
6:56		Tyler Wahl misses two point layup
6:54		Pelle Larsson defensive rebound
6:52		Max Klesmit shooting foul (KJ Lewis draws the foul)
6:52	+1	KJ Lewis makes regular free throw 1 of 2	58-80
6:52	+1	KJ Lewis makes regular free throw 2 of 2	58-81
6:36		John Blackwell misses two point layup
6:34		Oumar Ballo defensive rebound
6:29		Nolan Winter shooting foul (Pelle Larsson draws the foul)
6:29		Pelle Larsson misses regular free throw 1 of 2
6:29	+1	Pelle Larsson makes regular free throw 2 of 2	58-82
6:10	+2	Steven Crowl makes two point alley-oop dunk (Max Klesmit assists)	60-82
6:02		Oumar Ballo offensive foul
6:02		Oumar Ballo turnover (offensive foul)
5:44		AJ Storr misses two point jump shot
5:42		AJ Storr offensive rebound
5:36		Chucky Hepburn misses three point jump shot
5:34		Keshad Johnson defensive rebound
5:27	+3	Pelle Larsson makes three point jump shot (Kylan Boswell assists)	60-85
5:19		Caleb Love personal foul
5:06	+2	Chucky Hepburn makes two point jump shot (Tyler Wahl assists)	62-85
4:45	+2	Oumar Ballo makes two point dunk (Caleb Love assists)	62-87
4:26		Oumar Ballo blocks AJ Storr's two point layup
4:24		Caleb Love defensive rebound
4:18		Tyler Wahl personal foul (Caleb Love draws the foul)
4:18	+1	Caleb Love makes regular free throw 1 of 2	62-88
4:18	+1	Caleb Love makes regular free throw 2 of 2	62-89
4:00		AJ Storr misses two point jump shot
3:58		Keshad Johnson defensive rebound
3:57		Caleb Love misses three point jump shot
3:57		Keshad Johnson offensive rebound
3:56		Keshad Johnson misses two point layup
3:54		Badgers defensive rebound
3:54		TV timeout
3:43		Chucky Hepburn misses two point jump shot
3:41		Motiejus Krivas defensive rebound
3:27		Chucky Hepburn personal foul (Motiejus Krivas draws the foul)
3:27		Motiejus Krivas misses regular free throw 1 of 1
3:27		Wildcats offensive rebound
3:25		Tyler Wahl personal foul (Filip Borovicanin draws the foul)
3:25		Filip Borovicanin misses regular free throw 1 of 2
3:25	+1	Filip Borovicanin makes regular free throw 2 of 2	62-90
3:15		Max Klesmit misses three point jump shot
3:12		Wildcats defensive rebound
3:03	+3	Paulius Murauskas makes three point jump shot (KJ Lewis assists)	62-93
2:52	+3	John Blackwell makes three point jump shot	65-93
2:30		Paulius Murauskas misses two point layup
2:28		Filip Borovicanin offensive rebound
2:25		Tyler Wahl personal foul (Filip Borovicanin draws the foul)
2:25	+1	Filip Borovicanin makes regular free throw 1 of 2	65-94
2:25	+1	Filip Borovicanin makes regular free throw 2 of 2	65-95
2:14	+3	John Blackwell makes three point jump shot (Max Klesmit assists)	68-95
1:50	+2	Conrad Martinez makes two point layup (KJ Lewis assists)	68-97
1:24		Max Klesmit misses three point jump shot
1:22		Carter Gilmore offensive rebound
1:13	+2	John Blackwell makes two point layup	70-97
0:47		Filip Borovicanin misses two point hook shot
0:46		Badgers defensive rebound
0:27		John Blackwell misses three point jump shot
0:25		Filip Borovicanin defensive rebound
0:19		John Blackwell personal foul (Filip Borovicanin draws the foul)
0:19		Filip Borovicanin misses regular free throw 1 of 2
0:19	+1	Filip Borovicanin makes regular free throw 2 of 2	70-98
0:01	+3	Carter Gilmore makes three point jump shot (Nolan Winter assists)	73-98
0:00		End of period

+ 3

Carter Gilmore makes three point jump shot (Nolan Winter assists)