UCLA vs. Arizona score, takeaways: No. 7 Wildcats get revenge, beat No. 3 Bruins for first time in six games

A week after falling to UCLA, Arizona responded with a 76-66 victory vs. the Bruins to take over first place in the Pac-12

UCLA had a chance to take sweep Arizona and take hold of a potentially significant tiebreaker on the Wildcats in the Pac-12 standings on Thursday night, but the the Wildcats took first place for themselves and evened up the season series between the Pac-12 powers with a 76-66 win at the McKale Center. The No. 7 Wildcats (18-2, 8-1 Pac-12) led by 12 at halftime and withstood several surges from the No. 3 Bruins (16-3, 8-2) to avenge last Tuesday's 75-59 road loss.

A 10-2 run following the game's final media timeout helped Arizona pull away after the Bruins closed within 64-61 with 3:52 remaining. The victory snapped the Wildcats' four-game home losing streak against UCLA and a six-game skid overall vs. the Bruins for Arizona, which was led by 16 points from Kerr Kriisa after he was held scoreless in the first meeting last week. Kriisa was among five Arizona players in double figures and knocked down a massive 3-pointer with 1:50 left that put the Wildcats ahead by nine.

Jules Bernard led UCLA in scoring with 15 points, but the Bruins hit just 3 of 14 attempts from 3-point range as a team. Leading scorer Johnny Juzang added 12 for the Bruins in his first game back after missing two contests due to COVID-19 protocols.

Redemption for Kriisa and Terry

When these teams met last week, Terry and Kriisa combined to go 0 for 17 from the floor and were held scoreless in Arizona's loss. This time around, the duo contributed a combined 26 points. The two also combined for 12 assists, as Terry finished three assists and one rebound shy of a triple-double.

There was also a distinct difference in the play of Azuolas Tubelis this time around. The 6-foot-11 Arizona sophomore came off the bench in last week's meeting while dealing with an ankle injury and was clearly limited while playing 15 minutes and contributing eight points. He appeared more nimble this time around and provided a big lift early in the game. Tubelis scored eight of Arizona's first 10 points and finished with 14 while looking more like his normal self after suffering the injury in a win at Stanford on Jan. 20.

Foul trouble hurts Juzang 

Juzang sat the final 9:55 of the first half after picking up his second foul while UCLA trailed 20-14. Without him on the floor, the Bruins' deficit doubled heading into halftime. Once he was back in the court on the second half, UCLA began to chip away.

In the end, Juzang finished with just three fouls in 29 minutes of action, and it's fair to question whether UCLA coach Mick Cronin was too conservative in the handling of his leading scorer during the first half. If Juzang had been playing instead of watching late in the first half, perhaps the Bruins could have kept the deficit in a more manageable range. UCLA's other four starters each logged 30 or more minutes, and unless Juzang was on a minutes restriction following his two-game absence, the approach to his foul trouble was misguided.

Juzang also wasn't the only UCLA play in foul trouble. Tyger Campbell fouled out late in the game for the Bruins, who were called for 23 fouls compared to just 16 for Arizona. The Wildcats shot 30 free throws and made 20, whereas the Bruins shot only 12, making seven of them.

Pac-12 implications 

The result leaves Arizona in sole possession of first-place in the conference standings. Even though the league's front-runners split their two meetings with each other, UCLA's surprising home loss against Oregon on Jan. 13 means the Bruins now have two conference losses.

Both teams still have to play third-place USC twice, and the Trojans could join the mix if they play well enough in those games. Oregon could also play its way into the mix. But don't be surprised if we look up in a few weeks and the Wildcats are on track for at least a share of the league title because they took care of business at home against the Bruins.

[Feb 3, 2022 at 9:59 pm ET · David Cobb]

6-0 run

Timely 6-0 run for Arizona after Jaquez's bucket cut it to three at the 3:52 mark. Kerr Kriisa's 3-pointer extended the lead to 9, and now Tyger Campbell has fouled out. Going to take a miracle for the Bruins now down 7 with 1:25 to go.

[Feb 3, 2022 at 9:52 pm ET · David Cobb]

Arizona has had several of these 2-3 minute scoring droughts during the game, but it needs to snap out of this one ASAP. Bruins on a 7-0 run and within 64-61 at the u4 timeout. Tyger Campbell just picked up his fourth foul, which is something to watch. But a game that the Wildcats led for much of the second half is suddenly a one-possession deal with 3:41 to go.

[Feb 3, 2022 at 9:49 pm ET · David Cobb]

Timeout Arizona

Alright, the Bruins are within 5 at 64-59 for the first time this half. 4:38 remaining, and it's clear why UCLA is a national title contender. No fold in this squad in a hostile environment, even on a night when the outside shots aren't falling. The defense has been MUCH better in the second half.

[Feb 3, 2022 at 9:41 pm ET · David Cobb]

Close finish coming

UCLA within 7 at the u8 media timeout, but Jaquez was just called for a charge in transition while driving with a chance to get even closer. Don't think Mick Cronin is going to be real pleased with the officiating when he reflects on this game.

[Feb 3, 2022 at 9:33 pm ET · David Cobb]

Dalen Terry

Add him to the group with Azuolas Tubelis and Kerr Kriisa of Arizona players who were garbage in the first meeting but playing awesome tonight. He's got 7 points, 3 boards and 2 rebounds in the first 9:32 of the second half alone as the Wildcats push the lead back to 60-49 with 10:28 remaining.

[Feb 3, 2022 at 9:26 pm ET · David Cobb]

Juzang foul trouble

UCLA is embracing transition offense with some success here and is hanging around, now down 8 at the u16 timeout. With Juzang on the floor, this is a different team in a good way. Only problem is he just picked up his third at the 11:56, and Tyger Campbell has 3 as well. Cronin is going to have to make peace with playing guys in foul trouble to have a chance. Bruins still just 1 of 10 from deep, and if they start knocking down any shots, it would sure help.

[Feb 3, 2022 at 9:19 pm ET · David Cobb]

Campbell/Juzang

Campbell and Juzang have already combined for 11 in the second half after scoring a combined six in the first half. If they have arrived and plan to stay, this one could get interesting. As it stands, UCLA has cut the deficit in half and trails just 51-45 with 14:43 left.

[Feb 3, 2022 at 9:16 pm ET · David Cobb]

UCLA showing life

The Bruins are within eight after starting the second half with a little bit of life. Juzang has already scored six points in the half, which makes you wonder why he sat the last 10 minutes of the first half after picking up his second foul.

[Feb 3, 2022 at 8:59 pm ET · David Cobb]

UCLA's deficit

The Bruins don't feel like a team built to come from behind, but we'll see what Johnny Juzzng has to say about that. They also need to go back to Jaime Jaquez, who seemed to fall by the wayside after doing some nice things early.

[Feb 3, 2022 at 8:54 pm ET · David Cobb]

Halftime

Tommy Lloyd seems quite displeased during his halftime interview with ESPN, despite the fact that his team leads 42-30 and is shooting 60% from the floor. That's probably because the Wildcats failed to score for the final 2:12 of the half. Still, a lot to like for Arizona in that half, namely the play of Azuolas Tubelis and Kerr Kriisa.

[Feb 3, 2022 at 8:48 pm ET · David Cobb]

Ben Mathurin

Jules Bernard has 12 of UCLA's 28 points and has been the extent of the offense with Juzang out for the last 10 minutes of the half. He just went up for a finish at the rim and got swatted by Ben Mathurin, though. What a play by Mathurin.

[Feb 3, 2022 at 8:41 pm ET · David Cobb]

Ending the half

Can UCLA make a run to end the half? It's 35-23 Arizona at the under-4 timeout, and the Bruins have already committed 11 fouls. Peyton Watson, Myles Johnson, Tyger Campbell and Johnny Juzang each have two. Bruins need Juzang in there, or else this thing could balloon to 15+ before the break. Arizona is shooting 59.1%