Arizona Wildcats Get Back on Track With Blowout Over Southern Utah Thunderbirds

The Arizona Wildcats got back on track in a big way against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds.

Dec 7, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Tobe Awaka (30) dunks the ball during the first half against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds at McKale Center. | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

Feast Week was not great for the Arizona Wildcats, who spent the Thanksgiving holiday in the Bahamas playing in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis.

After defeating the Davidson Wildcats in the first round104-71, they struggled in their following two games. A second-round defeat at the hands of the Oklahoma Sooners was followed up with a loss to the West Virginia Mountaineers.

That dropped their record to 3-4 on the season, putting them below the .500 mark for the first time since 2010.

With no game for eight days, Tommy Lloyd and his team were afforded some time to regroup and figure things out. There is too much talent on the roster for them to not get on track eventually.

On Saturday afternoon, they started on that path.

All of the pent-up disappointment from their start was taken out on the Southern Utah Thunderbirds, who were visiting Tuscon and got steamrolled.

The Wildcats picked up a convincing 102-66 win, as the Thunderbirds made a 3-pointer on their first possession, taking a 3-point lead and then quickly fell behind an insurmountable amount of points.

Arizona led 55-23 at halftime and was ahead by as many as 41 points in the second half before ending up with a 36-point win.

Given the lopsided nature of the game, 10 players received at least 10 minutes of playing time and every player on the active roster logged at least one minute of play.

It was a complete team effort as Lloyd received contributions from basically every player who checked into the game. Seven different players scored in double-figures, including Campbell Fighting Camels transfer Anthony Dell’Orso, who poured in a team-high 19.

He made half of the Wildcats’ 3-pointers on the afternoon, knocking down 3-of-4 attempts. The rest of the team was only 3-for-12.

KJ Lewis, who came off the bench for the first time this year, shot 6-of-7 from the field and scored 15 points. He stuffed the stat sheet, adding eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.

It will be interesting to see if Llyod continues tinkering with his lineup to find the right combination of players as the team works through their early-season struggles. They will have another full week of practice to figure things out, as the Wildcats don’t play again until next Saturday, December 14.

They will be facing off against their former rivals, the UCLA Bruins, in one of the more highly anticipated non-conference games of the season.