No. 13 Arizona Dominates in Home Opening Win Over Utah Tech

After pulling off the upset over No. 3 Florida (1-1) to open the college basketball season Monday in Las Vegas, No. 13 Arizona (2-0) was back in action on Friday night as the Wildcats faced off against Utah Tech in their home opening game.

The opponent drop off from Florida was massive and the Wildcats looked sluggish throughout parts of the game against the Trailblazers. However, Arizona took care of business walking away with a 93-67 win over Utah Tech.

Coming into the game, the Wildcats were (-33.5) point favorites but at the half it was only a 44-37 game with the Trailblazers being able to get to the line and knock down a few 3-point buckets.

As a team, Arizona shot 53% from the field but turned the ball over eight times, which led to 15 points on the other end for Utah Tech. The sloppy play from the Wildcats really kept the Trailblazers in the game during the first half.

Nov 7, 2025; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd watches the game from the sidelines during the first half of the game against the Utah Tech Trailblazers at McKale Memorial Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

However, Arizona was able to clean things up in the second half and turned the ball over only three times and finished the game with 11 turnovers.

Once again, the calming force for Arizona was point guard Jaden Braldey, who didn’t have a great scoring game with eight points but racked up six assists to just one turnover. Bradley was able to get the offense under control and back on track after a sloppy first half.

In the paint, Arizona was able to use its size to cause issues for Utah Tech as forward Tobe Awaka went for his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 18 rebounds. Awaka managed to go 5 of 10 from the field and get to the line four times.

Oct 22, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Arizonas Tobe Awaka speaks to media during Big 12 Menís Basketball media day at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: Sophia Scheller-Imagn Images | Sophia Scheller-Imagn Images

After struggling against Florida in his first game in college basketball, guard Brayden Burries had a nice bounce-back performance where he recorded 18 points, three assists and three rebounds while going 7 of 16 from the field.

Meanwhile, forward Koa Peat followed up his historical 30-point performance against Florida by dropping 18 points on 6 of 7 shooting from the field.

Another player that was able to have a bounce-back game was guard Anthony Dell’Orso, who scored 18 points while going 6 of 10 from the field. Plus, Dell’Orso knocked down three 3-point shots along the way.

Nov 7, 2025; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Utah Tech Trailblazers guard Tanner Davis (11) attempts to make a lay up while Arizona Wildcats forward Koa Peat (10) attempts to block him during the first half of the game at McKale Memorial Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

As a team, Arizona finished shooting 57% from the field and managed to hit seven 3-point shots after just taking five the whole game against the Gators.

The Wildcats will now get ready to face off against NAU on Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. (MST) with the game being streamed on ESPN+.

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