Brayden Burries Continues Resurgence in Arizona's Blowout win vs. Alabama

Freshman point guard Brayden Burries came into the season as one of Arizona’s most highly touted recruits in the Tommy Lloyd era.

Burries, a five-star recruit and consensus top 15 player in the class of 2025, averaged 29 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in his final season at Roosevelt High School, on the way to leading the Mustangs to a California Open Division State Championship.

Expectations were high for the Wildcats, as Burries was joined by forwards Koa Peat and Dwayne Arisotde, two other highly-touted recruits to create one of the highest-ranked freshman classes in the country.

Through five games, Arizona exceeded preseason expectations, defeating Florida, Connecticut, and UCLA, earning the Wildcats a spot atop the AP poll.

But they did it despite Burries.

He averaged 7.8 points, 1.8 rebounds, two assists, and shot 33 percent from the field with a negative assist-to-turnover ratio.

The guard’s stock plummeted on mainstream draft boards — once a comfortable lottery selection, he found himself projected in the late first round.

Then, in Arizona’s sixth game, something clicked. Buries scored 20 points, dished out five assists, and corralled five rebounds in the Wildcats' 30-point win against Denver.

Next 15 points against Norfolk State, followed by 16 against Auburn.

He’d found his groove.

It wasn’t merely shots beginning to fall. Burries improved his process, played in control, and was within the flow of Arizona’s offense.

However, his biggest test since the switch flipped was Saturday's game vs. 12th-ranked Alabama — and he passed with flying colors.

Arizona Freshman Brayden Burries has ARRIVED! 🔥

28 PTS | 11-19 FG | 5-10 3PT | 7 REB pic.twitter.com/nsg7u8o9sq
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) December 14, 2025

Burries scored 28 points on 72 true shooting percentage in the Wildcats' dominant win over the Crimson Tide, bringing his average over the last four games to 19.8.

The guard beat Alabama with decisiveness. He operated off the ball for most of the game, but punished cloesouts as defenses rotated him by either getting all the way to the rim or pulling up under control in the midrange.

Burries was also lethal in transition, often attacking before the Crimson Tide could get their half-court defense set. As the lead grew, so did Burrie's confidence, and he took and made multiple gut-punching threes to extend Arizona’s lead.

Though he finished with just two assists, he did a good job moving the ball to keep Alabama’s defense in rotation and extend the advantages that others created.

Defensively, he was aggressive — maybe too aggressive as he finished the game with four fouls and occasionally got beaten as he tried to close out or overhelp, but he, along with the other Wildcats, did a good job running the Crimson Tide off the three-point line and contesting their shots.

Arizona crushed another blowout win against a ranked opponent, but perhaps more importantly, Burries continued to find his groove as a scorer. If he continues his improved play, he should be back in lottery conversations in no time, and the Wildcats will be the favorites to win it all in March.