No. 24 Arizona’s comeback attempt wasn’t enough against Oklahoma

The No. 24 Arizona men’s basketball team fell to Oklahoma 82-77 in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinal game on Thanksgiving.

After the Wildcats got back into the game, a boundary was drawn with an official review of a shot clock violation with about 90 seconds left and Arizona trailing by five.

In the final period, Jaden Bradley cut the deficit to three with two free throws, but the Wildcats’ ensuing possession included two missed 3-pointers and a foul on an Oklahoma rebound that gave free throws and put the game out of reach.

While Arizona’s offense struggled against Duke (55 points) before breaking out against Davidson on Wednesday (104 points), the Wildcats struggled with similar inconsistencies on Thursday, especially early.

Oklahoma coach Porter Moser is known for mixing up offenses and forcing them to slow down, which can work particularly well against an Arizona system that relies on its pace.

Arizona missed 12 of its first 13 shots, including four 3-point attempts. When they fell behind by 13 points, the offense rallied, hitting seven of their final 15 shots of the half. They got within six at halftime, close enough for a better second half that might have made the difference.

With an 8:15 start to the second half, the Wildcats got within one point with 10 minutes left as Caleb Love made four of his first five attempts of the half. But just as quickly as he threw four shots in the second half, the Oklahoma shooters threw more threes and Love cooled off.

Oklahoma’s 12 of 29 (41.4%) 3-pointers represented a clear advantage over Arizona’s 5 of 19 (26.3%) numbers as the Wildcats lost for the third time in their last four games.

Valley’s outstanding preparation keeps Arizona at a distance from Oklahoma

Jeremiah Fears is Oklahoma’s top freshman and has settled in very well despite reclassifying to the 2024 class, averaging 22 points and 5.7 assists over the last three games.

On Thursday, he hit two quick 3-pointers to put the Wildcats in the early hole, and in the second half he made another deadly run with four straight balls (10 points) as Arizona’s offense got going. He also hit the final free throws to put Arizona away.

The Illinois native played two seasons at AZ Compass Prep in Chandler, where he benefited from a late growth spurt to reach a long 6-foot-4. While Fears was previously undersized, the skills he gained to overcome this disadvantage became all the more useful with the size difference.

Now he somewhat resembles Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, using jerky handles to smoothly get into the paint or separate for perimeter shots.

Should he continue production, Fears has a chance to move into settled territory.

Arizona gets another shot in its final Battle 4 Atlantis game – and an All-Big 12 game – against West Virginia on Friday at 1 p.m. MST on ESPN2.