UConn 'got punked' as Arizona overwhelms in paint

STORRS, Conn. -- With about 90 minutes to go until tipoff, Wednesday's top-five matchup between No. 3 UConn and No. 4 Arizona completely changed.

That's when UConn announced that starting senior center Tarris Reed Jr. was out with a sprained ankle. Reed, one of the nation's best big men who is averaging 20.0 points and 9.3 rebounds, is considered to be game-to-game, according to the team.

Without Reed, UConn struggled mightily to slow down Arizona, with the Wildcats putting forth one of the most dominant paint displays against the Huskies under Dan Hurley en route to a 71-67 road win.

"With Reed out of the game, we're not going to say it doesn't change things. We know it changes things," Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. "But if you get a good hop, field it and turn two. And our guys found a way to do that."

It was clear what Arizona intended to do against a Reed-less UConn frontcourt. Koa Peat had an early layup. Motiejus Krivas was getting consistent paint touches and set a career high with 10 rebounds before the first half even ended. Jaden Bradley was constantly attacking the rim and drawing fouls.

Arizona is one of the least prolific 3-point shooting teams in the country, entering the day making 6.3 3s per game and ending it ranked No. 360 in percentage of points coming from 3-point range. The Wildcats' identity is clear, and UConn was still incapable of slowing them down at the rim.

"That's how we're built," Lloyd said. "If you're not up for the physical fight, it's going to be tough. It's going to be tough to be a team that wins consistently at a high level. It's going to be tough to win on the road. It's going to be tough to win in the NCAA tournament. It's going to be tough to make a deep run. We want to build our team with guys that are capable of playing physical basketball."

The Huskies won back-to-back national championships partially on the strength of their frontcourt dominance, overwhelming teams in the paint at both ends of the floor. Rarely has a team flipped the script on UConn like Arizona did Wednesday.

The Wildcats outrebounded UConn 43-23. They had the edge on the offensive glass, grabbing 13 offensive rebounds and turning that into 16 second-chance points.

"We got punked," Hurley said. "It's going to be a bad film session coming out of here. There's a street fight going on in the paint and, you know, men can't watch fights. You can't stand on the outside when your buddies are in a fight. You get in the fight. You don't stand on the periphery of the fight. We'll see a lot of clips where guys were not in the fight with their teammates."

Eric Reibe did an admirable job filling in for Reed, particularly on the offensive end with 15 points, including a pair of 3-pointers in the second half. But Arizona has one of the elite frontcourts in college basketball and was undeterred. Freshman star Peat went for 16 points, 12 rebounds (5 on the offensive end), 3 assists and 2 blocks for the Wildcats, while Krivas finished with 9 points and 14 rebounds and Tobe Awaka came off the bench to post 7 points and 7 boards.

Peat has staked his claim as one of the premier freshmen in the country, averaging 16.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists through five games. Hurley -- whose brother, Bobby, recruited Peat at Arizona State -- spoke to Peat briefly afterward to express his respect for his game.

"The way he carries himself on the court, he plays like a 10-year NBA vet," Hurley said of Peat. "He knows his identity. He's all over the glass. He's just a classy, classy player. And he's going to be a great NBA player."

While the paint battle garnered most of the attention, it was once again Bradley who came up big when Arizona needed him.

Late in the season opener against Florida, Bradley scored 10 straight points and 14 total after the Gators tied the score in the second half. Against UCLA last week, Bradley took over late; he scored 13 points in the final seven minutes, including seven straight points in the final 2:12. And on Wednesday, he finished with 21 points -- including a layup with 16 seconds left to put Arizona up three.

"When you have a point guard who is selfless and also a baller and has big enough cojones to take and make those shots at the end of a game, it's pretty special," Lloyd said of Bradley. "And we have that in him."

There's now a strong case for Arizona to be the new No. 1 in the next AP poll. The Wildcats have notched wins over Florida, UCLA and UConn, all coming away from home. According to ESPN Research, Arizona is just the third team in AP poll history to have multiple wins over top-three opponents within its first five games and the first since Kansas during the 1989-90 campaign.

"Krivas is an NBA player. Koa Peat's an NBA player. Jaden Bradley's an NBA player. [Brayden] Burries is an NBA player. I actually think [Anthony] Dell'Orso is going to make an NBA team ... that guy is maybe the best bench player in the country," Hurley said. "I think these guys are legit contenders, like we are."