Arizona wins Pac-12 Tournament title behind monster effort from Bennedict Mathurin
LAS VEGAS – UCLA fans were loud. Arizona fans were louder. College basketball was all the way back at the Pac-12 Tournament title game on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
The No. 1-seeded Wildcats took on the No. 2-seeded Bruins in front of a raucous crowd at T-Mobile Arena in a game that looked more like a Final Four matchup than a mere conference championship game.
Johnny Juzang, the Kentucky castoff turned UCLA star, finally broke out of his slump, scoring 11 in the first half as UCLA took a 40-35 lead through 20 minutes of play. Meanwhile, in the absence of Kerr Kriisa (ankle injury), Arizona had massive issues at the point guard position, with Justin Kier and Pelle Larsson both picking up 3 fouls in the first half.
Kier picked up his fourth foul early in the second half, but the Wildcats clawed their way back into the game.
Bennedict Mathurin, recently compared to Michael Jordan by Pac-12 broadcaster Bill Walton (for his physical profile, it should be noted), had perhaps his best game of the year. And that’s saying something for a potential lottery pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Mathurin posted a rather MJ-like 27 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds to lead the Wildcats to an 84-76 title game victory.
And, in the final 10 minutes of the game, Dalen Terry took over for Arizona. He finished the game with 15 points, including this dunk that brought the house down:
DALEN TERRY. 😳
📺 FOX
📱 https://t.co/DnIZJhwlRF#BearDown | #Pac12MBB | @ArizonaMBB pic.twitter.com/Dv2DJi4nED— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) March 13, 2022
He also hit 2 3-pointers, including this huge one from the corner:
DT3 🎯
HUGE corner three from @DalenTerry!
📺 Fox pic.twitter.com/6xSTVYLLWm
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) March 13, 2022
Terry wasn’t just a scorer, though — he also posted 7 assists and 7 rebounds. This was a beautiful feed to Christian Koloko inside:
AND ONE.
15-2 run by the ‘Cats to reclaim the lead. 😼
📺 FOX
📱 https://t.co/DnIZJhwlRF#BearDown | #Pac12MBB | @ArizonaMBB pic.twitter.com/wCNXDP3OEj— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) March 13, 2022
Oh, and this nifty feed to Pelle Larsson was a true thing of beauty:
STRAIGHT BEAUTY FROM TERRY AND LARSSON 😤@DalenTerry | @ArizonaMBB pic.twitter.com/oQQD6QNfN4
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 13, 2022
While Mathurin is likely off to the NBA Draft after this season, Terry will probably return to Arizona, which should have Wildcat fans absolutely thrilled for the future of the program under Tommy Lloyd.
Now, the Wildcats are off to the NCAA Tournament as a likely No. 1 seed. Whether or not they leapfrog Gonzaga for the No. 1 overall seed remains to be seen, but this Arizona team continues to rack up the special performances. We’ll see how much further this squad can go.