Arizona Wildcats trounce Missouri in Maui Invitational: By the Numbers

The unranked Missouri Tigers gave No. 3 Arizona some fits Monday at the EA Sports Maui Invitational tournament, but the Wildcats were just too much to handle.

Sean Miller’s group broke a 21-21 tie late in the first half and never looked back. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Brandon Ashley and Stanley Johnson led the Wilcats to a 40-point second half, and the Tigers just couldn’t keep up.

Arizona held off Mizzou by a final of 72-53, winning their fourth game in a row to start the season. The Wildcats move on to face Kansas State in the tournament semifinals Tuesday night. Missouri dropped to 2-2 with the loss and will face Purdue on Tuesday.

Here’s a look at Monday’s game, by the numbers:

1

The Wildcats had their lowest block total of the season with one. Johnson was the only UA player to swat one away. Missouri was only slightly better with two blocks.

3

Three UA players reached double-figures in scoring Monday: Hollis-Jefferson and Ashley both had 15, while Johnson tallied 14.

5

This is the fifth year in a row that UA has started 4-0. Time will tell if the program can match its record-breaking 21-0 start from last season.

9

Senior guard T.J. McConnell only shot 2-for-11 on Monday, but he handed out a season-high nine assists. The 6-foot-1 floor general also contributed three steals and three rebounds, and he finished with six points. As a team, Arizona had 14 assists, while Mizzou only had seven.

10

Arizona has reached double-figures in steals every game so far this season. The ‘Cats swiped the ball away 10 times Monday, which actually marked a season low; they had 11 in each of their first three games. Meanwhile, the Tigers only took the ball away twice in the loss.

22:57

When Johnson hit a three to break a tie with just under three minutes left in the first half, Arizona would never fall behind again, holding onto the lead for nearly 23 minutes until the buzzer sounded.

35-33

UA was actually out-rebounded for the first time all season, losing the board war 35-33. Missouri’s Keanau Post and Arizona’s Kaleb Tarczewski both led their teams with eight boards apiece. The two programs were tied in offensive rebounds 8-8.

76%

The Wildcats had their second-straight game of solid free throw shooting, putting in 19 out of 25 tries (76 percent). Hollis-Jefferson was a perfect 4-for-4 from the line, while Ashley went 5-for-7 and Johnson shot 5-for-8.