Arizona vs FAU- Where Did 2 OT Thriller Get Away From the Wildcats?

#4 Arizona Wildcats, one of the top 5 teams in the AP Top 25 poll, took a shocking hit as the #14 Florida State Owls beat them up in an up-and-close 96-95 double-overtime win. The matchup was held at T-Moblie Arena in Las Vegas. As for the Owls, the matchup marked the highest-ranked team that they faced and defeated in FAU’s history. 11 years ago, in 2012, FAU was in a similar situation, winning an 86-81 matchup against North Texas.

However, as for the Wildcats, it was their second loss in 3 games moving into the holiday break. Also, it was the Wildcats’ first game in Las Vegas that they have lost in more than 4 years. Let’s look into the details of how both teams engaged head-on, possibly making this one of the CBB games of the year.

Owls haunted Wildcats

Arizona had a chance to win big, however, Bowell missed a jumper, only to trail the Wildcats by 3 points in the final minute of the first OT. The next moment it was Love hitting his fourth 3-pointer along with a couple of free throws with only 59 seconds left. Followed by FAU misses a baseline jumper in desperation sending the game into double OT.

Now, the moment of truth arrived with FAU building a 5-point lead, however, Arizona scored 5 points leading the game to a 95-95 tie. In response, Giancarlo Rosado made 1 of 2 free throws with only 57 seconds left post getting fouled, with final possession with the Wildcats. However, Arizona’s thriller went away when Caleb Love’s reverse shot and Oumar Ballo’s tip didn’t make it into the bucket.

Arizona Wildcats have been one of the top 5 teams this season, however, getting thrashed by a top 20 team was a major setback for the Wildcats as they took a close 96-95 loss. Notably, there are several reasons catering to this defeat.

First of all, there is a ranking disparity as the Wildcats were ranked at No.4, so a higher-ranked team is generally perceived to win. Rather it took a beating from a team ranked much lower than them, making this game a big upset. Moreover, the game turned historical since it was the first loss for coach Tommy Lloyd. Before this Lloyd was rolling on a 9-0 record, including the back-to-back Pac-12 Conference tourney championships.

Most significantly, it was the players’ performance. FAU’s Johnell Davis scored an outstanding 35 points and 9 rebounds, adding to that 20 points and 5 rebounds from Jalen Gaffney. Vladislav Goldin, the FAU’s center has led the team in scoring and rebounding. Moreover, he was a leading shooter across the nation with 75.9%, however, found himself in foul trouble for a better part of the game. Still, he managed to score 7 points and 3 rebounds.

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Let’s see how the Wildcats took it.

The Wildcats attempted to thrive but failed

Caleb Love scored 26 points, however, he only shot 8 of 25 shots from the field and 4 of 12 from 3. Arizona, collectively, shot a season-low 38.8 percent which includes 7 of 25 from 3 and wasting away 23 rebounds, out of which 9 rebounds were made by Oumar Ballo. Ballo scored 13 points and 21 rebounds, however, he made just 4 of 11 shots from the field and only attempted 2 shots in the second half.

Meanwhile, Pelle Larsson hooped 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists before being fouled in the second OT, in addition, Kylan Boswell scored 12 points and 5 steals, with only 4 of 16 shots from the field.

Indeed it is a big deal for FAU to defeat a top-10 opponent with an unprecedented win. Notably, their previous matchups have been with the then #12 Texas A&M, where they won by a score of 96-89. Similarly, another one with the then #20 Illinois, where they had a 98-89 victory.

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Arizona’s upset widely reflected and resonated in FAU’s resilience. The Owls weathered several runs made by Arizona just to pull off this significant win. They played with belief and won.