Arizona dominates UCLA, clinches Pac-12 title
LOS ANGELES — Of all the storied games between Arizona and UCLA at Pauley Pavilion that determined conference Pac-10 and Pac-12 titles, this wasn’t one of them.
Well, it was. But it wasn’t UCLA that Arizona pushed out of the way to wrap up its final Pac-12 regular-season title by beating the Bruins 88-65 on Thursday.
Rather, it was Washington State, which had beaten Arizona twice this season and entered Thursday a half-game behind the first-place ... but lost to Washington 74-68 earlier Thursday.
The combination of UA’s win at UCLA and WSU’s loss clinched the outright Pac-12 title for the Wildcats (24-7 overall and 15-4 in the Pac-12), while earning them the No. 1 Pac-12 Tournament seed. UA will open Pac-12 Tournament play on Thursday, March 14 at noon.
While the Washington rivals were locked up in a tense game played mostly within one possession in Pullman, the Wildcats had no such worries against UCLA. Even though the Bruins had beaten the Wildcats in five previous matchups at Pauley Pavilion, they entered Thursday on a four-game losing streak and led Thursday’s game for only 18 seconds.
UA built a 7-3 lead early and, while UCLA tied the game at 15 midway through the first half, went on to take a44-27 halftime lead. Arizona held the Bruins to just 35.5% shooting in the first half, while making half its shots on the other end.
Five Wildcats scored in double-figures for the 17th time this season, though only three of them were starters. Caleb Love had 17 points while likely wrapping up the Pac-12 Player of the Year award, while KJ Lewis led the Wildcats in scoring with 18 off the bench, and Jaden Bradley added another 13 in reserve./
Of the Wildcats' other starters, Pelle Larsson had 12 points and Kylan Boswell had 10 points and five assists, while Oumar Ballo had nine points and Keshad Johnson seven.
Dylan Andrews had 18 points to lead UCLA, which shot just 37.9% from the field.
While the Wildcats were technically playing away from home, a spirited crowd of UA supporters chanted “U of A” in the final seconds of the first half and the final minutes of the second half, as the Wildcats’ win and title drew nearer.
The 13,800-seat Pauley Pavilion was less than half full for the first half -- likely because of the Bruins' .500 play as well as a rainstorm that made L.A. traffic worse than usual. About a quarter of those on hand appeared to be rooting for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats will leave for the Big 12 next season after winning 16th Pac-12 regular season titles, not including the vacated titles they gave up in 2016-17 and 2017-18 because of NCAA sanctions.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona dominates UCLA, clinches Pac-12 title
