Freshman forward Zeke Nnaji scored 17 points, and No. 25 Arizona dominated down low in a 75-47 rout of visiting Arizona State in the Pac-12 opener for both teams on Saturday night in Tucson, Ariz.
Nnaji also grabbed 11 rebounds for his third consecutive double-double and fifth overall. Freshman forward Josh Green had 12 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals for the Wildcats (11-3), who snapped a two-game losing streak.
Arizona held a 32-point edge in points in the paint and a plus-14 rebounding margin. That coincided with a poor shooting night from Arizona State (9-5), which made 14.3 percent from 3-point range, 30.5 percent from the field and 42.1 percent (8 of 19) from the free-throw line.
Junior point guard Remy Martin led ASU with 20 points and was 3 of 8 from 3-point range. His teammates were 0 of 13 from beyond the arc.
The Sun Devils trailed by 19 points at halftime and were still down 19 more than 11 minutes into the half before Arizona punctuated its win with a 12-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Nico Mannion with 7:10 left.
Mannion finished with 10 points and seven assists.
Arizona State big man Romello White, who was questionable because of an ankle injury, struggled all game, finishing with no points and five rebounds in 24 minutes. He missed all three shots from the field and both free throws.
Arizona never trailed and steadily built the lead throughout the first half. The advantage grew to 17 when Jemarl Baker started a fast break with a steal and then went behind the back with a pass to set up Max Hazzard for a layup with 51 seconds left.
Nnaji followed with a dunk 21 seconds later to cap a half-ending 6-0 run for a 36-17 lead.
ASU shot 25.9 percent (7 of 27) in the first 20 minutes and made one basket in the final 6:31. The Sun Devils also missed their first six free throw attempts.
Arizona senior forward Stone Gettings, who missed the previous five games due to a broken cheekbone and concussion, returned with five points and five rebounds in 17 minutes.
--Field Level Media
Arizona State | Arizona | |
Remy Martin 20 | Scoring | Zeke Nnaji 17 |
Remy Martin 1 | Assists | Nico Mannion 7 |
Kimani Lawrence 5 | Rebounds | Zeke Nnaji 11 |
Remy Martin 3 | Free Throws Made | Nico Mannion 3 |
Remy Martin 2 | Steals | Jemarl Baker Jr. 2 |
Kimani Lawrence 4 | Blocks | Josh Green 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Arizona State | 47 | 30.5 | 3-21 | 8-19 | 2 | 30 | 5 | 4 | 15 |
Arizona | 75 | 47.6 | 4-15 | 11-22 | 17 | 47 | 6 | 6 | 13 |