Arizona star freshman Koa Peat sat out the second half of the top-ranked Wildcats’ 78-75 loss to No. 16 Texas Tech with a lower body injury Saturday in Tucson.
Coach Tommy Lloyd didn’t offer many details after the game, just saying it was a “lower leg deal” and that they were doing testing to figure out the extent of the injury.
“It hurts us a lot, but we had enough to win,” Lloyd said. “It definitely hurts our rotation, but that’s how these seasons go.”
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Saturday’s defeat was top-ranked Arizona’s second consecutive loss, as the Wildcats saw their unbeaten record end Monday against Kansas.
Peat, a former five-star recruit and projected first-round pick, struggled in the first half, posting two points and a rebound in 11 minutes. That came on the heels of his six-point, five-rebound performance in Monday’s defeat.
Without Peat, Lloyd started Tobe Awaka alongside Motiejus Krivas up front in the second half, with both big men logging 18 minutes after halftime. Awaka finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Krivas had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Even with Peat sidelined for the second half, Arizona looked poised to bounce back from its first loss of the season. Thanks to timely buckets from guard Brayden Burries and Krivas, the Wildcats took a seven-point lead with 3:29 left. They wouldn’t make another field goal for the rest of regulation, however, needing two Ivan Kharchenkov free throws with 16 seconds left to force overtime.
JT Toppin and Donovan Atwell scored nine straight for the Red Raiders at the end of regulation then combined for Texas Tech’s first 11 points in overtime. Atwell hit the go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute of regulation then made another 3 with 2:05 left in overtime to give Texas Tech a four-point lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
Toppin finished with 31 points, 13 rebounds and three assists. According to ESPN Research, he is the first player to have 30 points, 10 rebounds and zero turnovers against the No. 1 team in more than 20 seasons. He is also just the second player — North Carolina’s Luke Maye was the first — in AP poll history to have a 30-point double-double in a road win over the No. 1-ranked team.
Texas Tech owns arguably the best collection of high-end wins in college basketball this season, with its victory in Tucson following triumphs over Duke at Madison Square Garden and Houston at home.
Arizona opened the season with 23 straight wins, including nonconference victories away from home over Florida, UConn and Alabama. The Wildcats’ Big 12 schedule was heavily backloaded, though, with their two games this week beginning a seven-game stretch that also includes games against No. 22 BYU, No. 3 Houston, No. 5 Iowa State and a second game against No. 9 Kansas.
They host BYU on Wednesday (9 p.m. ET, ESPN) as they look to snap their two-game losing streak.
