TUCSON, Ariz. – Jaden Bradley scored 21 points, Oumar Ballo dominated inside and No. 5 Arizona beat Arizona State 105-60 on Saturday night in the rivals' final Pac-12 game at McKale Center.
The Wildcats (20-5, 11-3 Pac-12) had their offense fluid all night and tightened their defense late in the first half to turn the rivalry game into a blowout before the teams head to the 12 big below. season.
The 45-point rout marked the largest margin of victory by either team in series history, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
Arizona shot 57% from the floor and had a 52-16 advantage in the paint to give Tommy Lloyd his 81st victory, the most in major conference history by a coach in his first three seasons at one school. . Ballo finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Arizona State (13-13, 7-8) pulled off a miracle on its last trip to Tucson, winning 89-88 on Desmond Cambridge Jr.'s half-court shot at the buzzer.
The Sun Devils were no match for Arizona's interior on this trip south, particularly Ballo.
Arizona established the 7-foot, 260-pound center in the paint from the start, creating easy shots while racking up fouls against Arizona State. Adam Miller scored 16 points to lead the Sun Devils, who shot 36% and were 6 of 24 from 3-point range after a torrid start.
The NCAA selection committee revealed its potential top 16 on Saturday and Arizona was on the No. 1 line with Purdue, defending national champion UConn and Houston.
Arizona State certainly wasn't intimidated by the Wildcats' stature or playing in the McKale Center, trading shot for shot midway through the first half.
Arizona kept hitting. The Sun Devils didn't.
The Wildcats made seven straight shots to lead 41-29, then went on a 13-2 run. Arizona shot 21 of 31 from the field to lead 49-31 at halftime.
Arizona State went six minutes without taking a shot and missed eight of its final nine as the fouls began to pile up.
Arizona continued scoring to open the second half, going up 21 on a long 3-pointer by Caleb Love (15 points) that forced Sun Devils coach Bobby Hurley to call a timeout. The Wildcats extended the lead to 27 midway through the second half.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
