APSEATTLE - Hassan Adams and Brandon Roy lived up to their billing Saturday: They were their teams’ best players, in a taut, topflight game that demanded nothing less.
Adams scored a career-high 32 points — including eight points and consecutive 3-pointers in the two overtimes — to trump Roy’s career high-tying 35 as Arizona rallied to a 96-95 victory over No. 7 Washington.
The nation’s longest homecourt winning streak ended at 32 games when Kirk Walters, displaced in the starting lineup by freshman Marcus Williams, made a free throw with 5.1 seconds to go.
That — along with Mustafa Shakur’s 23 points — gave Arizona (9-3, 2-0 Pac-10) its seventh consecutive win after trailing by 13 at halftime.
Gonzaga, which hosted Saint Joseph’s on Saturday night, now has the longest home streak at 30 games.
“Oh, man. That was a great game,” said Walters, who finished with three points. “We’ll see if it’s on ESPN Classic soon.”
The Huskies (11-1, 1-1) saw their best chance to win end when Roy fouled out with 54 seconds left. That’s when Williams gave Arizona a 95-94 lead with a free throw. Washington’s Jamaal Williams, a 56 percent free throw shooter, tied it with 38 seconds left before Walters’ answered with his winner.
|
Adams then stomped on the court and pulled at “Arizona” across the front of his jersey. It was a defiant exclamation of the Wildcats’ second win over Washington in seven tries — and of unranked Arizona’s return to national prominence.
“Man, this was big. It was emotion. It wasn’t boasting,” the Pac-10’s scoring leader said. “That’s my role on my team. My team, my coaches put that confidence in me.”
It ended the Huskies’ best start since 1975.
“This was probably the best game I’ve ever played in where my team needed me to do so much at both ends of the floor,” said Roy, who had set his career high Thursday while rallying Washington past Arizona State.
Arc: Syracuse is among a solid group of No. 1 seeds in our latest tournament projections, but the middle of the pack is much more murky.
Arc's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.
Slideshow |
College hoops power rankings A look at the top teams in college basketball based on performance and potential. NBCSports.com |
Latest from Beyond the Arc |
Latest NCAA tourney projections a seeding mess in middle3 hr 42 min ago Would Rick Pitino’s white suit work its magic vs. Syracuse?8 hr 37 min ago Here’s a shot you just can’t defend11 hr 44 min ago Five up, five down from college hoops’ huge day1 day 4 hr ago |
College basketball videos |
Highlights: No. 14 UNLV 65, No. 13 SDSU 63 Mike Moser scored 19 points, and UNLV forced three turnovers in the final 42 seconds to win. |
Slideshow |
NBCSports.com |