Arizona ended Auburn’s 71-game home winning streak against non-conference opponents with an 80-69 victory on Friday night at Neville Arena. The Wildcats’ win marked Auburn’s first non-conference home loss since January 30, 2016, when the Tigers fell to Oklahoma State.
Freshman guard Caleb Holt led Arizona with 24 points and nine rebounds. After starting the season shooting 1-of-11 from beyond the arc, Holt went 4-of-6 from three-point range in front of a hostile crowd in his home state of Alabama. His performance helped push the Wildcats past Auburn, who struggled to find offensive rhythm throughout the game.
Motiejus Krivas contributed a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Ivan Kharchenkov added 19 points as Arizona controlled the glass, outrebounding Auburn 52-36. The Wildcats also took advantage of free throws, making 18 of 22 attempts late in the game to maintain their lead.
For Auburn, Thomas Dowd scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds, hitting four three-pointers. Adam Olsen came off the bench to add 12 points, while Narcisse Ngoy recorded six blocks. Despite these efforts, the Tigers shot just 34.8 percent from the field. Kevin Overton had a difficult night offensively, going 2-of-13 and scoring five points.
The loss halted Auburn’s long-standing home dominance over non-conference teams, a streak that had lasted over a decade and was the longest active streak of its kind in the nation, according to ESPN. This result also gave Arizona its first road win against an SEC opponent since a victory over Missouri in 2016.
The defeat leaves Auburn with a 2-1 record early in the season, while Arizona improved to 3-1 after an opening loss to UCLA. Steven Pearl is in his second season as Auburn’s head coach, and the team will look to bounce back when it faces West Virginia next. Arizona is set to return home for a high-profile matchup against No. 4 UConn on Wednesday.
According to Yahoo Sports.
