TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Kerr Kriisa had 17 points and six assists, Courtney Ramey added 13 points and No. 8 Arizona routed Utah 88-62 on Thursday night.

Arizona (23-4, 12-4 Pac-12) bounced back from a loss at Stanford last weekend and avenged a loss in Salt Lake City earlier this season.

Arizona leading scorer Azuolas Tubelis sat most of the first half in foul trouble, but the rest of the Wildcats picked up the slack.

Arizona shot 56% overall, went 9 of 18 on 3-pointers and outscored Utah 38-10 in the paint. Tubelis finished with 11 points and nine rebounds after being called for a technical foul in a frustrating first half.

Utah scored 81 points and held Arizona to 35% shooting in its win on Dec. 1. The Utes (17-10, 10-6) had nowhere near the same efficiency this time, falling into a 20-point hole early in the second half to remain winless at McKale Center since 1986.

Branden Carlson had 19 points to lead Utah, which shot 32% from the floor.

Tubelis was held to four points while saddled with foul trouble last Saturday's 88-79 loss to Stanford.

The Lithuanian big man got off to a shaky start against Utah, missing two open 3-pointers when the Utes sagged into the paint on Oumar Ballo. Tubelis missed another shot right at the rim, then was called for a technical for kicking the ball into the stands after a loose-ball foul.

Tubelis headed to the bench and the Wildcats pulled away without him.

Arizona went on a 10-0 run to go up by nine and held Utah scoreless for another three-minute stretch to push the lead to 33-18. The Wildcats kept hitting shots, going 18 of 31 overall and 5 of 10 from 3 to lead 43-31 despite Tubelis playing just five minutes.

Tubelis returned to the lineup to start the second half and Arizona went on a quick 9-0 run. Kriisa hit a 3-pointer, then set up Ramey for a layup that stretched the lead to 59-39.

Utah finally started to show some offensive life midway through the second half, hitting seven straight shots to pull within 12.

It was the Utes' last gasp.

Arizona went on an 11-0 run, capped by Ramey's three-quarter-court alley-oop to Pelle Larsson, pushing the lead to 79-56.

BIG PICTURE

Utah squandered its opportunity for a huge NCAA Tournament resume booster.

Arizona has a knack for bouncing back from losses under coach Tommy Lloyd. The Wildcats did it again with an impressive all-around performance, improving to 17-4 against Utah since the Utes joined the Pac-12 in 2011.

UP NEXT

Utah: At Arizona State on Saturday.

Arizona: Hosts Colorado on Saturday.

 

Opening Statement:
"Well first off, big congrats to Arizona, they are a heck of a team that's been in the top 10 essentially all year. They have an elite home court advantage with fans that are really intelligent and will them when they struggle. Arizona's got a great coach and a lot of talent up and down the lineup and then tonight it just felt like like our guys really competed hard, but it felt like every time we made a mistake they made us pay. That's what great teams do, they make you pay when you make mistakes and it gets difficult to communicate and hear and and so you go through some growing pains but we'll get better from tonight. They're defending (the) champs, we're aspiring to be in their shoes. But they're the defending champs and they showed it tonight, so we have no time to sulk or worry. We've got to get back on track starting tomorrow for a good Arizona State team."

After holding Arizona to 35% shooting in Salt Lake City, what was different tonight?
"You know, we probably didn't do a good enough job controlling the tempo tonight. You know, I thought we did a really good job at our place keeping them out of transition. Tonight, I know that the stat sheet says we gave up 18 points in transition. I think that might have been a little bit more. Every time we talk about Arizona Basketball, what comes to mind is their transition game first of all, and they just got out. Some of that was off of turnovers but they're fast, they're athletic, they're very unselfish. 26 assists tonight. So I think it starts with our defensive conversion."