TUCSON – Arizona Wildcats freshman phenom Koa Peat grew up in the shadow of the UofA-Arizona State rivalry.
While he was lying on the sweat-drenched McKale Center floor during the first half of Wednesday night’s contest, Peat experienced the intensity of the matchup firsthand.
Following a physical collision on Peat’s shot attempt at the rim, ASU senior forward Allen Mukeba, who was standing over the 18-year-old Arizona forward, offered to help the freshman off the floor, but Peat refused. After Mukeba stepped over Peat to return to his bench, tempers flared. Red in the face, ASU coach Bobby Hurley began screaming at the officiating crew. The sequence cultivated offsetting technicals – one to Mukeba and another to Arizona freshman guard Brayden Burries.
It set the precedent for the rest of the game: A 40-minute bloodbath characterized by relentless physicality.
Peat was tested, and so were the No. 1-ranked Wildcats.
In-state rival ASU pushed Arizona to the brink deep into the night at the McKale Center. Ultimately, the Wildcats squeaked out an 89-82 win to improve to a perfect 17-0, but they couldn’t shake a pesky Sun Devil team that even held a second-half lead.
Peat, a Gilbert-native who played at Perry High, was once the most highly coveted high school player in the state, with Division I programs from across the country vying for his talent. No two schools pushed harder for the former five-star prospect than the two schools in his home state: Arizona and Arizona State.
So it’s no surprise that when he took the floor against a hungry Sun Devils team looking to improve its 10-6 record and post an upset, he was anxious to put his stamp on the game.
“Koa understands what this game means more than other guys,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “He kind of had to adjust a little bit, and I’m sure he really wanted to play well today.”
Arizona State bottled up Peat in the first half, holding him to just 2-for-8 from the field. A frustrated Peat often turned to officials searching for foul calls in a physical first 20 minutes.
The second half?
A different story.
Peat made all seven of his shot attempts, erupting for 16 second-half points in a 24-point outing. With 10 rebounds, he notched his fourth double-double of the season.
“One of the things we talk about in our program is the undisciplined want of more,” Lloyd said. “Early in the game, he was a little too aggressive and got sped up a little bit, in an effort to help our team, but he was a little bit undisciplined with it. He really reeled that in in the second half. He had great numbers today and played a really big game, especially down the stretch.”
With seven minutes to play, Peat put the exclamation point on a streak of 11-straight made field goals for Arizona. The 6-foot-8 forward bullied his way into the post, backing down an ASU defender and pump-faking before rising for a fadeaway jumpshot that graced only nylon in its descent through the net.
Energized after giving his team a 12-point lead, Peat ran to the student section, grabbed his jersey, and repeatedly lifted the Arizona lettering on his chest as he screamed at the crowd. It might have taken a half of play, but he made his mark on the rivalry.
“I’m going to do whatever it takes to win,” Peat said. “If that’s scoring, rebounding, passing (or) playing defense. I wouldn’t be able to do anything without my teammates.”
He helped lead a relentless initiative from the Wildcats’ frontcourt to pound the ball inside, resulting in 46 points in the paint. Alongside Peat, senior forward Tobe Awaka posted a game-high 25 points.
Early on, Arizona State freshman center Massamba Diop matched their scoring output, racking up 16 points on the night. Still, while the Sun Devils’ frontline battled to hold off the Arizona bigs, ASU’s foul trouble and exhaustion left it helpless down the stretch.
“I think they have a unique ability to wear teams down inside,” Hurley said. “The size and physicality of their front line is different than probably anything we’ve seen this year.”
At just 18, Peat possesses a blend of size, strength, and athleticism beyond his years. He met the 7-foot-1 Diop at the rim on multiple occasions, often finishing his flights to the basket with a thunderous slam.
“Just trusting my teammates, trusting the work I put in, and just being confident,” Peat said about the key to his turnaround in the second half. “My teammates (have) got me and put me in a good position to score.”
Although it wasn’t pretty, Lloyd enjoyed watching his team and Peat individually handle the challenge the Sun Devils presented. For a team that’s aiming for bigger goals down the road, getting knocked down once in a while – in Peat’s case, on the floor – wouldn’t hurt.
“I probably would have been OK if we would have lost,” Lloyd said “(I’m) really happy we won but (we) keep things moving.
“I understand it’s part of the process. Would I have been happy? No. But I’m going to be alright. I’m built for this. I don’t judge myself and my team on whether we’re undefeated or not. (It) literally has zero impact.”
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