Arizona's Sean Miller: We weren't nearly as good as everyone thought
— -- Arizona, ranked No. 2 entering the week, suffered its third loss in as many days Friday, falling to Purdue?89-64 in the seventh-place game at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Arizona led 4-3 early in the first half, but Purdue was in control throughout. The Boilermakers got 23 points from Carsen Edwards, and? Dakota Mathias finished with 24 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Purdue shot 57 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range.
Meanwhile, Arizona star freshman DeAndre Ayton continued his stellar play in the Bahamas with 22 points and eight rebounds, but All-American guard Allonzo Trier struggled, shooting 3-for-10 from the field and scoring eight points. Freshman Brandon Randolph, who was scoreless in Arizona's first two games in the event, scored 17 points.
Arizona entered the week looking poised for a Battle 4 Atlantis championship game showdown against Villanova but never came close. Arizona lost Wednesday to NC State, then fell to SMU on Thursday.
"I wouldn't have predicted we would come down here and finish 0-3," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. "That wasn't the goal. But nothing's ever as bad as it seems. And certainly we probably weren't nearly as good as everybody thought we were before we traveled down here."
Friday's 25-point loss was the biggest of the three defeats, and the biggest since last season's 27-point loss at Oregon. It also marks the first time in school history the Wildcats have lost three straight before the month of December, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
The Wildcats didn't allow more than 85 points in a game last season but have now given up 90 points and 89 points in a three-day span.
Should Arizona drop out of the AP poll, it will be just the second time a team has gone from No. 2 to unranked in the following poll. Louisville was the first to do this, in November 1986.
Arizona is playing without sophomore guard Rawle Alkins, who underwent foot surgery in late September and is not expected back for a few weeks. He averaged 10.9 points and 4.9 rebounds last season.
The Wildcats were also one of several programs impacted by the FBI investigation earlier this fall, as assistant coach Emanuel "Book" Richardson was arrested after allegedly giving $15,000 to an unnamed recruit. Richardson was subsequently fired.
Arizona (3-3) hosts Long Beach State on Wednesday. The Wildcats face top-25 teams Texas A&M and Alabama in early December.
