Yahoo Sports 
Kadeem Allen's dramatic coast-to-coast drive gives Arizona a big win
One of their top players was at home with eligibility issues. Another tore an ACL for the third time in less than three years. Then they fell behind Michigan State by 15 points before the second TV timeout.
Everything appeared to be going against Arizona in its season opener until the Wildcats found a way to overcome the early-season adversity.
Freshmen Kobi Simmons and Lauri Markkanen led a spirited comeback and senior Kadeem Allen supplied some last-second heroics, leading 10th-ranked Arizona to a 65-63 victory over 12th-ranked Michigan State.
With the score tied and just over seven seconds to go in regulation, Allen took an inbound pass on the run, got Michigan State’s Josh Langford on his hip and drove the length of the floor for a go-ahead layup with 1.9 seconds left. Langford failed to force Allen to change directions and none of the freshman’s teammates provided any help defense until it was too late.
Having spent all its timeouts, Michigan State could only inbound the ball from under its own hoop and hope for a miracle. Allen quashed that hope when he tipped away the inbound pass while falling out of bounds to preserve an emotional season-opening victory for Arizona.
Rallying to beat Michigan State on a neutral floor gives Arizona hope that it can survive or even flourish despite being down to eight scholarship players in Allonzo Trier’s absence. It’s unclear how long the Wildcats’ leading returning scorer’s unspecified eligibility issues will sideline him, but Trier’s teammates stepped Friday with him unavailable.
Simmons came off the bench to score 11 of his team-high 18 points during a 21-2 first-half Arizona spurt after Michigan State had opened an early 17-2 lead. The freshman combo guard hurt the Spartans in a variety of ways, attacking off the dribble, getting to the foul line or hitting a couple of deep jumpers.
Markkanen, the skilled 7-footer from Finland, was also highly effective from all over the floor, whether knocking down pick-and-pop jumpers or scoring with his back to the basket. He finished with 13 points and 6 rebounds, a solid stat line that could have been even better had he been more aggressive.
And Allen answered Tum Tum Nairn’s improbable game-tying 3-pointer with his coast-to-coast game winner, giving him 10 points to go with three steals and three rebounds.
Contributions from Simmons, Markkanen and Allen helped Arizona survive a one-man assault on the rim from Michigan State’s Miles Bridges. The prized freshman scored a game-high 21 points against the Wildcats, several of which came on acrobatic reverse dunks or high-flying alley-oop slams.
While Bridges was erratic shooting from the perimeter, he proved almost impossible for Arizona to stay in front of off the dribble. The Wildcats had to abandon their starting lineup that featured two 7 footers because Markkanen wasn’t quick enough to guard Bridges — not that any of the other Arizona players had much more success.
Michigan State will need Bridges to be spectacular this season as the Spartans deal with some early adversity of their own.
Already without Denzel Valentine, Bryn Forbes and Matt Costello from last year’s Big Ten title team, Michigan State also lost their three top big men to preseason injuries, leaving the Spartans undersized and undermanned in the frontcourt. The injury woes worsened Friday when starter Kenny Goins briefly had to leave the game in the second half with an apparent left leg injury.
The timing of Michigan State’s rash of frontcourt injuries is less than ideal given the Spatans’ rugged early schedule. Nobody has a tougher November than Tom Izzo’s team, which still must play Kentucky and Duke and participate in the loaded Battle 4 Atlantis tournament before the calendar turns to December.
In the early going on Friday night, it seemed Michigan State would start that stretch with an important victory. Instead it was Arizona who left Honolulu celebrating after a show of resiliency capped by a dramatic layup.
– – – – – – –
Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him atdaggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
