Arizona Wildcats Basketball: No. 1 in the Pac-12, Beat UCLA 57-47

By Shereen Rayan | Feb 23, 2015

UCLA and Game Day came to the University of Arizona’s campus to take on the Wildcat fans, the ZonaZoo and the Arizona Wildcats Basketball team at McKale Center on Saturday night. What was to transpire, no one saw coming.

Six minutes and five seconds into the game, which felt like forever, Dusan Ristic scored Arizona’s first two points (free throws) off the bench! He actually scored six points in two minutes and still no one else had scored for the Wildcats and we eight minutes into the game. This was going to be a long and tight game.

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The Bruins played like they had something to prove to the world; maybe it was EPSPU’s Game Day, maybe they wanted to show the nation they could beat a ranked team, maybe it was the long time rivalry with Arizona, or maybe a son wanted to show his father what he was made of. Whatever the reason, the Bruins found their heart and gave the Wildcats a run for their money.

The top two Wildcat score leaders at the end of the first half were bench players Gabe York and Ristic. All the starters were having issues getting the basketball into the net and the teams shooting percentage was a little over 30% (34% for the game), 23.1% from beyond the arc. Interesting fact, the starters did not make one three pointer, and the from the bench York was the best three pointer shooter making 60%, the most on the team.

Feb 21, 2015; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Gabe York (1) dribbles the ball around UCLA Bruins guard Bryce Alford (20) during the second half at McKale Center. The Wildcats won 57-47. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

Free throws were a highlight for the Wildcats, standouts were Ristic (4-4), T. J McConnell (5-6), Stanley Johnson (5-7). Rebounds as well, the Wildcats out rebounded the Bruins 40-23 which included Kaleb Tarczweski with nine and Stanley Johnson with 10.

The biggest Wildcats lead during the game was 14 points, the score was 32-18. The fans in the stands were breathing a sigh of relief, finally the Cats were pulling away, and this remained the score at the end of the half. Coach Sean Miller put the starters back in the game, and lo and behold, the score started to even out again as shots were just not falling for the Wildcats.

In fact, Arizona did not score for six minutes and fifty-five seconds into the second half until Rondae Hollis-Jefferson tipped the ball in on a second chance, score brought Arizona back within one point, 35-34 UCLA.

Where was the Wildcat defense? Where were the dunks from the last game? And finally, where was the 50% field goal shooting from the last couple of games? Sean Miller, his coaches used a number of timeouts in a short amount of time to figure out the recipe to beat this Bruin team who were showing the nation how much heart they had left.

UCLA’s Bryce Alford was able to shoot freely at times and showed that he wasn’t about to give up. The Wildcats double teaming defense seemed to contain Alford and provided the most challenges for the Bruin offense.

Feb 21, 2015; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (23) talks to official Gregory Nixon (L) during the second half against the UCLA Bruins at McKale Center. The Wildcats won 57-47. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

A major distraction during the game were the referee’s calls. One would have thought that the Wildcats had more fouls called on them. Actually, the Bruins were called for 27 fouls in total versus 17 for the Wildcats, but those 17 were highly contested by the ZonaZoo, the players on both teams and all the fans.

The best part was that Coach Miller kept his cool through all of this adversity, and his team followed his lead, it didn’t hurt that the fans were doing all the complaining, and they were complaining very loudly with their boo’s.

Miller was in invested in his starters, he later explained post game that he wanted his starters in the game for defense. They did a good job at the end of the game not losing sight of the goal which was to keep their winning streak at home alive (now 36.) Coach Miller did not rely on the bench even though they seemed to have the hot hands on offense. The team kept pushing on and Coach Miller took off his coat, something we are not used to seeing as he usually just adjusts his tie to be looser.

Feb 21, 2015; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Sean Miller (L) takes his coat off during the second half against the UCLA Bruins at McKale Center. Arizona won 57-47. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

Deep into the second quarter it seemed there was no end in sight, then with 5:21 left in the game, the clouds parted and the sun shone through and the blocking/charging calls started to fall Arizona’s way. One by one the Bruins were fouling out (Tony Parker, Thomas Welsh and Kevon Looney). Left, right, left, right, one by one they walked back to sit on their bench with the roaring ZonaZoo student section reminding them of their demise. Coach Miller had put his coat back on! Good sign.

Feb 21, 2015; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Sean Miller puts his coat back on during the second half against the UCLA Bruins at McKale Center. Arizona won 57-47. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

These two factors led to the Wildcats getting back into the game. Without Bruin Center Tony Parker (no relation to the Spurs Tony Parker), the Wildcats were able to drive to the basket, and both Kaleb Tarczweski and Stanley Johnson seemed to start getting their shots to fall. Zeus had a major Dunk and the game seemed to turn around to Arizona’s favor.

McConnell had the ball in his hands as the Bruins began to intentionally foul and T.J. came through scoring all four of his final free throws bring the Wildcats up 10 points to the final score of 57-47.

Coach Alford decided to stop fouling and Arizona dribbled out the clock for the last 20 seconds or so. Wildcats proved they are the team to beat at home now winning 36 straight games, the streak continues. The all-time UCLA versus Arizona rivalry record is now 54-38, the Wildcats moved one game closer to breaking even at some point, just 19 more wins to go.

Note: On Sunday, the No. 9 Utah Utes were upset by the Oregon ducks by 11 points, 69-58. This helps Arizona because they are now the lone team at the top of the Pac-12 with a record of 12-2 and are now one full game up on Utah. The Wildcats are now 24-3 overall.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

Next games:

Colorado (5-9), Thursday February 26, 6:00 PM PST, 9:00 PM ET, on ESPN/WatchESPN

Utah (11-3), Saturday February 28, 6:00 PM PST, 9:00 PM ET, on ESPN, ESP3

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