Our hearts were beating a mile a minute, Coach Sean Miller kept his coat on and his tie unloosened, the players followed suit, many players contributed and the Wildcats clinched the top Pac-12 spot!
More from Zona Zealots
- Arizona Football begins Conference play against Stanford
- Arizona Football starts slow but runs away from UTEP
- How Wildcats Fans Can Claim $200 INSTANT Bonus at BetMGM Betting $10 Right Now
- Costly Mistakes doom Arizona Football in loss to Mississippi State
- Arizona Basketball likely to schedule Florida Atlantic for 2023
Gabe York stepped up to the line for his free throws after being fouled. The ball bounced off the rim, York impulsively leaped to rebound the ball and shot a bucket untouched in mid air, it went in!
This is the play which turned the game around for Wildcats. And this wasn’t to be Yorks only key rebound; his last rebound sealed the game for Arizona as he got fouled on a missed three point shot by Utah’s Delon White with one second left in the game.
Arizona Wildcats Basketball beat the Utah Utes dispelling all worries about not being able to win big games on the road; the team beat a tough Utah team in the final minutes of the game to remain alone as the No. 1 team in the Pac-12 clinching their share of the Pac-12 Championship.
This was such a huge game for Utah and Arizona, the victor would gain a lot of confidence and prove they belonged at the top of the Pac-12, both fighting for top seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
Utah students camped out in tents for days in the cold waiting to get seats to be able to be present to witness possible Utah history, to beat Arizona! But there hopes and prayers were not answered, and they fell to the Wildcats for the 12th straight time; the longest losing streak among all Pac-12 teams. And they lost at home on Senior night, senior Delon Wright was very disappointed, “The students have been camping out for days and I wish we could have won.”
Feb 28, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (23) dribbles the ball during the first half against the Utah Utes at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Some interesting tidbits from this game, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson did not score a basket in the first half, and of his 10 points, six were from free throws as he was 6-8 (75%) from the line. Stanley Johnson scored a double double with 12 points, 11 rebounds. The Wildcats made only two out of 12 three point attempts in the entire game shooting a dreary 16.7%.
Kaleb Tarczweski carried the team in the first half, he ultimately made three out of four baskets (75%) including a decisive spin move dunk on three Utes, and made seven of nine free throws (78%) scoring a team high 13 points. The first time out called by a coach in the first half was with 9:30 left to go.
The Wildcats could not make a basket in the beginning of the second half, they missed their first 10 shots shooting 33.3% . The first person to score was Stanley Johnson who stole the ball, and returned it for a layup. Stanley wasn’t having the night he planned on, and the coach eventually sat him down on the bench.
We all felt for him as we know he wanted more than anything to play well and lead the team to a victory. He took to Twitter last night after the game to communicate that he is a true team player, that he was happy they won and then showed us how the team was celebrating in the locker room post game.
....I could go 1-50 and be happy as hell right now for everyone's information #BTFD #ROADKILL
— 7even (@iAmSJ) March 1, 2015
You can’t get enough of that positive mental attitude, he tweeted out “#Family”, this is a rare view into our Wildcats locker room, you have to watch this celebration, wonder what T.J. McConnell was showing the camera:
#Family pic.twitter.com/V6Df3MJAqC
— 7even (@iAmSJ) March 1, 2015
Twitter commentary post game among fans centered around Gonzaga losing at their home to BYU and the prospects of that propelling Arizona to become a No. 1 seed possibly. Then the question of whether this would push Arizona out of the West division; were the Los Angeles Arizona Wildcat fans going to be shut out of being able to go to a local game? Time will tell, but we can all breath easy for a couple of days and enjoy the win! We even missed Bill Walton last night, somewhat embarrassed to admit that fact, Beardown people!
Highlights care of Brian Jeffries of the IMG Sports Network, the view from under the basket…
Next: Did ZonaZealots get the keys to beating Utah correct? Check it out!