Arizona Basketball knew Oregon would be ready

Against their game against Pac-12 rival Oregon on Saturday, Arizona Basketball knew the Ducks would be ready for a fight. 

As a longtime fan of Arizona Basketball (I saw my first live game in 1968 in the Old Bear Down Gym), I wasn’t fooled by the total collapse of the Ducks against the Devils last Thursday. I knew they were already looking past Bobby Hurley’s upset-minded Sun Devils. Their prize was a chance to knock off the number three team in the nation at home in front of a national viewing audience on Saturday.

Unfortunately, the worst thing that could’ve happened was what did happen. The Devils routed the Ducks, making the importance of their game against Arizona exponentially greater.

Oregon Storms into McKale

Oregon was playing to regain the recognition they started with at the beginning of the season (ranked 13th) and for a chance to play in the postseason. Winning at McKale wouldn’t just take away the bad taste left in their mouths by the game at Tempe, it would propel them back into the March Madness mix.

Two of my daughters, a son-in-law, and one of my grandkids were at the game and they all agree the noise level was insane. The fans often rock McKale with raucous cheers (recall the echoes to the announcer’s “Steeeeve Kerr”, when he hit a three?) and they were in good voice Saturday.

And the Basket Cats needed the support. Oregon came charging out with only one thing on their collective minds, “We’ve beaten these guys seven times in a row and we can do it again!”

And to their credit, they almost did.

Dana Altman has been a thorn in Arizona’s side for his whole time at Oregon and he had his team ready.

Key Turning Points for Arizona Basketball

For me there were three plays that stand out, plays that made me feel we could change the direction this rivalry has gone. The first came quickly. Given an opening on a great screen out by Christian Koloko, Mathurin buried a three. The battle was joined!

The second key play came late in the game. An Oregon defender caused Mathurin to dribble the ball away, threatening to cause an over and back turnover. Mathurin saved the ball and launched a desperation pass to Kerr Krisa on the Cats’ side of half court. Krisa responded by sinking a huge three at the edge of the Wildcats logo from beyond NBA range.

There was less than a minute and a half left and we had the lead. I almost resumed normal breathing.

It came down to one final brilliant play. When Oregon’s Will Richardson brought the ball down looking for a last-second three to send the game into overtime, Koloko met his charge and effectively prevented any shot. What a game! Bring on Utah!