Sean Miller will have to lean on his big men more in 2014.
Photo by Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

Losing at the buzzer in the NCAA tournament always feels like crashing into a tree. You’re driving along – full speed, full speed, full speed – bang. It’s over.

Sometimes a loss is devastating because you know you missed your best chance to reach a huge goal and now it’s time to rebuild. Fans of the Arizona Wildcats, however, hope the near miss of 2013 was just a pit stop on the road to bigger things next season.

In beating Belmont and Harvard, UA coach Sean Miller kept his record perfect against lower-seeded teams in the NCAA tournament. Including his time at Xavier Miller is now 8-0 as the favorite according the seed line and a respectable 3-6 against teams seeded higher.

It’s a great recipe for tournament success. Beat the teams you’re supposed to beat then take your shot at the big boys. Add in the fact Miller’s two Arizona losses came down to last-second shots and you feel confident the Wildcats have a coach whose best tournament days are ahead of him.

Grant Jerrett led the Cats in blocked shots and made 40% of his 3s.
Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The most frustrating stretch of Thursday’s game started at the 4:52 mark of the second half. Arizona held Ohio State scoreless for 3 ½ minutes but the Cats could only shave two points off the six-point deficit because the UA missed six straight shots, including four 3-pointers.

The right guys were shooting, too. Seniors Mark Lyons, Solomon Hill and Kevin Parrom took five of the six ill-fated attempts.

Lyons caught fire over the final 80 seconds and went on his own personal 7-1 run to tie the game before one of those buzzer-beaters that will have you shaking your head 15 years from now and holding up your thumb and index finger a quarter inch apart.

I know I’ll never be able to stay at a La Quinta (Ross) Inn again.

All in all, Lyons and Hill had strong games, exactly as hoped. But for Parrom the storybook ending wasn’t there. After everything he’s gone through you hate to see his college career end on a day he shot 25% from the floor and missed four of the five 3-point shots he took. Maybe he’ll catch his first break in a long time and the NCAA will grant his waiver request for another year of eligibility.

When the 2012-13 season started it looked like Arizona was a year away from a peak. Then the team kept winning and this year’s ceiling got raised. But the Pac-12 losses added up and UA fans went back to gazing upon next year with longing eyes.

Now, with a good-but-not-great Sweet 16 run in the rearview mirror, Wildcat fans really hope the 2013 team was a year away from championship contention.

Brandon Ashley averaged 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds for the season.
Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The first order of business is keeping the three freshmen big men away from bad advice. Not one of the trio of Kaleb Tarczewski, Grant Jerrett and Brandon Ashley dominated this year but that hasn’t stopped many an impatient basketball player from diving into the NBA waters in recent years. All three could use another year in the college game to get stronger and each will get a chance next season to transform from role player into star.

I will be disappointed if any of them suddenly up and leave this year but I think it’s naïve to expect all three to still be around as juniors. So you hope there’s a sense of urgency with that recruiting class to finish what was started. Hill and Parrom got the program out of disarray to a Pac-10 title, two Sweet 16’s and an Elite Eight. It’s up to the guys known as Zeus, Grant and Bash – with a big helping of Nick Johnson – to complete the job.

A big question mark next season will be outside shooting. If Parrom doesn’t return it means 410 career 3-point baskets are exiting the building on the backs of the seniors. Can Jordin Mayes play in November through February the way he does in March? Will Gabe York do enough on defense and handling the ball to earn the minutes needed to let his scoring ability develop?

On the defensive end the concern is also on the outside. At 6-foot-3 Johnson was able to successfully stymie point guard types but taller perimeter players like Allen Crabbe (31 points), Shabazz Muhammad (23 points) and Spencer Dinwiddie (21 points) all had big games in beating Arizona. Is 6-7 incoming freshman Rondae Hollis-Jefferson the answer?

Slow down guys outside and the three bigs should be able to protect the rim. Add in an all-defensive-team point guard in T.J. McConnell and the Cats have the potential to roll out a smothering defense in 2013-14, which is exactly what Sean Miller has been looking for.

If he finds it, 2014 could finally be the year Arizona fans have been waiting for.

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Scott Terrell wonders if two stranded prepositions cancel each other out. Find what you’re reading for on Twitter and Facebook.

The Sun Devils took one on the chin in their own gym.
Photo by David Kadlubowski/azcentral sports

Arizona defeated Arizona State on Saturday afternoon in a very satisfying victory for Wildcat fans. It wasn’t just winning in Tempe. It wasn’t merely the 17-point margin of victory. It was beating ASU in a fashion that left no doubt as to who had the better team.

It was a sign that a return to the days of a one-sided hoops rivalry may be on the horizon.

The UA made 56% of its shots in the second half against Arizona State. The Cats got to the line 12 times after the break and made them all. Arizona had more rebounds and fewer turnovers than the home team. It all added up to a 25-10 run over the final 10 minutes to turn a close game into a blowout.

The Wildcats wore down the Sun Devils with superior depth and superior talent. It started with Solomon Hill driving through the ASU defense and dunking on the very first possession. You had freshman Kaleb Tarczewski throwing it down over two Sun Devils on his way to outscoring and outrebounding ASU junior center Jordan Bachynski. Mark Lyons finished off the win by attacking, attacking and attacking some more against a foul-hampered Jahii Carson.

Kaleb Tarczewski and the UA freshmen grew up a bit in Tempe.
Photo by David Kadlubowski/azcentral sports

People can talk about the suspension and foul trouble exposing ASU’s thin roster but having the troops to win the battle of attrition is part of fielding a strong team. Arizona State certainly benefited in 2008 when Kevin O’Neill attempted what seemed like a four-man rotation.

Devil fans can still say they lead the head-to-head series since Lute Olson retired, having won seven of the last 12 meetings. But Wildcats can confidently point to more telling statistical splits: Olson went 43-6 against ASU, the interim coaches went 0-5 and Sean Miller is now 5-2 against his in-state rivals.

There was definite concern after last year’s game. When ASU beat the Cats on the final day of the regular season to effectively end Arizona’s hopes for an at-large NCAA tournament bid, it became the first time the Devils had taken something away from the UA on the basketball court in three decades.

None of Olson’s six losses to the Sun Devils cost him a Pac-10 championship or spot in the tournament. Even though neither O’Neill nor Russ Pennell could beat ASU, both coaches got Arizona to the Big Dance. Miller’s first loss to the Devils was during his 16-15 season when there was no chance of making the postseason.

Last year’s loss was a big deal and it stung those in Red and Blue. When Wildcat fans got over the shock there was nothing left to do but mutter about waiting for the top-five recruiting class to arrive. ASU was expected to stay near the bottom of the conference and things would quickly go back to normal.

But then ASU put together pretty non-conference record and matched Arizona’s 3-1 start in Pac-12 play. Carson was a leading freshman of the year candidate, Bachynski was a shot-blocking demon and Carrick Felix was playing like the guy recruited by Duke. There was good reason for Wildcat fans to be nervous heading into this game.

Watching the Cats play with intensity and get contributions from multiple sources was more than a relief; it was reenergizing. The win was not quite to the level of Lute Olson pointing at the scoreboard but it was a strong move in that direction.

Now you can take a step back and see a very likeable trend: Sean Miller’s three wins in Tempe have been by 19, 15 and 17 points. His five total wins against ASU are by an average of 16 points. He has elite recruits coming to play with his elite recruits.

Little brother got some shots in while he could but big brother looks ready to go back to his bullying ways.

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Scott Terrell likes his rivalries to be one-sided. Demand your bragging rights on Twitter and Facebook.

It’s time to go face-first into Wildcat hoops.
Photo by Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

Some days are bigger than others in the world of college sports. For fans of the Arizona Wildcats, this Saturday looms large.

We’ve followed the highs and lows that have brought the football team to the New Mexico Bowl. Now, as we always do this time of year it’s time to get up to speed on what’s been happening with the BasketCats.

If you’re like me and you’ve been preoccupied with football up until now, we’ve got you covered.

What did I miss?
Arizona has beaten seven average-to-bad teams, five at home and two on the road. The Cats’ strength of schedule is not good.

Who is the best freshman?
When the season started it was Grant Jerrett. Now is it Brandon Ashley who was the first of the trio to score 20 in a game, or is it Kaleb Tarczewski who has started every game and leads the team in rebounds? If this is an ongoing debate with all three getting votes the Cats are in good shape.

So none of them is the second coming of Derrick Williams?
Not Freshman Derrick Williams, no. By Williams’ third college game he had established himself as his team’s best player. None of this year’s rookies is dominating like that just yet.

Then how is the team supposed to win?
This is a far better overall team than the 2009-‘10 squad that didn’t make the NCAA tournament. Going into this year there were two ways the UA could be great: Either someone emerged as a true superstar, or all the talent came together to form a deep, balanced team that can beat you in different ways each night. It’s clear that this year Sean Miller will be using recipe B.

How can it be good not to have a superstar?
You can survive a game when one of your key players has an off night. Mark Lyons went 0-for-7 from the field against Southern Miss and Arizona still won. Solomon Hill threw up a 2-for-16 clunker versus Clemson and the Wildcats still pulled off the road victory. The UA has three players averaging a dozen points or more and two more averaging over eight points. This year’s portfolio is diversified.

Can I see any of this balanced team if I don’t have Pac-12 Network?
Actually, yes. Only one of Arizona’s next 13 games is on Pac-12 Network. Here’s the TV schedule for the rest of the non-conference games (all times Arizona/Mountain):

How is the rest of the Pac-12 doing?
Eh. The bad losses once again outweigh the good wins. Oregon won at UNLV to give the top-25 Rebels their only loss so far and the Ducks’ only loss is to undefeated Cincinnati. That’s solid but the Ducks’ strength of schedule is dreadful. Colorado beat Baylor, who beat Kentucky, but UK is just 6-3 and Baylor is only 5-3 and neither team is currently in the AP poll. The Buffaloes were last seen losing to Kansas by 36.

On the other side of the ledger Stanford lost to Belmont, Utah lost to Sacramento State and WSU lost to Pepperdine. Washington, by itself, has lost to Albany, Colorado State and Nevada. So…eh.

What about the UCLA Bruins? Weren’t they supposed to be good?
Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA’s top recruit, was ineligible and then he wasn’t. Muhammad was reinstated in time for the Bruins to lose at home to Cal Poly and two rotation players from last year have left the program. The Bruins did beat Texas on a neutral court…but Texas lost to Chaminade (and USC)…and the neutral court had almost as many people on the court as in the stands.

Does this mean the Arizona/Florida game is all-or-nothing for the Pac-12?
In terms of conference pride, yes. It’s also very important for Arizona’s RPI but you can’t put the entire season on this one game. The Florida contest will show us where the Wildcats are right now but there are still three months before the final grades are handed out.

Florida has Flo Rida. Is there a rapper out there named Ari Zona?
No, but Sean Miller is a Canadian DJ.

(And Kurt Heyer is a Latino metal drummer. So multi-talented, these UA guys.)

Give it to me straight: Final Four?
This looks like a classic “year away” team. In 2013-’14 you’ll have Nick Johnson as a junior, all three big men back as stronger, experienced sophomores and transfer T.J. McConnell plugged in at the point. That’s a great start to a peak season.

Of course, don’t tell that to seniors Hill, Lyons and Kevin Parrom. They don’t get a next year and they’re trying to make the peak happen in three months.

On Saturday we’ll see what kind of progress they’re making.

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Scott Terrell is ready for a two-sport Saturday. Put on your helmet and high-tops and join in on Twitter and Facebook.