Arizona coach Mike Stoops suffered his worst loss since a game at LSU early in the 2006 season/TucsonCitizen.com

Coach Mike Stoops struggled to come up with the last time his Arizona Wildcats played so poorly, was so utterly outmanned, was so flat-out embarrassed and embarrassing.

If there is one thing you have been able to count on recently from Arizona, it is the team’s ability to compete.

But starting with a poor kick return, two incomplete passes and an interception, UA was grabbed by the neck by Nebraska and bum-rushed out of Qualcomm Stadium, bowing meekly 33-0 in the Holiday Bowl on Wednesday night.

“Nothing was right all night,” Stoops said.

“I’m disappointed just in the way we played and took this stage tonight. It has been a long time since we played a game like this. I don’t know if we were just content getting here, but we certainly didn’t show up in any way, and for that I apologize to our fans. I have to do a better job of preparing our team.”

The last time Arizona was so dominated was Sept. 9, 2006, in a 45-3 loss at LSU. Back then, the Tigers were clearly superior, they were at home, quarterback Willie Tuitama suffered a concussion … and the result was expected. The Holiday Bowl was supposed to be a toss-up on neutral turf, a defensive struggle featuring just a few big offensive plays here and there.

Instead, Nebraska made all the plays, Arizona none.

“It was our attitude and our effort,” said defensive coordinator Mark Stoops, coaching his last game at Arizona before taking over coordinator duties at Florida State. “All the principles that we stand for, all the principles that we built this program on, were not there tonight.”

Said Mike Stoops: “We didn’t have an edge about us tonight in any phase.”

Why? Neither Stoops brother said he really saw this coming. The preparation, Mark said, was similar to last season’s game against BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Did the coaches not notice the players getting big heads from a closing two-game winning streak over ASU and USC that netted the Wildcats an 8-4 regular-season record and a tie for second in the Pac-10? Effort was part of the equation Wednesday night, but there is no getting around the fact that Nebraska’s defense, led by All-American defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, was just waaaay too good.

The Cornhuskers pressed Arizona’s receivers like no team has, taking away the screen game and daring UA to go deep. “They just man up and say, ‘Beat us,’” said quarterback Nick Foles.

Arizona couldn’t. Couldn’t even come close. The Wildcats had 37 yards before gaining 72 on a final push that ended at the 8-yard line.

So, Arizona was out-coached, out-schemed, out-prepared, out-efforted.

The Wildcats had gone 31 consecutive games without a loss of more than 10 points, by far the longest such streak in the Pac-10. It’s a bit of a manufactured stat, but it shows that UA, whether it was against USC or second-ranked Oregon or ranked BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl, pretty much stood toe-to-toe with everyone, winning 19 of their past 29 games and not getting blown out in two-and-a-half seasons.

What happened Wednesday night was the exception, not the rule.

“This game is humbling in a lot of different ways,” Stoops said. “When you think you have arrived, that’s when you are going to get whacked. And we certainly got whacked by a much better team. …

“Believe me, I am proud of what we accomplished this season, but you can’t ever forget how you got here. Sometimes that can happen. We’ve earned a lot of respect over the past two years but you have to continually work on that.”

Stoops should be proud of what Arizona accomplished this season. The Wildcats were one game better in the regular season than last year, although the final record – 8-5 – is the same. Those are the two best back-to-back seasons at Arizona since 1997 and 1998.

Remember, the Wildcats were picked to finish eighth by the Pac-10 media (and were generally projected anywhere from fifth to eighth).

The crushing defeat in the Holiday Bowl stings, but it doesn’t change the fact that Arizona exceeded expectations, provided several thrills, delivered ESPN’s College Football GameDay to campus for the first time and kept the program on an upward pitch.

Mark Stoops, standing in a hallway outside the locker room and addressing a few reporters, told the story of how senior defensive tackle Earl Mitchell stood up in a meeting before the Oregon game and told his teammates that no matter what happened the rest of the way, he was going to be proud because “this group changed the complexion of Arizona football.”

“Basically,” Mitchell said last night after being one of the final players to leave the locker room, “I told them I had seen our team rise from pretty much nothing, from our trials at LSU to our triumph at USC.”

But at the very end, the team that had proven it could compete with anybody on its schedule, didn’t.

Mitchell sees a silver lining for what is left behind.

“I think it’s a good thing,” he said. “A lot of our younger guys, they came in and saw a lot of the good things, and they didn’t really understand how it feels to be down.

“Hopefully, they can be to able to play with some pride because they know how it feels to be down.”

Can’t argue with that.

The offseason awaits. Time to get back to working with a purpose.

Over: 33-0.

* * *

Going down to the field for postgame interviews. Our trio of TucsonCitizen.com writers here at Qualcomm Stadium will be back with postgame reaction and analysis.

* * *

Matt Scott is in the game. … Now?

(And, after two plays, he’s out.)

* * *

This figures to be, at least, Arizona’s worst loss since a 45-3 setback at LSU on Sept. 9, 2006. At least that result made some sense. The game was in Baton Rouge, and quarterback Willie Tuiitama was knocked out of the game with a concussion. Arizona was still building under coach Mike Stoops.

This result comes out of leftfield.

One common thread: Bo Pelini. He was LSU’s defensive coordinator at the time, and now he’s Nebraska’s head coach.

* * *

Nebraska leads 33-0 at the end of the third quarter. Here’s one streak that will end: Arizona had gone 31 consecutive games without losing by more than 10 points.

* * *

You’re not surprised are you? UA cornerback Devin Ross gets beat down the sideline by Niles Paul, and quarterback Zac Lee hits him in stride for a 74-yard touchdown.

Someone mentioned in the comments section about Ross’ draft stock plummeting. I think it has dropped steadily in the second half of the season … not long after I quoted Rob Rang from NFLDraftScout.com as saying Ross’ stock was on the rise. Maybe it was after a few games, but the senior is not leaving scouts a good impression here.

Nebraska leads 33-0 with 3:39 to go in the third quarter.

* * *

It probably doesn’t matter much, but Devin Ross dropped another would-be interception, this time in the end zone. Nebraska has to settle for a field goal and a 26-0 lead with 10:07 to go in the third quarter, but it’s the second case when an interception would have prevented a Husker field goal.

Alex Henery’s four field goals are a Holiday Bowl record.

* * *

I hope Arizona is making some brilliant halftime adjustments because, if not, they would have been better off watching a super halftime fireworks display.

* * *

Nebraska’s snow-bound band didn’t make the trip, but the Cornhuskers’ offense, defense and special teams sure did. As for Arizona … well, hey, the band is here!

Other than that, not much else looks good for the Wildcats, including their new white helmets. Won’t be seeing those again any time soon, I would guess. Start speculating on when Mike Stoops will break out red helmets. Can’t wait.

And just when you thought it couldn’t get worse …

Arizona was penalized on a Nebraska punt with less than two minutes to go before halftime, giving the Cornhuskers a first down at the UA 26. They turned that into 41-yard field goal for a 23-0 halftime lead.

Nebraska is playing so well that you would think it had 22 guys named Jimmer.

The Wildcats have a long way to go just to make this respectable. As for winning the game, consider that Nebraska has allowed more than 23 points in a game just once this season (31, Texas Tech). UA has to somehow find a way to get at least 24 points in a half. Good luck with that.

* * *

Arizona, in a sense, just “gave up” three points. On third-and-8 from the UA 33, Cody Green throw a quick out that cornerback Devin Ross could have intercepted, but didn’t. The Cornhuskers were then able to get a 50-yard field goal by Alex Henery for a 20-0 lead with 8:25 to go in the second quarter in what is turning out to be a rare dud of a Holiday Bowl.

(I guess it’s still better than getting beaten by Utah in the Poinsettia Bowl, though.)

* * *

Just some stats for your (in)digestion: Arizona, after five drives, has 24 total yards and is 3 of 12 passing. I guess “drives” isn’t the right word. How about we say “possessions” instead?

* * *

Nebraska easily drives 82 yards for a touchdown and a 17-0 lead with 11:57 to go in the second quarter. This won’t be the sendoff UA defensive coordinator Mark Stoops is looking for as he heads off to become the coordinator at Florida State. And, at this rate, offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes won’t look so hot for that new head coaching vacancy at Texas Tech.

* * *

Three thoughts at the end of the first quarter as Nebraska leads 10-0.

1. Arizona needs to go to Matt Scott at quarterback right now. The Wildcats have done next to nothing in four possessions, and a running change-up at quarterback just might help things. Probably can’t hurt.

2. If the UA defense doesn’t come up with a turnover, the Cats can’t win this game.

3. I thought the 1998 Nebraska team that played Arizona in the Holiday Bowl probably was the best tackling team I had seen play the Wildcats. This group is just as good … so far.

* * *

UA’s fourth possession begins inside the 20 for the third time. Sure would be nice to have Rob Gronkowski running up the seam right now.

* * *

Arizona tries a couple of different things on its third possession — an end around and a shovel pass to Nic Grigsby. Nothing working there either. Plan C time?

* * *

Three more for Nebraska on a 47-yard field goal by Alex Henery. At this rate, the “over” of 40 points will be beaten by the Cornhuskers all by themselves. The Cornhuskers are up 10-0 with 8:53 to go in the first quarter, and it seems as if UA offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes already needs to go to plan B.

* * *

Nothing doing on UA’s second drive. The Cornhuskers seem intent on taking playing tight coverage and taking away the screen pass, which means Arizona has to pass block longer against Ndamukong Suh and friends. Six plays for Arizona, only one run.

* * *

Saw University of Arizona president Robert Shelton before the game. He said of tonight’s game, “No turnovers, we win.” So much for that. Nick Foles, trying to hit a sideline fade pattern on third-and-10, instead finds Nebraska safety Matt O’Hanlon, who returns the interception to the UA 5.

Two plays later, quarterback Zac Lee keeps around right end for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead with only 1:15 gone in the game. That’s the fastest score in Holiday Bowl history.

Nebraska was pressing the UA receivers on the third-down play, perhaps baiting Foles into that fade pass, which he underthrew.

* * *

So far, the “Go Big Red” chants are greater than the “U of A” chants. Ready for kickoff …

* * *

Greetings from drizzly San Diego. There’s no mist right now, but the sky is gray and Arizona’s helmets are white. Maybe that’s a good combination.

Steve Rivera, Javier Morales and I arrived a few hours before game time and soaked in some of the atmosphere around the stadium, and crashed the Arizona alumni tailgate. University of Arizona president Robert Shelton spoke to the crowd after the UA marching band performed.

Below are a few photos from the pregame, including former Citizen sports staffer Rodney Haas, who drove over from Tucson on Wednesday morning with a homemade sign:

UA offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes says you don't want to overdo trick plays in a bowl game/Tucson Citizen photo

SAN DIEGO — Greetings from beautiful San Diego as the Arizona Wildcats are ready to play Nebraska on Wednesday night in the Holiday Bowl. …

No secret here. As UA defensive end Brooks Reed says, this game is “defense against defense.” The oddsmakers in Las Vegas agree, as the Holiday Bowl had the lowest over/under total of the 34 postseason games, with the points-scored number hovering around 40.

Sounds like a good time for both teams to break out some trick plays.

Neither team can be confident in its ability to put together something like a 10-play, 80-yard drive. I see this as more of a heavyweight rope-a-dope fight, with each offense just waiting for that one opening to land a haymaker.

With the extra time to prepare, a bowl game is a good time for trick plays, anyway.

“It is,” UA offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes said after a recent practice.

“You have a little bit more time to get prepared and watch tape and all that stuff. The big thing is sometimes you get too creative and do too much new stuff. And, really, the bowl game is all about getting our guys to play fast and execute. There is always a balancing act between enough new stuff and being able to execute the stuff you do.”

Arizona backup quarterback Matt Scott can really be a wildcard here. He is healthy again after missing the USC game with a rib injury. UA hasn’t really explored its full options of having two quarterbacks on the field at the same time, but this might be the time to throw caution to the wind and keep the superb Cornhuskers defense off balance with Scott’s running threat. …

Quarterback Nick Foles’ quick release will help him against a ferocious Nebraska pass rush, led by defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. But Nebraska’s sack total (42) is also a factor of an excellent secondary, which can create coverage sacks. Can the defensive backs take away UA’s screen game and make Foles hold the ball a bit longer?

Sounds like the key question for Arizona. …

Dykes on Suh, who was the Associated Press Player of the Year: “The thing about him is he is just so productive. You look up and he has nine or 10 tackles, and it seemed liked he had three or four. He really has a great feel for the game. When he’s rushing and he can’t get there, he knocks balls down. He plays screens. He really is a smart football player.’ …

Arizona not only had a wonderful talent base when it played Nebraska in the 1998 Holiday Bowl — cornerback Chris McAlister, offensive lineman Edwin Mulitalo and receiver Dennis Northcutt, to name three long-standing NFL players — but it had an all-star cast of coaches.

Consider: That nine-man staff had four coaches who either were, have been or are head coaches … and that doesn’t even include Duane Akina, who just might be the best secondary coach in the business.

Bob Wagner, the former head coach at Hawaii, was the inside linebackers coach. Jeff Woodruff, who would go on to be the head coach at Eastern Michigan, coached the running backs. Defensive coordinator Rich Ellerson just completed his first season as head coach at Army after a successful run as the head coach at Cal Poly. And Rob Ianello, who was Arizona’s recruiting coordinator and receivers coach, was just hired as the head coach at Akron.

Others on the staff included four respected assistants who have stayed busy in the business, including offensive coordinator Dino Babers (now at Baylor), offensive line coach Charlie Dickey (Kansas State) and Marty Long (Northwestern). Pete Alamar, who had been at Cal since 2003 (special teams/tight ends) was let go this week. Thoughts go out to Long, who recently underwent emergency surgery for what published reports called a “growth.” Long, 45, will miss Northwestern’s appearance in the Outback Bowl. …

As for Ianello, former UA head coach Dick Tomey, interviewed by TucsonCitizen.com’s Matt Minkus on a recent podcast at radioexiles.com, said that “Akron has hired someone who will put them on the map.” Tomey added: “Rob is just so smart, so hard-working, and he will be as good a recruiter as any head coach in the country.” …

Outgoing Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood was at a Holiday Bowl luncheon on Tuesday, as he hasn’t completely left the premises for his new job at UNLV. His first major act as the athletic director at UNLV was to hire Montana football coach Bobby Hauck, who was 80-17 in seven seasons with the Grizzlies, a powerhouse program in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Hauck is 45; it was only a matter of time before someone gave him a top-division job. Livengood will be trying to buck history with this hiring, though. UNLV is a graveyard of coaches. Of the nine head coaches in the Rebels’ history, only one ever coached in college again after his days in Las Vegas. That would be Ron Meyer, who jumped to SMU in 1976 and then the NFL in 1982.

Nebraska has Ndamukong Suh, the Associated Press Player of the Year as a defensive tackle. The Cornhuskers have the enduring Blackshirts nickname for their defense.

They have a defense that ranks second nationally, allowing 11.23 points per game. They have a defense that gave up just 202 yards to Texas in the Big 12 championship game.

Earl Mitchell (making tackle) and Ricky Elmore (No. 44) have been big parts of a stout Arizona defensive line/Wildcat Sports Report photo

They have another defensive tackle, Jared Crick, who was All-Big 12 as a sophomore and had five sacks against Baylor this season. They have two more players who were first-team all-conference — cornerback Prince Amukamara and strong safety Larry Asante.

And what will Arizona’s defense counter with in the Holiday Bowl on Wednesday?

Although the bar wasn’t set high, this is UA’s best defensive line in at least a decade.

Defensive end Ricky Elmore finished the regular season with a Pac-10-best 10.5 sacks. Brooks Reed has been a factor since coming back from a mid-season injury. Defensive tackle Earl Mitchell is a possible mid-round NFL draft pick. Horton has been solid.

Arizona’s 34 sacks are the most since the 2001 season.

The Wildcats have been a self-described bunch of no-names all season — no first-team All-Pac-10 players on this unit — but that chip on their shoulder has served them well.

No need to brush it off now.

“Ndamukong Suh, he’s a crazy player,” said Arizona senior defensive tackle Donald Horton.

“He definitely plays hard and does his thing. But I feel that we have done, as a unit, just as much. At times, we can really dominate. There were times in the middle of the season when we got lackadaisical and fell off a bit, but I think we hit our stride the last couple of games and really tried to turn on the heat.”

Arizona will be trying to turn on the heat against a lukewarm Nebraska offense that grew increasingly conservative during the season, content to let its defense do the heavy lifting (and trying to avoid another eight-turnover disaster like the one in a 9-7 home loss to Iowa State).

After that, the Cornhuskers didn’t attempt more than 21 passes in any of their other six games. They scrapped the spread offense for a run-oriented attack, led by running back Roy Helu Jr. (1,139 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns).

Nebraska topped 300 total yards only twice in nine Big 12 games.

The team’s biggest playmaker is receiver Niles Paul, who has 36 receptions for 673 yards and is dangerous in the return game. Nebraska is expected use junior Zac Lee and true freshman Cody Green at quarterback.

“They’re not a complicated team offensively,” Horton said. “They don’t have a lot of shifts, and there aren’t a lot of adjustments we have to make. We just play our defense and be comfortable in it.”

The Wildcats don’t want to get too comfortable. Nebraska figures to be persistent with the run, pounding away, hoping to spring something big on the ground or play-action to Paul.

“They are very physical up front,” said UA defensive end Brooks Reed.

“They do a lot of traditional stuff. But if you can’t stop it, you can’t stop it. And they’re going to keep doing it until you can.”

It will be up to the no-names to stop it, to make a name in a game in which Suh is the undisputed star. He is the probable No. 1 pick in the 2010 NFL Draft … and when is the last time Arizona faced a defender this good?

Penn State linebacker LaVar Arrington in 1999? Washington defensive tackle Steve Emtman in the early 1990s?

Horton said his father has had words of advice when it comes to Suh.

“He said, ‘All the attention is going to be on him, but you’re going to be at the stage, too. Make a name for yourselves, too, as a defensive front,’” Horton said.

“In my heart, I’ve been using that as a challenge.”

Related links from TucsonCitizen.com’s Sports Network:
AG’s Wildcat Report: UA’s Horton hoping a dream comes true in Holiday Bowl

Wild About AZ Cats: UA’s offense more of a challenge for Pelini this time around

AG’s Wildcat Report: Wildcats ready to shed the blue helmets for Holiday Bowl

AG’s Wildcat Report: Holiday Bowl flashback: What the Nebraska ‘N’ really stood for

Wildcat Sports Report: Cats close to completing recruiting class

UASports.net: Breaking down the Holiday Bowl inside and out

Donald Horton

Arizona Wildcats defensive tackle Donald Horton has a dream. Mostly, he’s been having a dream as he prepares for his last game — UA’s appearance in the Holiday Bowl against Nebraska.

“It’s this weird dream,” he said.

“It’s kind of like a quarterback rollout play. I break through the line. I’m running and right as he throws it, I jump and I knock the ball out and the ball lands in (defensive back) Corey Hall’s hands. He runs it back and we win off that play.

“Weird, right? I have been having that dream all the time. If that happens, I don’t know what I would do. I would go crazy.”

If anyone deserves to go crazy — in a good way — it’s Horton.

The fifth-year senior is a survivor of the early Mike Stoops years, when the Wildcats were trying to crawl out of the Mackovickian muck, when progress was measured not so much in wins and losses, but by an decreasing margin of defeat.

Stoops, especially recently as the Wildcats are having their best season since 1998, has praised those enduring fifth-year seniors, who were part of his first full recruiting class in 2005. They were buying on faith.

Horton made his recruiting visit during the 2004 home game against 20th-ranked Wisconsin … a night that provided ample reason to not want to come to Arizona.

Thunderstorms and lightning, the product of Hurricane Javier, delayed the game 88 minutes. The teams eventually slugged it out in miserable conditions, with the Badgers winning 9-7 when Arizona’s Nick Folk missed a 47-yard field goal with 43 seconds left.

“Even from my recruiting trip, I just had the feeling Arizona was really going to do something,” Horton said.

“Wisconsin was a powerhouse at the time. And I was like, man, we are keeping up with them and pushing them, and we didn’t have very much at the time. I was like, man, these boys are going to be good.

“For me, it wasn’t that hard to believe in them.”

So, Horton had a vision, he is having a dream … and after the Holiday Bowl, he will begin the dream.

And it doesn’t have anything to do with playing football.

For sure, Horton has been a valuable member of the Wildcats. Able to play inside or outside on the defensive line, he has 42 games of experience, including 19 starts. As a full-time starter this season, he has three sacks.

But he’s not exactly pro stock.

As the door to his football career closes, another one opens. Already a graduate student, Horton will begin an internship next semester, working in Arizona’s strength program.

“What I have in mind, what I really want to do, is strength coaching,” Horton said.

That can wait for one more game.

Maybe on Wednesday night, the Nebraska quarterback will roll out. Horton will break through the line. The quarterback throws. Horton jumps. Deflects the ball. Corey Hall grabs it and runs for a touchdown.

Well … it could happen.

Arizona point guard Nic Wise wishes you Happy Holidays.

‘Twas the night before Christmas Eve when Wise arose such a clatter that the Arizona Wildcats’ recent struggles hardly seem to matter.

OK, I’ll (mostly) stop with the Christmas theme right here … other than to say that Wise has been delivering better than dear ol’ Santa himself.

Wise had it the whole way Wednesday night, going on a coast-to-coast dash, through and around defenders, for a layup with 0.9 seconds left in a 76-74 win against North Carolina State.

“Coach is telling us to not let Wise bail us out, but he is,” said junior forward Jamelle Horne. “We’re not going to have any arguments with that.”

Wise has been spreading holiday cheer with back-to-back buzzer-beaters. He did it Monday night against Lipscomb with a 3-point shot released with 0.1 seconds left in overtime. Wednesday night, he had nine-tenths of a tick left to spare.

No sweat.

“I believe in Nic a lot, and I think he knows that,” said UA coach Sean Miller.

“If there is one I thing I probably have done a good job of, it’s making him know I completely trust and believe in him. He’s really good at the end of games because of his experience and ability. He has a big heart. You can really sense that when he’s out there.

“Watching what he did in back-to-back games … there have been some really good players who have great college careers who have never made one play like that, let alone win two games in a row like he’s done.”

Count N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe, a former NBA player, among that group.

“I’m just impressed with his ability to control the game and run the show. In that sense, he does remind me a little bit of me back in my day,” Lowe said.

“But he might have a little more asphalt, a little more street in him. He makes some plays I couldn’t do, like that shot in the end.”

What does it all mean for the Cats? Well, they’re now 6-5, which isn’t great, but it sure beats the alternative of losing to Lipscomb and/or losing to North Carolina State after leading by eight in the final minute.

And the Wolfpack didn’t even have its leading scorer, post player Tracy Smith, who was serving a one-game suspension.

It’s not that the last two games have been great wins. It’s that they haven’t been bad losses.

Wise’s two plays don’t change the fundamentals of the team — that it needs a more complete effort on defense and could stand to box out better on the defensive glass — but the two plays mean the world in terms of confidence.

And that could mean a lot down the road.

In the short term, it means that all UA hoopheads can spend the holiday break without grousing and grinching about the state of Arizona basketball over the family dinner.

As for that confidence, the Wildcats get to emotionally move on to the next game — at home against BYU on Monday — and then take on the Pac-10, where anything might happen. In the world of Pac-10 basketball — where most teams are like Arizona this season: young and flawed — get ready for more endings just like this.

Probably double-digit endings just like this.

“Even though some might say it was a lucky shot,” Wise said of his game-winner against Lipscomb, “that win gave our team that much more confidence coming into this game.

“At shoot-around this morning, we could feel the buzz in the arena. Even though nobody was there — it was just us — you could tell guys were anxious to get this win right before Christmas.”

And so they did.

With another late game miracle, courtesy of St. Nic.

More coverage from TucsonCitizen.com:
Steve Rivera: Horne plays, provides spark for Wildcats
UA-North Carolina State game blog

Final, Arizona 76, N.C. State 74: Nic Wise is giving himself a bit more margin of error. He hits the game-winning shot with 0.9 seconds left on a full-court sprint after Javier Gonzalez tied the game at 74 with a driving layup. Wise cut it closer against Lipscomb with a 3-pointer with 0.1 seconds left on Monday.

Wise’s heroics erased a furious finish by Gonzalez, who scored 10 points in the final 30.4 seconds.

As Fox Sports Net announcer said after the game, “I’m glad I was here.”

* * *

20.4 seconds left, Arizona 71, N.C. State: Not over yet. Javier Gonzalez hits a tough 3 from the corner under pressure. Arizona is going to have to hit more free throws down the stretch. Cue Nic Wise.

Arizona had an 8-point lead with less than a minute left.

* * *

28.1 seconds left, Arizona 71, N.C. State 67: Nic Wise (a 96 percent free throw shooter heading into the game) misses his second of the game, but makes one to make it a two-possession game. Wise actually missed another free throw earlier, but got a second chance because of a lane violation. That point looks awfully big right now.

* * *

1:06 left, Arizona 67, N.C. State: Like I wrote earlier … a couple of defensive stops. Arizona has made two plays around the basket — Jamelle Horne drew a charge against Dennis Horner, Derrick Williams swatted an in-close shot from Horner and then Horner, going for the trick, missed a short shot in the lane. Horne grabbed the rebound.

* * *

1:47 timeout, Arizona 65, N.C. State 61: Welcome back, Jamelle Horne. After missing the last game with a foot injury, he has 12 points and six rebounds … and he drew a key charge against Dennis Horner with 2 minutes left to preserve a four-point lead.

* * *

3:11 timeout, N.C. State 61, Arizona 61: Wise actually missed one of his free throws, but he came up with a steal on the other end. Does Wise and Arizona coach Sean Miller, one of the top free throw shooters in Big East history, ever go head-to-head from the foul line in practice?

* * *

3:38 timeout, N.C. State 61, Arizona 60: How does every feel about another overtime game? It could be headed that way. Nic Wise — 48 of 50 from the free throw line this season — is set to shoot his first two foul shots of the game after the timeout. What the Wildcats could use is a couple of defensive stops. N.C. State is 15 of 28 in the second half.

* * *

7:41 timeout, N.C. State 53, Arizona 52: It’s not Arizona-Lipscomb (yet), but this has turned into a thriller. The game has taken a nasty turn for the Wildcats, though, as Nic Wise committed his fourth foul with 7:41 left on a 3-pointer by Javier Gonzalez … who then makes the free throw after the timeout for a 54-52 lead.

Interesting coaching move as Wise stays in the game. It could backfire, but Wise is a senior who knows how to handle himself. One big thing tonight: Wise has not gone to the foul line.

* * *

11:41 timeout, Arizona 47, N.C. State 42: UA freshman post player Derrick Williams scored 11 points in the first eight minutes of the half, scoring five baskets a variety of ways around the basket. He has 21 points. That’s his third 20-point game of the season, and he’s only seven away from his career high, set earlier this month in an overtime loss at UNLV.

Williams stopped a 9-0 N.C. State run with two layups. The Wolfpack had pulled within 35-34.

* * *

15:20 timeout, Arizona 35, N.C. State 29: Nic Wise has picked up his third foul, which is potential trouble for the Wildcats. Alex Jacobson was the first big man off the bench in the half and is eating up the minutes that were going to freshman Kyryl Natyazhko not too long ago. Sean Miller has already used nine players before the half is five minutes old.

* * *

Halftime, Arizona 31, N.C. State 23: The Wildcats end the half on 21-10 run. As coach Sean Miller expected, the Wolfpack is throwing different defenses at Arizona, including man-to-man, a 2-3 zone and a 1-3-1 zone. Arizona made 12 of 27 shots in the first half (44.4 percent).

Jamelle Horne has nine points for Arizona. Derrick Williams leads the way with 10.

* * *

3:12 timeout, Arizona 23, N.C. State 15: The crowd goes wild as 7-footer Alex Jacobson, who wasn’t moving well on offense, finds himself alone with the ball above the 3-point line as the shot clock is winding down. Nothing to do except take the shot … and he makes it from straightaway. Arizona is on a 13-2 run. The Wolfpack has 10 turnovers and is shooting 33.3 percent from the field (7 of 21).

* * *

5:33 timeout, Arizona 18, N.C. State 15: With Nic Wise picking up two early fouls, MoMo Jones has played significant time at the point in the first half. Has it always been this obvious he has no left-hand dribble? And just because he has no left hand, that doesn’t make him the second coming of Jerryd Bayless.

* * *

11:55 timeout, Arizona 10, N.C. State 10: UA freshman forward Kevin Parrom, who has not played this season because of a stress fracture in a foot, has now played this season. He entered with 12:12 to play in the first half. The Wildcats had a 9-0 run to take a 10-8 lead, but center Alex Jacobson had a bad stretch, losing a ball underneath off his hands that led to a fast-break basket and then committing a foul on the offensive end.

Encouraging, though, that the Cats have quickly re-added Jamelle Horne to the lineup and seen the debut of Kevin Parrom.

* * *

15:41 timeout, N.C. State 8, Arizona 6: No need to worry about Jamelle Horne’s foot injury. After missing Monday’s game, Horne comes off the bench and shows his athleticism and energy, first hitting a 3-pointer and then stealing the ball near halfcourt and dribbling in for an all-alone power dunk. He had no problems going up or coming down.

Horne has helped inspire a fire-up late-night crowd at McKale. Loaded up on caffeine?

* * *

The crowd is unhappy with the second foul on UA point guard Nic Wise with 17:26 left in the half, but … it was a foul. He goes to the bench.

* * *

Freshman center Kyryl Natyazhko makes his second consecutive start in place on an injured Jamelle Horne. Question is, how long until Sean Miller goes to a smaller lineup or puts in Alex Jacobson, who was effective Monday night against Lipscomb. Miller immediately unhappy as he calls a 30-second timeout with 18:57 left after N.C. State takes a 4-0 lead.

To answer my own question, I was typing this, Horne comes in the game for Natyazhko.

OK then.

* * *

It turns out that Arizona junior forward Jamelle Horne won’t even be out until January. Wildcats coach Sean Miller said after Monday’s overtime victory over Lipscomb that Horne said he might be out until February with some sort of a mid-foot injury.

Call it a Christmas miracle.

Horne is warming up, and although he is not expected to start, should play tonight. He is the team’s leading rebounder at 8.1 per game and the team’s third-leading scorer at 11.1 points per game.

Check back during and after the game for more coverage from TucsonCitizen.com.

Just another thriller at McKale Center. Because of when you think of Arizona-Lipscomb basketball, you think thriller. That’s just the way it is.

It is, on one level, a great ending, a great story. The Wildcats win on a 3-pointer released with one-tenth of a second (or less) left. The stuff dreams of made of.

But out of all the wonderful things you’ve seen at McKale Center, watching the Wildcats pour off the bench in celebration to mob game-winning shooter Nic Wise to beat Lipscomb in overtime shouldn’t be one of them.

Lipscomb, folks.

“Tonight was a reflection of trying to hang in there under some very difficult circumstances,” first-year UA coach Sean Miller said after Monday night’s 83-82 victory. “We’re not a very good team.”

He did add: “We’re working hard day to be better.”

OK. That’s something.

Still, the truth is, Lipscomb, a preseason co-favorite in the Atlantic Sun Conference, has a better chance of being in the NCAA Tournament than Arizona.

And that’s just kind of sad.

Through 10 games of the nonconference season, it is obvious that 5-5 Arizona does not have, will not have, an NCAA Tournament resume. The postseason door is open just a crack because the young Wildcats, if they can get everyone healthy (Jamelle Horne, Kevin Parrom), figure to have a reasonable chance of playing their best ball in March for the Pac-10 Tournament.

The league is so bad that maybe the Cats could get hot at the right time, run the table in Los Angeles and earn the league’s automatic berth to the NCAAs. If you’re clinging to hope, that’s it.

Miller has been saying since the day he arrived in spring that he was fully anticipating growing pains. He didn’t sell anybody on the promise of a 26th consecutive NCAA Tournament for the Wildcats.

What might have been interpreted as sandbagging can now be interpreted as truth.

TucsonCitizen.com’s Steve Rivera asked Miller after the game how much his team practiced late-game situations.

“We do,” he said, “but, like everything, we’re so far away from being good at it.”

Besides, he said, Arizona isn’t advanced enough to be working on special situations. It is still trying to get a grip on the most basic of fundamentals.

“If we didn’t win the game tonight, one of the things that is overwhelming that you would ask yourself is, ‘Why do they keep running around us like we’re not there?’” Miller said.

“I mean, I’ve been in 18 seasons as a coach, this is my sixth as the head coach … I don’t know if I have ever seen a team that has a harder time rebounding a miss. One of the reasons that the game went into overtime is they had a couple of loose-ball plays.

“I just really feel like I could put my suit on and get on the floor and get that ball. It’s not that hard. The ball’s there, you gotta dive on it. The shot goes up, you have to block out. Running fast, playing with great effort is really hard for our team. We’re just going to keep working on that.”

Horne, out with a foot injury (perhaps for more than a month), is the team’s best rebounder. Without him, the Wildcats were out-rebounded 37-31.

Lipscomb had 36 points in the paint and 18 second-chance points. Arizona had 22 and eight.

“When one player goes down,” Miller said, “it can really change what you do.”

That’s the fragile state of Arizona basketball. The Wildcats are young. They have no scorers to bring off the bench. Not terribly deep right now. Not overly skilled on offense. Still learning Miller’s man-to-man scheme on defense.

Many of the young players are learning how to deal with basketball adversity for the first time.

Add it up: No margin of error.

Well, very little margin of error — about one-tenth of a second at home against a small private college from Nashville.

“We just have a long way to go,” Miller said.

Yep. How do you feel about the NIT?

Arizona junior forward Jamelle Horne could be out until February because of a foot injury, Wildcats coach Sean Miller said after an 83-82 overtime home victory against Lipscomb.

“I know he has talked about February,” Miller said. “I have to get on the same page and talk to the doctors and talk to (trainer) Justin (Kokoskie) and see where we go from there.”

That “February” news came so out of the blue that most everyone in the postgame press conference figured Miller had misspoke and meant January. He was asked directly about that.

“February,” Miller answered. “That is what Jamelle said and we’re going to see if that’s the case.”

Miller isn’t the most forthcoming about injury news and initially said Horne was suffering from an ankle injury. Miller checked with sports information official Richard Paige, who said that Kokoski was saying it was a mid-foot injury. Miller said there was no stress fracture.

In any case, Horne’s right foot was in a boot Monday night.

Horne, a junior, is the team’s third-leading scorer (11.1 points) and leading rebounder (8.1). Freshman center Kyryl Natyazhko started last night, pushing Derrick Williams to power forward.

Natyazhko wasn’t much of a factor, but backup Alex Jacobson was, hitting three key baskets in the second half.

“We needed every one,” Miller said.

Williams scored 13 points and had nine rebounds in 33 minutes. He was only 7 of 14 from the line.

“Derrick Williams played more ’4′ tonight than he has in the nine other games combined,” Miller said. “We asked him to do a lot and he did the best he could, but, clearly, we just don’t look very good. And that is what an injury can do to you.”

And, suddenly, it appears as if Horne’s foot/ankle injury could be a long-term thing — the Wildcats will have played nine Pac-10 games before February.

“He is just like Nic (Wise),” freshman guard MoMo Jones said of Horne. ‘He is sort of like the heart and soul of our team. Without him, we lack some things, but as a team we just had to come together and put it together, and that’s what we did.”

The upcoming opponents, though, will be tougher than Lipscomb.

UA-Lipscomb game blog: Wise beats the buzzer in overtime

It’s good! The officials go to the replay, again and again, to check the replay of Nic Wise’s 3-pointer with 0.1 second left (or less). Wise’s shot beats Lipscomb 83-82 in overtime as the Cats escape. A game of inches and milliseconds.

The officials looked at the play for about four minutes, as the Wildcats watched, their hands in the air to signal a 3-pointer. Eventually, official Chris Rastatter stepped away from the monitor and gestured with his hand that the basket was good. Arizona wins.

Whew. All this to beat Lipscomb?

(I was watching on the small monitor here from Fox Sports Net Arizona. I thought it was late. But announcer Dave Sitton swears the ball was out by less than the width of a phone book … sounds OK to me.)

For Wise, SportsCenter here he comes.

POSTGAME REACTION: Miller: Horne talking about being out until February

* * *

4.7 seconds left: Adnan Hodzic boosts the Lipscomb lead to 82-80 with two free throws.

* * *

10.4 seconds left: More late-game misery by Arizona. Solomon Hill turns the ball over on a spin move in the lane, and Lipscomb converts two free throws on the other end for an 81-78 lead.

* * *

28.3 seconds left: Lipscomb takes a 79-78 lead on a 3-pointer by Johnny Lee. The Bisons have scored six consecutive points.

* * *

MoMo Jones: Four 3-pointers entering the game. Jones in the first half of overtime: three 3-pointers. Go figure.

* * *

3:35 left in overtime: Arizona’s Derrick Williams (13 points, nine rebounds) fouls out. Adnan Hodzic makes one free throw to bring Lipscomb to within 75-73. Hodzic has 33 points.

* * *

Overtime! Hard to believe. Arizona and Lipscomb going to overtime. 69-69. The Bisons tied the game on a Brian Wright 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left. Smart play by Adnan Hodzic (whose name I have typed so much that I don’t have to look up it for the correct spelling anymore) who grabbed a miss underneath the basket and didn’t panic and kicked it back out. Nic Wise nearly pulled off a Miles Simon shot by heaving a 65-footer at the buzzer that went off the backboard and the rim.

* * *

With about a six-second differential between the game clock and the shot clock, Lipscomb lets Nic Wise dribble time off the clock — hey, that’s one guy you don’t want to foul — but the Bisons foul him with 12.2 seconds left. Wise makes both — he’s 10 of 10 tonight — for a 69-66 lead.

Wise at the line for the season: 46 of 48.

* * *

29.5 seconds left: Arizona has the ball and in clinging to a 67-66 lead. The Cats have been brutal in late-game situations in recent seasons. Nic Wise had a key play with a steal and a layup with a minute left.

* * *

3:47 timeout, Arizona 60, Lipscomb 59: Arizona’s guards have been much more aggressive in attacking the basket in the past few minutes, and it has paid off in trips to the line … or dishes to an open 3-pointer shooter. MoMo Jones gave UA the lead by making 1 of 2 foul shots with 4:03 left. Nic Wise is headed to the line after the timeout.

* * *

5:08 timeout, Arizona 57, Lipscomb 57: When did this turn into a vintage UA-UCLA game? The teams have been trading baskets, with a big 3-pointer by UA’s Kyle Fogg negated by a trey from Brian Wright.

* * *

6:44 left: Cats lead 54-52 on two free throws by Nic Wise, who is 40 of 42 from the line this season.

* * *

7:27 timeout, Lipscomb 52, Arizona 50: I didn’t take Alex Jacobson completely seriously when he told me in the preseason that he had been working really hard on his 15- to 17-foot jumper in the offseason. I asked him if he was comfortable shooting from that range in a game, and he said, “We’ll, I haven’t really been in a game.”

Well, the little-used junior center is in a game now, hitting two jumpers from about 15 feet and tipping in a rebound to make the score 52-50 with 7:55 left.

There is a lot of nervous energy in McKale Center right now.

* * *

11:17 timeout, Lipscomb 45, Arizona 42: Typical of how the game has gone for Arizona, Lipscomb has had two buzzer-beating attempts this half as the shot clock was winding down. On the first one, Josh Slater drained a 3-pointer. On the other possession, the Bisons missed the shot but got the rebound.

* * *

13:30 timeout, Lipscomb 43, Arizona 38: The crowd is (almost) getting into it now, standing as UA had a recent possession with a chance to tie with a 3-pointer. Alas, Solomon Hill traveled. The Bisons responded with a basket.

* * *

17:02 timeout, Lipscomb 38, Arizona 30: UA calls timeout after another basket by Adnan Hodzic (who now has 22 points). The Wildcats have opened the half by missing their first four shots (have they never seen a zone before this game?). Any chance of a hot start to fire up the crowd is gone.

* * *

Just a thought: Arizona was up 5-0, so the Cats were outscored 34-25 the rest of the half. Ah … there used to be days when UA’s bench players could beat a team like Lipscomb by 30 wearing blindfolds with one hand tied behind their backs. Now, I know Lipscomb is not a bad team at all; the Bisons are tested and were chosen preseason co-favorite of the Atlantic Sun Conference. But still …

* * *

Halftime: Lipscomb leads 34-30: The star of the show has been Bisons 6-9 center Adnan Hodzic, who has 18 points and has scored a variety of ways around the basket. Where can Arizona get one of these guys? Most UA fans hadn’t heard of him until about 45 minutes ago. Now, they know. This guy would be first-team All-Pac-10 (and not just because the league has a dearth of big men this season.)

OK, there’s a long way to go, but there is no energy in McKale Center (students are on break), the Cats are without injured Jamelle Horne … and imagine the fallout if, gulp, the Cats lost.

UA shot 9 of 25 from the field in the first half, and was 2 of 11 from behind the arc. Just as bad, Arizona was 10 of 18 from the free throw line.

* * *

2:26 timeout, Lipscomb 33, Arizona 29: Does this team miss Jamelle Horne that much? Well, at one point late in the first half, senior Nic Wise was on the floor with four freshmen. That’s not a good way to be. It shows in the score.

After the lackadaisical loss at San Diego State on Dec. 12, coach Sean Miller wanted to see better effort. Can’t say that he’s seen that when his team is trailing Lipscomb — Lipscomb! — late in the first half.

With 5:15 to go in the half, UA freshman Derrick Williams stepped up to the line for two free throws. He was 3 of 7 at that point, and the McKale Center crowd gave mock applause when he made both.

* * *

7:23 timeout, Lipscomb leads 24-21: The Bisons –they are from Nashville, Tenn. — won’t be awed by anything tonight. They have played better competition than Arizona this season, although they haven’t beaten any of those good team. They are 4-6 this season.

Stat to note: Adnan Hodzic has eight field goals. Arizona has seven.

* * *

8:33 timeout, Lipscomb leads 22-19: Arizona’s Sean Miller calls a timeout after Adnan Hodzic takes a lob and throws down a one-handed dunk for a three-point lead. He has 15 points. Getting nervous yet?

* * *

11:58 timeout, Arizona leads 16-14: The Cats don’t have an answer for Lipscomb 6-9 post Adnan Hodzic. (Don’t worry, most teams don’t — not even the good teams on the Bisons’ schedule, such as Vanderbilt, Ohio State and Cincinnati. Hodzic scored 18 points against each of those opponents.)

Hodzic is skilled around the basket, making 4 of 8 shots so far, including a pretty jump hook. He has nine points. Hodzic, from Sarajevo, Bosnia, is averaging 21.4 points.

* * *

15:17 timeout, Arizona leads 11-10: UA Kyle Fogg hit his first 3-pointer of the game, making him 13 of 21 for the season from behind the arc. That’s 61.9 percent.

* * *

Freshman big man Kyryl Natyakhko is in the starting lineup tonight for Jamelle Horne.

* * *

Arizona Wildcats junior forward Jamelle Horne, the team’s leading rebounder at 8.1 per game, is out for tonight’s game against Lipscomb because of a foot sprain suffered against San Diego State on Dec. 12. Horne was wearing a boot on his right foot during warmups.

Horne is averaging 11.1 points per game, third-best on the team.

There’s no immediate word on how much longer Horne will be out, although coach Sean Miller is sure to address the injury after the game.

Sophomore guard Brendon Lavender, who has missed the past two games because of a thigh injury, went through warmups and entered the game before the first media timeout.