Arizona finishes off the victory, beating UCLA 85-74 to claim sole possession of second place in the Pac-10 behind 7-1 Washington. The Wildcats improve to 17-4 overall and 6-2 in the Pac-10.
Nice moment: The Zona Zoo serenades junior Kyle Fogg with “Happy Birthday” as he goes to the line with 46.2 seconds left.
Clearly, the Bruins aren’t the Bruins of a few years ago, but it’s still a nice victory and ESPN will love showing highlights of Derrick Williams’ first dunk … and his second dunk … and his third dunk … and his fourth dunk …
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Inside the final media timeout. Arizona leads 78-63 with 3:58 left. The teams have combined for 32 turnovers — so, it hasn’t exactly been a clinic on ESPN2 — but the Wildcats have shot the ball well from distance. UCLA, meanwhile, is 2 of 14 from behind the arc.
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Arizona in control at 69-56 with 7:59 left. The Ooh-Aah man makes his second appearance of the season.
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Tweet from Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com: I never thought I would see a Ben Howland team play this soft on the defensive end. Arizona has 60 points with 14 minutes left.
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Backup center Alex Jacobson in the game with 13:38 to play. He hasn’t seen game action since Dec. 5. On UA’s first possession with Jacobson, he hustles and leaps (as much as Tree leaps for anything), saving the ball to Kevin Parrom for two points.
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The only question now: How many of Derrick Williams’ four dunks make SportsCenter’s Top 10? Arizona leads 60-44 with 14:21 to play.
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FYI: Internet issues at McKale… might not be able to post much in second half.
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Derrick Williams opens the second half with a 3-pointer, his second of the game. Jesse Perry follows with a fast-break layup for a 43-33 lead … and UCLA coach Ben Howland calls timeout 37 seconds in the half.
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Halftime: Arizona leads UCLA 38-33. The game started with a big-game feel to it … and that lasted about five minutes. The play was often sloppy and choppy after that — way too many turnovers on each side — but the Wildcats finish nicely in the final minute, including another power dunk from Derrick Williams.
He has a team-high 12 points. Reeves Nelson has 15 for UCLA. Williams will be the ESPN star tonight for his one-handed dunk early in the game.
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Reeves Nelson flexing his muscles inside for UCLA. He has the last two buckets for the Bruins (thanks once to some matador defense by the Wildcats) and he will be going to the line after the timeout. He can tie the game; Arizona leads 29-27 with 3:53 to go.
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Tweet from Arizona sports information director Tom Duddleston, who is courtside: Fan behind us just told Joshua Smith he was ‘great in Blind Side…’
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Big dunk from UCLA’s Joshua Smith. At least he didn’t shatter the backboard.
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UCLA turns the tide with two quick baskets in transition from Jerime Anderson .. and now it’s Sean Miller’s turn to call timeout.
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MoMo Jones isn’t the team’s best 3-point shooter — far from it — but he gives the Wildcats a lift with three points for a 20-13 lead with 9:40 to go in the half.
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Tweet from FoxSports.com college basketball senior writer Jeff Goodman: Derrick Williams just had one of the most impressive alley-oop dunks I have seen all year.
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No problems with Reeves Nelson’s sprained ankle. He, as usual, is a force down low with seven points and four rebounds with 11:30 to go in the half. Game tied at 13.
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Backup center Kyryl Natyakhko gets pressured into shooting an open 3-pointer by the crowd. Bad decision. He misses. Hasn’t scored in five of past six games.
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We have another candidate for Arizona dunk of the year. Kevin Parrom throws an alley-oop to Derrick Williams, with the pass a little high and behind him. Williams reaches back with one hand for the monster jam. Madness at McKale.
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Arizona leads 7-5 at the first TV timeout with 15:52 to go in the half. For UCLA, 300-plus-pounder Joshua Smith is in the game. After the break, Derrick Williams is defending Smith, trying to push him out from the lane. When the ball goes in to Smith, Jamelle Horne quickly comes over for an effective double-team.
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First impressions of the uniforms: Really, I don’t much care. The best part is Arizona no longer has the silly duct tape look on the back of the shoulders. The red and blue stripes across the shoulders … those I like.
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Derrick Williams fouled on a 3-pointer. That’s a first, isn’t it? He makes 2 of 3 free throws for a 4-3 UA lead.
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Jesse Perry opens the game for Arizona with a tip-in off a rebound. Must be the new uniforms.
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Usual lineup for Arizona. Will we see Alex Jacobson off the bench tonight?
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Before the game, the Wildcats will line up across the width of the court for the national anthem. The team did that for the moment of silence for the shooting victims before the Stanford game, and athletic director Grge Byrne told Jody Oehler of 1490-AM that he received such positive response for that, he wants to continue it.
Byrne said it will show patriotism and respect for the troops.
Previously, the team has just been in front of the bench for the anthem.
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UCLA sophomore forward Reeves Nelson (sprained ankle) expected to give it a go tonight. For how long and how effective he’ll be … we’ll see.
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If you’re watching on TV, you’ll probably see something different in the student section tonight. The Zona Zoo has created huge cardboard cutout heads of the Arizona players and coach Sean Miller. Pretty cool.
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It’s about 75 minutes until tip-off. A woman from ESPN is coaching up the student section, having them stand and yell for a pregame promo. The Arizona Wildcats are warming up in T-shirts and their new shorts. Rece Davis and Jay Bilas, who have the call for ESPN2, are making their preparations, too.
This will be the spot for our in-game updates and commentary. You know the drill. Keep refreshing the page and let us know what you think in the comments section.