Sean Miller keeps winning to give West Coast basketball some respect. Peter G. Aiken-US PRESSWIRE

By the time Arizona finishes its Elite Eight clash against UConn, the Wildcats will have faced 11 players in the NCAA Tournament who were McDonald’s All-Americans.

Arizona has none.

Is it any wonder so few thought the Cats could get this far? Is it any wonder the Huskies are three-point favorites on Saturday?

“Arizona has the belief that we are here, that we belong here, and we’re not going to change any agendas,” senior forward Jamelle Horne told reporters Friday afternoon at the Honda Center.

“We will keep doing what we’ve been doing all year and if that takes us to the end, then so be it.”

The Wildcats have gotten this far by (mostly) playing loose while lugging around a huge chip on their shoulders.

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Yeah, Derrick Williams can shoot the 3, but this is an even higher-percentage shot.
Photo by Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

I sat down with Arizona Wildcats coach Sean Miller last summer, and one of things I wondered about was where the 3-point was going to come from this season.

Arizona had lost its most frequent launcher — Nic Wise — and while Kyle Fogg and Jamelle Horne had posted high percentages, none of the other returning players averaged more than one 3-pointer per game.

Miller said the Cats would fine … although perhaps for the wrong reasons.

He pointed to a strong-shooting recruiting class, of which freshman guard Jordin Mayes has lived up to billing. Junior college transfer Jesse Perry has done so, too, but not for his 3-point touch. Freshman guard Daniel Bejarano, known for his shooting, hasn’t been a factor.

It was basically impossible to see this coming:

–Derrick Williams, who was 4 of 16 from 3-point range last season, is 41 of 68.

–Kevin Parrom, who was 2 of 14 last season, is 38 of 90.

–MoMo Jones, who was 10 of 53, is 25 of 78.

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Phoenix Suns teammates Grant Hill and Channing Frye had a bet on the Arizona-Duke game. The loser had to wear the other team’s gear for two days … so Hill, the ol’ Blue Devil, is sporting Frye’s old Wildcat colors.

Not that Hill has to be happy about it — as you can see in the above video.

Below, Frye talks after Friday’s practice about his Cats, Derrick Williams’ NBA future, about Hill wearing Arizona gear — “It feels good,” Frye said — and how Wildcats coach Sean Miller “let the dogs loose” in the second half.

Check out the video with Frye — definitely one of the most well-spoken Wildcats to come through the program.

Jim Rosborough shouts out instructions during a 2001 game.
Photo by Donald Miralle/Allsport

Jim Rosborough, who was an assistant coach for the Arizona Wildcats under Lute Olson for 18 years, was, like many of us, still rubbing his eyes in disbelief Friday morning.

As the right-hand man for Olson for all those years — and even earlier at Iowa — Rosborough has probably seen close to it all — good, bad and otherwise.

But a 25-point first half from Derrick Williams? Out-scoring Duke by 22 in the second half?

We talked with Coach Roz on Friday morning about it …

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It seems as if UConn's Kemba Walker can score with his eyes closed.
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images.

The last question for Arizona Wildcats coach Sean Miller at Thursday’s postgame press conference was about UA’s regional final opponent, UConn.

“I don’t know a lot about UConn,” he said. “But I do know Kemba Walker.”

That would be the junior point guard who is an All-American … who scored 36 points in the Sweet 16 against San Diego State … who had 33 points in an NCAA Tournament win over Cincinnati … who had 12 assists and nearly a triple-double in an tourney win over Bucknell … who led the Huskies to five wins in five days to win the Big East Tournament … who is averaging 27.1 points in the team’s eight-game winning streak.

Yeah, that Kemba Walker.

“Our goal was to try to contain him,” said San Diego State forward Billy White. “You know, he’s almost impossible to stop.”

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A sampling of reaction from across the country after Arizona’s 93-77 victory over Duke:

Andy Staples, Sports Illustrated:

ANAHEIM, Calif. — An almost perplexed smile crawled across the face of Arizona forward Derrick Williams as he walked off the court Thursday. He had sunk a 27-footer to cap the best half of any person in this NCAA tournament, but he couldn’t celebrate and probably felt a little guilty about even smiling. After all, his Wildcats trailed by six.

Twenty basketball minutes later, Arizona point guard MoMo Jones stood at midcourt and slammed the ball down to cap the best half any team has played in this tournament. As the orange Wilson bounced almost to the Honda Center scoreboard that read Arizona 93, Duke 77, Jones balled his fists, shut his eyes and screamed.

“THEY COUNTED US OUT!”

Continue reading at SI.com…

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The Wildcats have a good time late in in their victory over Duke.
Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images.

Duke’s Coach K: ‘We had no stop for them’

I’m still waiting. Still waiting for Duke to make a run. For Duke to answer. For Arizona to kick the ball around a bit, take some bad shots, to let the Blue Devils back in the game.

I’m still waiting.

I’m still waiting for Arizona to stop treating Duke as shabbily as Robert Morris. For Derrick Williams to stop being Superman.

I’m still waiting to see if I can make sense of it all.

But when what you just saw defies the logic you thought you had acquired from 36 previous games, it’s probably time to simply submit to one feeling: Belief.

“Nobody really believed in us and that put a chip on our shoulder, like nobody in the world thought we could win this game,” sophomore forward Kevin Parrom told reporters in the locker room. “It’s a great feeling.”

The Wildcats’ wrecked the top-seeded Blue Devils 93-77 in the Sweet 16 on Thursday. They ruthlessly deconstructed Duke in the second half. Out-worked them in the second half. Out-hustled them. Out-Duked them.

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On a night when Derrick Williams further made a name for himself, so did Arizona. Photo by Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

Arizona hung with Duke in the first half because of 25 points from Derrick Williams, and then the rest of the Wildcats got involved and got serious about rebounding.

Arizona turned a six-point halftime deficit into a rout, dominating the defending national champs and No. 1-seeded Blue Devils. Arizona won 93-77, and it was as impressive a display of UA basketball as any in possibly the past decade.

The Wildcats will play UConn on Saturday at 4:05 p.m. in Anaheim. The winner goes to the Final Four in Houston.

“If we win this game on Saturday we’re going to be known as one of the best Arizona teams to play,” Williams said.

Williams finished with 32 points and 13 rebounds. MoMo Jones had 16 points, six assists and no turnovers. Arizona shot 54 percent from the field.

“These guys played at the highest level they possibly could have, and that is what we needed to beat the great program that Duke is,” said coach Sean Miller.

Here are some of the best images from the game … enjoy!

(And check back for more later…)

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Derrick Williams and MoMo Jones celebrate in the second half near a dejected Kyle Singler. Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

More from Sean Miller: “In the second half, we just had a bunch of guys playing fearlessly.”

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Sean Miller on postgame radio show on 1290-AM: “We had a saying going into the game: ‘Attack or be attacked.’ Which one is it, because there is no in between.”

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In the program’s best NCAA Tournament game in a decade, Arizona stunned No. 1 seed Duke 93-77 to advance to the West Region final against UConn.

The Wildcats survived the first half because of the pinpoint shooting of Derrick Williams, and then the Wildcats unleashed the full barrage against the Blue Devils — on offense, on defense, from the outside, from the inside, on the glass … everywhere.

So much for the defending national champs.

Next up is UConn in Anaheim on Saturday. The game starts at 4:05 p.m.

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Arizona leads 90-74 with 2:18 left. Coach K looks like a lost puppy.

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Derrick Williams had one of the best first-half performances in the history of the school. Arizona’s total team effort in the second half against Duke is one of best in a long, long time.

Arizona leads 86-69 with 3:47 to go.

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The Wildcats are dunking on Duke as if they’re playing an intramural team. Charles Barkley was right at halftime when he said he thought Arizona was in good position because of it would wear down Duke, which had some foul trouble.

The Wildcats are up, stunningly, 77-63 with 6:47 to play.

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Duke looks like the young, flustered team. Arizona attacking.

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Kyle Singler’s fourth foul comes with 10:40 to play. He has 18 points.

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Arizona continues to pour it on and the Cats are playing some ferocious defense, which is fueling opportunities on offense. The Wildcats have outscored Duke 28-11 in the half and lead 66-55 with 11:10 to go.

Can Duke, like Texas last week against Arizona, come all the way back?

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That’s a 13-0 run for Arizona for a 60-53 lead. Are we really seeing this?

Derrick Williams is fired up in the second half. Photo by Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

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The entire Arizona team has come to play in the second half, with MoMo Jones hitting a pull-up jumper in transition to tie the game at 53. Now, Jones will be going to the line with a chance to give the Cats the lead with 15:18 left.

Gotta say, no matter what happens, the Wildcats have backed up their promise to match Duke’s intensity.

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The “others” arrive. Solomon Hill with four points after halftime, Kyle Fogg with a 3-pointer, Jesse Perry with a layup after an assist from MoMo Jones.

Arizona trails by only one, 48-47 with 17:04 to play. The Wildcats are on a 9-2 run, with none of the points coming from Derrick Williams.

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Notes Javier Morales of TucsonCitizen.com: Khalid Reeves’ NCAA Tournament record of 32 points for Arizona is in serious jeopardy. Reeves did it in 1994 vs. Loyola (Md). Derrick Williams is doing it against Duke.

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Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski at the halftime interview: “Williams has been fantastic; he’s been phenomenal. He’s the difference right now. We’re playing well, but he’s playing great.”

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Duke’s Nolan Smith, the ACC Player of the Year, has only two points. Kyrie Irving, in his third game back from injury, has 14 points off the bench.

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Watch out TucsonCitizen.com blogger Ernie McCray: Derrick Williams is coming after your 51-year school-record of 46 points in a game.

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To repeat: Arizona can’t run its offense, but Derrick Williams is unstoppable, and his long 3-pointer near the buzzer stops a 5-0 Duke run and brings the Cats within 44-38 at the half.

Williams has 25 points and is 8 of 11 from the field — 5 of 6 from 3-point range.

If Arizona goes on to win this game, might we be seeing the best performance in school history?

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Other than Derrick Williams going crazy, Arizona has had trouble running its offense. That’s what happens when you don’t have a point guard who can control the game, direct the action and get others involved.

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Here come Derrick Williams and the Wildcats. Photo by Jeff Gross, Getty Images Sport

Arizona Wildcats coach Sean Miller left behind his practice sheet after finishing with interviews Tuesday in McKale Center.

Nothing super secretive. It’s not like it would be valuable in enemy Duke’s hands.

And I don’t think it’s breaking protocol to disclose his daily motto at the top:

All in. Do what we do. No excuses. No explanations.

That about sums it up.

Miller probably has a million ways to motivate, and most of this group of Wildcats has been absorbing his relentless prodding for almost two years. The result is a team in his own image — tough, scrappy. It’s a pack of bulldogs.

Arizona teams of the recent past might have been dismissed as “all athlete, no heart” but these Cats are mostly the opposite.

The words from Miller’s postgame talk after beating Texas still echo: “Nastiness is required.”

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