Arizona safely put away its season-opener, beating Valparaiso 73-64.
A couple of notable streaks were extended: Sean Miller moved to 8-0 in season openers as a head coach, and the Wildcats won their 20th consecutive game at McKale Center (we’ll just forget about that exhibition loss).
Freshman C Angelo Chol played about 13 minutes of the second half because of C Kyryl Natyazhko’s foul troubles, likely earning himself more time. Chol finished with six points and six rebounds (it seemed like he had more that) before fouling out with 1:10 to go, leaving the game to a nice ovation.
Chol showed range by making a couple of jumpers, including an 18-footer.
Senior guard Kyle Fogg led UA with 16 points.
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Tweets Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com: “This Arizona team hardly intimidating early in season. Need Kevin Parrom. Lots of solid pieces, but may not have a star. Balance.”
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Angelo Chol gets the bounce on an 18-footer jumper, and it’s been that kind of good night for him, playing almost the entire second half because of Kyryl Natyazhko’s foul trouble.
Will the Cats have a new starter at center two nights from now against Duquesne? They should.
Arizona leads 62-45 with 4:40 to go.
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Arizona is getting close to putting this on ice; the Cats lead 56-41 with 7:34 to play. Yeah, that’s a lot of time left, but the Cats defense has been tight, which should prevent a big comeback.
Valpo is just 13 of 38 from the field (34.2 percent), including 2 of 14 from 3-point range.
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Arizona went on a 12-0 run to pull away from Valparaiso at the second TV timeout. Jordin Mayes hit two 3-pointers and a long 2-pointer for eight points during the run, as the Cats lead 48-35 with 11:24 to play.
Valpo went about 9:30 of the first half without scoring a field goal.
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Angelo Chol making a case for a larger role. He finishes a fast break to give Arizona a 45-33 lead with 13:13 to play in the game. He has four points and five rebounds, providing a lot of energy on both ends of the floor.
The stage, as they say, hasn’t been too big for him.
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Jordin Mayes breaks free for his first 3-pointer of the season — and it’s good. Arizona has pushed the lead and has a bit of breathing room, leading 41-33 with 14:22 to play.
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Arizona leads 38-33 with 15:32 to play, and backup center Angelo Chol has three fouls. Combine that with Kyryl Natyazhko’s foul problems, and you wonder: Will Sidiki Johnson get back in this game?
A healthy Alex Jacobson actually would help.
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Second half gets underway with Kyle Fogg scoring the first four points, on two free throws and a short jumper. Kyryl Natyazhko picks up two quick fouls, though, one on an illegal screen … and he has four fouls with 18:11 to play.
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Arizona leads 32-30 at halftime. Jesse Perry has 10 points to lead the Wildcats. Nick Johnson has eight points.
Coach Sean Miller said last week that Johnson, who averaged 22 minutes per game in the exhibitions, needed to play a few more minutes per game, and he is justifying that nation. Johnson has made both of his 3-point attempts.
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Arizona led the nation in 3-point field goal defense for part of last season, which is a factor of good on-ball defense … and sometimes a little luck. Valpo is only 2 of 9 from beyond the arc, despite having several wide-open looks.
The Crusaders lead 26-25 with 3:55 before halftime.
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Sidiki Johnson comes in for the first time with 7:51 to play in the first half, as both Kyryl Natyakhko and Angelo Chol have two fouls. Johnson gets a shot in the lane rejected on his first possession. On the other end, Solomon Hill makes a hard play and a block (Kevin Parrom-esque) but gets called for the foul.
Valpo leads 19-18 with 6:54 to play.
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Arizona giving up good 3-point looks to Valparaiso, who hasn’t made many but pulls with 18-15 with 7:51 to play. Not an offensive shootout, and this Wildcats team is going to have to grind and play great defense as its keys to success this season.
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Sean Miller, who talked about shortening his rotation, used nine players in the first eight minutes. The only regular — based on the exhibition games — who hasn’t played is freshman big man Sidiki Johnson, who lost his backup center spot to Angelo Chol.
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Coach Sean Miller goes to the three-guard lineup early, using Jordin Mayes, Nick Johnson and Kyle Fogg after the first TV timeout. I think we’ll be seeing more of this as the year goes on.
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The officials make the right call on an intentional foul call against Valpo, as Kyle Fogg was on a breakaway. Turns out to be a good foul, as Fogg makes only 1 of 2 free throws.
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Josiah Turner, after another failed drive, gets pulled from the game after three minutes in favor of Jordin Mayes. Freshman big man Angelo Chol also comes in at that time for Kyryl Natyazhko.
Valparaiso leads 5-4 with 15:25 to play in the first half.
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Coach Sean Miller, talking about Josiah Turner last week, said one of the biggest differences for Turner is that it’s a different deal driving to the basket against college men than it was in high school. Turner, in two of Arizona’s first three possessions, drives to the hoop … and misses.
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The season is here. Arizona will tip off with the same starting five as in the exhibition games — Josiah Turner, Kyle Fogg, Solomon Hill, Jesse Perry and Kyryl Natyazhko.
Three questions for the Cats to try to begin to answer tonight.
Point guard — This position is going to be just fine, but there is going to be a learning curve for true freshman Turner and sophomore Jordin Mayes. Turner isn’t the emotional take-charge leader that MoMo Jones was, and coaches and players talked early in camp about how he needed to be more vocal on the court. He’ll get there, but how quickly?
Go-to guy: Coach Sean Miller says you can’t just anoint someone to be that guy; it has come from somebody’s play. The one who could/should be the guy is Solomon Hill, who has inside-outside skills and play with the ball in his hands.
Big men — Kyryl Natyazhko needs to give 15 to 20 solid minutes per game. Arizona can no longer run its offense through the post in this post-Derrick Williams world, but Natyazhko will be fine if he rebounds and gets a few putbacks on offense.