Kevin Parrom shoots a 3-pointer in the first half. Photo by Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE
Arizona out-plays St. John’s down the stretch — perhaps a factor of superior depth and a having a veteran like guard Kyle Fogg — and wins 81-72 at Madison Square Garden.
It’s essentially a road win for the Cats in New York City (and it’s never too early to think of how that will be a benefit in March when it comes times for NCAA Tournament seeding).
Arizona will play Mississippi State on Friday night in the championship game of the 2K Sports Classic.
The Cats made 14 of 29 3-point shots against St. John’s zone.
Tweets ex-Cat Derrick Williams: “Good win y’all!! Love that W! Another big game tomorrow!”
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Tweets ESPN’s Andy Katz: “Arizona fans out in droves. U of A chants drowning out St. John’s. Arizona now the aggressor, on defense and making huge shots. Fun team.”
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A 9-0 run by Arizona, which takes a 74-68 lead with 3:06 to play. Nice stretch by Kyle Fogg, who hit a 3-pointer after taking a charge.
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Big play by Kyle Fogg, who draws a charge on Nurideen Lindsey, who fouls out with 4:02 to play.
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Solomon Hill gives Arizona a 69-68 lead with two free throws with 4:22 to go. The Cats have been in tight situations this season and should have a good idea of how to handle this.
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Tweets TucsonCitizen.com blogger Javier Morales: “Johnson/Turner — one of the best backcourt combos ever recruited by #ArizonaWildcats responding with 5 unanswered points.”
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St. John’s Nurideen Lindsey picks up his fourth foul with 5:57 to play.
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Tweets ESPN’s Andy Katz: “Lost in this event is the fact that Arizona playing a true road game. This would be a quality W if Wildcats can get out of here.”
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St. John’s takes its largest lead at 66-58 with 7:15 to play as Nurideen Lindsey steals a perimeter pass from Josiah and goes in for the layup. Lindsey has a game-high 18 points.
Again, nobody is taking charge on the Arizona offense, which can basically get nothing but 3-point shots. UA has only six 2-point baskets and none of the offense runs through the post, the opposite of last season.
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The more athletic team is winning. St. John’s is up 62-56, forcing Sean Miller to use his second-to-last timeout with 9:45 to play.
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St. John’s on another run, and the Wildcats’ defense is allowing too much penetration and there’s not enough help in the lane. Sean Miller’s defense is designed to plug up the paint, but it’s not happening tonight. St. John’s leads 60-56 at the halfway point of the second point.
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Could see this being a Final Four matchup in a couple of years.
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Arizona has made 11 of 22 3-point shots and it leads 56-54 with 11:55 to play.
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The alley-oop pass from Josiah Turner ends in a slam dunk from Nick Johnson. Freshman to freshman. The first of many?
Arizona leads 54-49 with 14:03 to play.
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Arizona still having trouble containing St. John’s Nurideen Lindsey, who has just been relentless and in attack mode all game. He entered the game averaging 16.3 points. He has 14 with 15:08 to play. UA leads 52-47.
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A dunk from Arizona! Haven’t seen many of those this season in the post-Derrick Williams era, but Jesse Perry goes up for an easy two-hander after a Solomon Hill steal and dish inside as the second half gets underway.
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Arizona’s only two-point baskets of the first half were a long jumper from Jordin Mayes and a fast-break layup by Josiah Turner.
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Tweets ex-Cat Derrick Williams: “B Lav can compete with anyone in the nation from 3 .. Confidence is all you need! Let’s go!”
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A foul-filled first half — 28 total, 15 by Arizona — ends with the Wildcats up 44-41. Arizona can thank its 3-point shooting; seven Wildcats have hit shots from behind the arc, including one from Brendon Lavender in the final minute.
Arizona is 9 of 16 from 3-point range against St. John’s zone … but it only 2 of 14 on 2-point shots.
Arizona's Nick Johnson (left) and Solomon Hill deny a drive to the basket by St. John's guard Malik Stith. Photo by Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE
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Brendon Lavender joins the game with less than three minutes to go in the first half, becoming the 11th Wildcat to play tonight. St. John’s goes only seven deep — and it has two players with three fouls in the first half.
Will that give the Cats the freshness edge in the second half?
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Nick Johnson also has three fouls, joining Jordin Mayes.
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As the game nears halftime, Arizona has hit eight 3-point shots from six different players (Kevin Parrom and Solomon Hill have two each; Nick Johnson, Kyle Fogg, Josiah Turner and Jordin Mayes each have one).
The Cats need to make this a half-court game and slow down St. John’s attacks on the basket. Will the Red Storm come out of its zone?
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Starting PG Jordin Mayes picks up his third foul with 5:00 to play in the first half Paging, Josiah Turner …
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Kevin Parrom draws a charge with 5:23 to play in the first half; he also drew one Sunday vs. Ball State.
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St. John’s on a roll, using a 21-7 run to take a 31-26 lead with 7:02 to play in the first half. Arizona is back to being out of sync on offense, not being able to generate much at all other than 3-point shooting.
Coach Sean Miller has rotated all three of his “true” centers into the game, but none has a point. Angelo Chol had a chance after collecting an offensive rebound, but was blocked on the put-back attempt. Would have loved to see him try to dunk it.
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Click this link for a video interview of coach Sean Miller from CBSSports.com Jeff Goodman.
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St. John’s isn’t a tall team, so Arizona is going with Jesse Perry at center. Will probably see plenty of that through the game.
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A 9-0 run lets St. John’s tie the game at 19.
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Arizona, especially with Kevin Parrom back in the rotation, has several players who are capable from behind the arc. That’s been a big factor in the Cats taking a 19-17 lead at the second media timeout, as UA has hit five 3-pointers — two from Parrom and one each from Solomon Hill, Josiah Turner and Jordin Mayes.
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Freshman Josiah Turner is out of the doghouse. He comes in after the first timeout and draws a foul on the offensive end.
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Arizona leads 9-6 with 15:40 to go in the half, having hit two 3-point shots. That kind of shooting will be key against St. John’s, which uses the “Claw” zone defense deigned by assistant coach Mike Dunlap. Arizona fans remember that zone from the 2008-09 season when Dunlap worked with interim head coach Russ Pennell at UA.
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Kevin Parrom comes in before the first TV timeout and immediately hits a 3-point shot with 16:43 to go to give Arizona a 6-4 lead. A very nice homecoming start.
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No changes in Arizona’s starting lineup; the question is: When will Sean Miller put Josiah Turner in the game after the freshman sat out all of Sunday’s game.
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Mississippi State beat Texas A&M 69-60 in the first game tonight at the 2K Sports Classic. The winner of Arizona-St.John’s gets Mississippi State tomorrow night, with the loser facing Texas A&M.
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The Arizona Wildcats (3-0) play a talented, albeit young, St. John’s team tonight at Madison Square Garden, and the big story continues to be UA’s Kevin Parrom.
The junior forward is returning home, where he was shot in the hand and the right leg Sept. 24 while in his father’s apartment. Parrom had returned to The Bronx to visit his ailing mother, who died of cancer last month. He never told his mother that he had been shot.
Parrom made a triumphant return to the court Sunday, playing 18 minutes in a victory over Ball State.
Parrom’s return has generated some excellent stories on the subject:
Mike DeCourcy, Sporting News: Parrom overcomes gunshot wound, aching heart
Lenn Robbins, New York Post: Parrom home to face St. John’s with heavy heart
Dana O’Neil, ESPN.com: Kevin Parrom taking it one step at a time
Check back here before and during the game for our analysis and commentary about tonight’s game …