Josiah Turner looks for an opening against Stanford's Aaron Bright in the first half. Photo by Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE
Stanford’s 43 points mark its lowest point total ever in 83 games against Arizona. The previous low came in the first meeting — a 44-28 Stanford win in Tucson on Dec. 20, 1937.
The Cardinal shot 16 of 63 from the field (25.4 percent). The Wildcats blocked eight shots.
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It’s over. Arizona wins 56-43. The Cats pull off the sweep on the Pac-12′s toughest road trip. Cal was 14-0 at home this season; Stanford was 12-1.
I didn’t see these wins coming at all, and the Cats did it without Kevin Parrom for both games, and for Jordin Mayes today.
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A steal and a fast-break dunk by Nick Johnson puts this on on ice.
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A turnover for Arizona with 1:21 to go. Stanford could have rocked Maples Pavilion but Aaron Bright misses a 3-pointer.
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Arizona getting close to the road sweep, but needs to finish in the final two minutes. Stanford shooting only 26.2 percent as the Cats lead 49-32 with 1:48 to go.
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Arizona on a 10-0 run and it takes a 45-37 lead with about five minutes to go as Solomon Hill passes out of the lane to wide-open Brendon Lavender, who buries a 3-pointer.
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Angelo Chol, who has come back in for Solomon Hill, fuels a fast break with a blocked shot at the rim. Arizona leads 38-37 with 7:32 to go.
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Brutal: Arizona is 7 of 16 from the free throw line after going 15 of 29 at Cal.
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Sean Miller brings back Solomon Hill with 9:32 left. Interesting decision.
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Mark the time: 11:32 to go. That’s when Solomon Hill picked up his fourth foul against Stanford, with the Wildcats leading 35-32. That is going to put more pressure on freshman backup C Angelo Chol to capably fill frontcourt minutes.
Tweets Kevin Parrom: “solomon !!! u can’t foul . ! ughhh u makin me mad bro !”
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Arizona leads 35-32 with 11:42 to play. Can we just fast forward to the final four minutes? This is another UA game that is going to be decided late.
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This has been far from Josiah Turner’s best game, but his drive and spin and left-handed finish is one of his best offensive plays of the year. And it gives Arizona a 34-32 lead with under 13 minutes to play.
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Not really much of a surprise, but Solomon Hill starts the second half for Arizona, despite having three fouls.
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Coach Sean Miller on Solomon Hill picking up his third foul right before halftime: “Solomon has to be smart, especially with two guys hurt. That offensive rebound he went for, he can’t foul. He has to be a smarter player.”
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Arizona shot 9 of 29 from the field in the first half. Stanford was 9 of 32.
“We just have to make sure the shots we’re taking are good ones,” coach Sean Miller said in a halftime TV interview. “Stanford is a very good defensive team and they deserve credit. You have to earn good shots; they’re not going to come early in the possession.”
Arizona leads 24-23.
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Here’s a problem: Solomon Hill picks up his third foul with 34.6 seconds left while battling for an offensive rebound.
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More free-throw woes for Arizona: 2 of 5 from the line as the first half nears the end.
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I didn’t think there was enough time for freshman center Angelo Chol to be a factor this season, but the Wildcats have no choice to give me more playing time in the wake of Kevin Parrom’s foot injury … and he has responded in the past two games. His progress will be key in the next month.
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Solomon Hill gets swatted as he drives to the hoop for a dunk, but Arizona keeps the ball alive and Hill follows up with a rebound and a basket. He is well on his way toward another double-double as Arizona leads 20-17 with 4:46 to go in the half.
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Tweets Kevin Parrom: JESS is the only 1 in there rebounding right now . . . ! cmon y’all . . . Crash the boards !
Actually, Solomon Hill leads the team with four rebounds. Jesse Perry has three.
Arizona leads 13-11 with 7:49 to go in the half. Teams have combined to make 9 of 38 shots.
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Nick Johnson shows his leaping ability with a soaring blocked shot from behind, similar to what he did in the last minute against Cal on Thursday.
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Energy has been for Arizona, even with this early Saturday game that follows a late-night Thursday clash at Cal. Solomon Hill makes the highlight dunk with a crossover into the lane and the left-handed slam.
Arizona leads 13-11 with nine minutes to go in the half.
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Oh no.. two fouls on Angelo Chol with 12:10 to go. He already had two blocks in just over three minutes of playing time.
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With seven minutes gone, the teams have combined for 4 of 20 shooting. Arizona was up 7-5 — and it’s defense that is going to give the Cats a chance in every game as its offense comes and goes.
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Tweets Kevin Parrom: “horrible start guys ! Why can’t we come out the gates playing hard on Saturdays ?!”
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Sean Miller burns an early timeout — at 18:34 of the first half — after Josh Owens spins and gets to the hoop for a 5-0 Stanford lead. Arizona is going to have to grind and help on Owens down low. He’s not that much taller than Jesse Perry, but he’s thicker and will be physical.
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Kyle Fogg misses his first 3-pointer, but Aaron Bright comes down and hits one for Stanford to start the game.
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Arizona junior Kevin Parrom, who is in Tucson recovering from surgery Friday on his broken right foot, will be live-tweeting the game. It’s worth checking out here.
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Arizona is coming off its best victory of the season — the thrilling 78-74 win at Cal — and will now try to get an elusive Saturday victory at Stanford.
The Wildcats have lost three Saturday games in a row by a total of five points.
The victory at Cal was huge for Arizona’s at-large NCAA Tournament possibilities, as it strengthened a a body of work that lacked a signature victory. The Cats had been 0-7 against teams that had a better RPI number then they had last week.
The Bears were 30th in the NCAA’s most recent numbers. Arizona was 85th. Stanford is 86th.
Good news is that initial X-rays came back negative on backup point guard Jordin Mayes’ left foot, which was feared broken in the second half against Cal. Mayes, who broke that foot last summer, isn’t likely to play today, though, according to the Arizona Daily Star’s Bruce Pascoe.
A few things to watch from Arizona today:
1. Rebounding. Stanford can put a big lineup on the court, which can be problematic for the undersized Wildcats. Watch out for Cardinal post Josh Owens. He had 31 points and 12 rebounds in two games vs. Arizona last season, shooting 14 of 25 from the field.
2. Three-point shooting. Arizona was 7 of 11 from behind the arc vs. Cal, including a 5-of-6 performance from Kyle Fogg. Will the law of averages catch up to the Cats? On the other hand, they can’t possibly be as bad from the free throw line as they were Thursday night — 15 of 29.
3. More Chol. Freshman center Angelo Chol had his best game Thursday night, looking relaxed and confident against Cal. He had eight points, four rebounds and two blocks in 16 minutes. That kind of playing time — and more — will be coming his way the rest of the season with forward Kevin Parrom out (and Mayes perhaps unavailable, at least for a while).