Arizona wins 73-58. The Cats will be the fourth seed in the Pac-12 Tournament.
* * *
Senior walk-ons Max Wiepking and Quinton Crawford get into the game with 1:12 to go. (Mark Lyons has picked up a technical foul and has fouled out).
* * *
There will be no late-game drama. Arizona answered ASU’s second-half charge and are up 20 points with a few minutes to play.
* * *
Arizona back in control. Solomon Hill completes a three-point play after a steal and knocking the ball ahead over Jonathan Gilling; Hill races for a dunk and the foul.
* * *
That’s seven points in a row for Nick Johnson, at a time when the Cats needed a spark. His 3-pointer, two free throws and layup take Arizona from a 50-45 lead to a 57-45 advantage with 8:50 to go.
* * *
Mark Lyons picks up his fourth foul with 10:46 to go. Remember how bad it was for ASU when its point guard, Jahii Carson, played with foul trouble in the teams’ first meeting?
* * *
Getting interesting, but not in a good way for Arizona. Jonathan Gilling hits a 3-pointer from the corner to make it 48-43.
* * *
More good stuff from Jordin Mayes: He takes a charge from Evan Gordon with 12:46 to play. Arizona is only 3 of 11 from the field this half, holding on to that 48-40 lead with 11:58 to go.
* * *
Arizona having a difficult time guarding Carrick Felix, who is atoning for his poor performance against UA earlier this year. He has 18 points as the Devils have cut the lead to 48-40 with 13:06 to go. Cats offense has reached the hiccup stage that seems to hit at some point in every game.
* * *
McKale Center about to explode over a rash of calls going against Arizona. The Cats have six fouls in the first 2:34 of the half. Arizona’s Nick Johnson, who did some jawing after his big dunk, is part of a double-technical call, along with Chris Colvin.
Sean Miller calls timeout to settle things down after Colvin’s layup makes it 44-34 with 17:00 to go.
* * *
This might be Nick Johnson’s best game of the conference season. He takes a pass from the backcourt and finishes the fast break with a huge one-handed dunk over Carrick Felix with 18:14 to go.
* * *
Mark Lyons picks up with third foul with 18:24 to go.
* * *
The Sun Devils scored only 10 points in the final 11 minutes of the first half.
* * *
Arizona leads 31-22 with 3:06 to go in the half. ASU, through 57 minutes of basketball vs. Arizona this season, does not have any second-chance points.
* * *
This is why it’s frustrating to watch Mark Lyons at times. Arizona had gone up 26-18, made a stop, and Lyons walks up court and launches a 3-pointer without a pass. It missed.
* * *
Arizona takes its biggest lead at 29-18 with 5:42 to go on a 3-pointer by Solomon Hill. His shot comes after Kaleb Tarczewski grabbed missed 3-pointers during the possession from Kevin Parrom and Mark Lyons. The young guy has come to play tonight.
* * *
Students made a “big head” of the Ooh Aah Man to show from the Zona Zoo. Nice. He will be honored at halftime of the game and make the final appearance of his career in the second half.
* * *
Fast start for Nick Johnson, who has seven points, two assists and two steals. Arizona leads 23-16 with 7:53 to go in the half.
* * *
Grant Jerrett hasn’t gotten to show off his low-post moves all that much last season — he displayed great footwork at the high school level — but he goes to work with his back to the basket and spins for a layup with 10:09 to go for an 18-15 UA lead.
* * *
Tons of action at McKale Center. Arizona State answered Arizona’s with a 7-0 spurt of its own to tie the game at 12. Kaleb Tarczewski, in perhaps his most aggressive stretch of the season, gave UA the lead again with a dunk. He has six points and three boards as UA leads 16-12 with 12:39 to go.
* * *
ASU needs a timeout after a 10-0 run puts the Cats up 12-5 with 15:44 to play. The Wildcats have brought high energy on defense, a rare quality for them these days. McKale Center is rocking, but Jahii Carson quiets the crowd with a 3-pointer.
* * *
Kevin Parrom gives Arizona its first lead at 7-5 with a 3-point shot at the 16:50 mark.
* * *
Early defensive assignments: Nick Johnson on Jahii Carson, and Solomon Hill on Carrick Felix. Felix, carrying over his poor shooting from the teams’ first meeting, misses two free throws with 17:08 to go in the half.
* * *
Biggest key for Arizona against the Devils: 3-point defense. The Wildcats have allowed 50 percent 3-point shooting (38 of 76) in their six losses, and the Sun Devils love to shoot from behind the arc.
* * *
UCLA won at Washington this afternoon, which means the Wildcats can’t earn a share of the Pac-12 title. The Bruins finish at 13-5 in the league and win the league outright after Oregon loses at Utah.
* * *
Arizona State will be wearing black uniforms today.
* * *
Members of Sean Miller’s first recruiting class close out their home careers today, with Solomon Hill and Kevin Parrom saying farewell to McKale Center.
Miller this week said that both decided to come to Arizona at a “desperate time” for the program, following two seasons of interim coaches for the Cats.
“They took a leap of faith in coming to UA,” Miller said.
Parrom had a tender moment at the team’s weekly press conference this week, when he was reciting what family members would be at McKale today, adding his late mother would be in attendance. She’s always with him I spirit.
“She doesn’t like us losing,” Parrom said.
“When she was alive, she was like, ‘What are you guys doing losing these games? I didn’t send you across country to lose.’”
S/O to the U of A Seniors today on Senior Day! You guys were instrumental in turning around the Wildcat Basketball program. #Salute
— Lance Briggs (@LanceBriggs) March 9, 2013
* * *
Miller said he voted for Arizona State senior forward Carrick Felix as the Pac-12′s most improved player (no argument here).
It would be hard to tell by Felix’s game against Arizona earlier this season, though.
He shot 1 of 8 from the field — 1 of 7 from 3-point range — and seven turnovers. Felix finished with five points and five rebounds, mostly guarded by Solomon Hill.
“To me, he had one of those days where a number of shots that he normally makes he didn’t,” Miller said.
“I’m not saying we didn’t have something to do with it, but he had seven turnovers. He’s not going to play that way again.”
Felix averages 14.0 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. He averaged 10.5 and 4.0 last season.
“When you look at his rebounding alone, it’s amazing what he has done for his team,” Miller said.
* * *
Arizona State junior center Jordan Bachynski has 110 blocks, six away from setting a Pac-12 record for blocks.
“He’s a big part of their defense, whether he scores or now,” Miller said.
Bachynski had three blocks in a quiet first game against Arizona, finishing with three points and six rebounds. Arizona freshman 7-footer Kaleb Tarczewski did a nice job in the matchup, grabbing eight boards.
“I thought we were physical and Kaleb did a nice job,” Miller said.