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Arizona-Michigan game blog: Wildcats defend No. 1 with comeback win

by Anthony Gimino on Dec 14, 2013, under Arizona basketball

Kaleb Tarczewski dunks in the second half for two of his 14 points. Photo by Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Kaleb Tarczewski dunks in the second half for two of his 14 points. Photo by Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The top-ranked Arizona Wildcats, down by 11 early in the second half at Michigan, rallied to beat the Wolverines 72-70 in their best victory of the season.

The Cats weathered the first-half storm from Glenn Robinson III and then chipped away behind rebounding and interior play on offense. Arizona was down by eight with 7:55 to go before finishing on a 22-12 run.

Brandon Ashley had 18 points to lead four Arizona players in double-figures.

“Down nine at the half, I thought our guys showed a lot of composure, a lot of belief in what we do,” coach Sean Miller said on CBS after the game.

Arizona is 11-0, with wins at San Diego State and vs. Duke in New York City.

This is the Cats’ best win, given the opponent and location and the deficit.

“I would agree,” Miller said on CBS.

“We’re in as hostile an environment as you can be against a really good team from a great conference, a team that has a lot of pride coming off the national championship game a year ago. You could sense they were geared up…

“What we want to do is play away from home, play big games. Win or lose today, we’re better because we did this. But I’m very happy and proud of our team.”

Arizona is back home to play Southern on Thursday night.

* * *

Gabe York goes to the line with 1.4 seconds left. He makes the first, misses the second, and Nik Stauskas’ desperation heave is off the mark.

Arizona wins 72-70.

* * *

Nick Johnson back at the line with 6.1 seconds remaining to shoot two. Can pretty much put the game out of reach. He makes both. It’s not over, though. Spike Albrecht hits a 3-pointer with 2.0 seconds to go. Arizona leads 71-70.

* * *

Spike Albrecht makes 1 of 2 free throws with 6.7 seconds left. Arizona, 69-67.

* * *

Nick Johnson shooting one-and-one with 9.1 seconds left. He bounces in the first attempt. Same on the second shot. Arizona leads 69-66.

* * *

Nick Johnson gives Arizona a 67-66 lead with two free throws with 24.6 seconds left. Nik Stauskas misses an off-balance jumper on the ensuing possession, with Aaron Gordon battling for the rebound. He grabs it and is tied up, but the possession arrow goes to UA with 9.5 seconds left.

* * *

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson gives Arizona a 63-62 lead with a three-point play with 2:31 to go. First lead since early in the game. Michigan comes back with two free throws by Mitch McGary with 1:57 left.

* * *

Can just about hit the reset button, as Michigan leads 60-58 with 3:26 to go.

* * *

Aaron Gordon makes another big play — a wraparound assist under the basket to Brandon Ashley, who finishes with a monster dunk. It’s a two-point game with 4:22 to go.

* * *

Aaron Gordon draws a charge — which is hard to do with the new rules — on Nik Stauskas as the Wildcats are tightening the game again. Michigan up 58-54 with 4:43 to go.

* * *

Arizona’s lack of a go-to scorer — a trusty creator — is showing up as the game is slowing to a grind. The Wildcats had missed eight shots in a row before Brandon Ashley finds Aaron Gordon for a dunk.

* * *

Frontcourt in foul trouble for Arizona: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has four. Brandon Ashley and Kaleb Tarczewski have three. Michigan up 56-50 with 7:55 to go and will be shooting free throws after every foul the rest of the way. Wolverines shoot about 74 percent from the line and have multiple guys they can trust.

* * *

Big play from Nik Stauskas, who splits defenders on the screen and drives for the plus-one basket. Michigan leads 56-50.

* * *

* * *

Kaleb Tarczewski back in with 10:09 left. Crisis averted.

* * *

Kaleb Tarczewski limps to bench with 11:22 after landing awkwardly on his right ankle on the offensive end. While he was down on the court, Michigan gets a dunk on the other end for a 51-46 lead. Zeus has 12 points and seven rebounds. He gets his ankle taped but is heading to the locker room.

* * *

Michigan sophomore wing Caris LeVert has answered Arizona’s run. His 3-pointer and traditional 3-point play puts the Wolverines up 47-41. U-M’s 6-6 players proving to be tough matchups for the Cats. First, Glenn Robinson III, now LeVert.

* * *

* * *

The Wildcats have battled back to start the second half by being true to themselves. The combination of defense and post play — with a T.J. McConnell 3-pointer mixed in — help UA go on an 11-2 run to cut Michigan’s lead to 41-39 with 15:56 to play.

* * *

Arizona has nine offensive rebounds and only two second-chance points. Michigan doing a nice job of making it a traffic jam underneath the basket, but the Cats have to be patient and convert in the second half.

* * *

* * *

Glenn Robinson III is the best player on the court, the X-factor that has turned the game in Michigan’s favor as the Wolverines lead 37-28 at halftime. Robinson poured in a 3-pointer in the final seconds to give U-M its largest lead.

He has 16 points on 7 of 7 shooting.

Arizona needs that defense it showed in the second half of the UNLV game last week. Michigan is 14 of 27 from the field, including 6 of 11 from 3-point range.

Brandon Ashley and Kaleb Tarczewski have eight points each for UA.

* * *

Ashley’s replacement, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, has three fouls with 52 seconds left in the half.

* * *

Brandon Ashley’s foul count is always something to watch. He has two late in the half.

* * *

Michigan’s 3-point shooting has negated Arizona’s size, as the Wolverines have hit 5 of 9 from behind the arc. That helped the Wolverines take a 29-20 lead, but the Cats responded with a six-point run, including a tough fall-away from Aaron Gordon and then a Gordon drive-and-dish to Kaleb Tarczewski for a dunk with less than three minutes left in the half.

* * *

Michigan leads 18-16 with 7:58 to go. Arizona just 6 of 19 from the field.

* * *

Aaron Gordon has two traveling calls against him so far, caught in the middle of the lane on the second violation.

* * *

Arizona: Six offensive rebounds, two second-chance points. Cats will convert eventually, right?

Michigan leads 15-9 with 10:34 to go.

Glenn Robinson III didn't miss in the first half. Photo by Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Glenn Robinson III didn’t miss in the first half. Photo by Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

* * *

Michigan said it was going to use its speed as its advantage. Yeah, it is. The transition game working is working in the Wolverines’ favor, getting into the open court after repeatedly stopping Arizona near the rim. Michigan leads 11-7 after a 7-0 run.

* * *

Gabe York has been quiet lately, so it’s a great sign that he hits his first 3-pointer. Can fill it up in a hurry.

* * *

Arizona has three turnovers at the first media timeout, trailing 5-4. T.J. McConnell will get UA settled down. Aaron Gordon with an early highlight, driving underneath the hoop and finishing with a turnaround dunk. Glenn Robinson III had an aggressive move for a layup for Michigan, which is exactly what the Wolverines wanted to see from their inconsistent star.

Michigan going with a man-to-man defense early in the game; watch for a 1-3-1 zone later.

* * *

Good energy on defense for Michigan to start, forces Aaron Gordon into a traveling call late in shot clock on opening possession. Cats not immune to slow starts.

* * *

Michigan has lost 10 consecutive games to No. 1-ranked teams. Last win in such situation was 16 years and a day ago — vs. Duke, 81-73.

* * *

CBS analyst Greg Anthony starts off talking about Arizona freshman Aaron Gordon. Should be talking about Brandon Ashley, instead. Ashley the better player right now.

* * *

CBS Sports’ Doug Gottlieb is watching from the couch today. He picked Arizona No. 1 in the preseason and likes the Cats today:

* * *

Michigan will tip-off as about a two-point favorite over No. 1 Arizona.

* * *

PREGAME

Arizona’s biggest, toughest game of the season is here.

Even when you consider Duke.

The top-ranked Wildcats knocked off the Blue Devils in the title game of the NIT Tip-Off in New York City, but this is a true road game in what will be a raucous Crisler Center on a “Maize Out” afternoon.

And, oh yeah, UA is taking on a dangerous Wolverines team that has key parts back from a squad that played for the national championship last season and sees this game as its redemption moment for early struggles in the 2013-2014 season.

The game starts at 10 a.m. in Tucson on CBS, with Jim Nantz and Greg Anthony on the call.

“We have to play a great game and be at our best,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said.

“It’s a great challenge. That’s why you come to a place like Arizona, so that you play in a game on CBS with great meaning. We’ll see how ready we are. We could maybe go there and play a great game and not win. But games like that and trips like that will only make us better.”

Michigan began the season in the top 10 but lost at undefeated Iowa State, vs. Charlotte (in a tournament in Puerto Rico) and at Duke.

“If you play at Duke, your chances aren’t very good,” Miller said, noting Michigan’s tough schedule.

Michigan has a couple of sophomore stars who returned to school after considering jumps to the NBA … but 6-10 forward Mitch McGary and 6-6 wing Glen Robinson III are trying to shake off disappointing starts. Both popped up on Sports Illustrated’s five NBA prospects off to disappointing starts. They are adjusting to life without Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr., who were first-round picks after last season.

Of McGary, Chris Mannix wrote:

Remember McGary? That whirling dervish of a forward who averaged 14.3 points and 10.7 rebounds in the NCAA tourney last year? Yeah, the Wolverines are still waiting for that guy to show up. To be fair, a lingering back injury cost McGary three months of workouts and slowed him in the first few weeks of the season. And in Michigan’s last two games against Duke and Houston Baptist, McGary has played well, totaling 27 points and 23 rebounds while showing the hustle and offensive rebounding skills that scouts fell in love with during the tournament.

But under the NBA microscope, McGary’s weaknesses come up often. He doesn’t have much of a post game. He’s not consistent from the outside.

Of Robinson, Mannix wrote:

(A)ny text message sent to a scout or league executive asking about disappointing prospects almost always is returned with Robinson’s name in it. In what was supposed to be a breakout season, Robinson’s most significant numbers are down almost across the board. His minutes (29.9), field goal percentage (44.0) and three-point percentage (28.1) have all dropped. His scoring is up (12.1 points per game), but only marginally.

PREGAME LINKS

Michigan’s speed might be used to counter Arizona’s length

Michigan needs Glenn Robinson’s III shot to fall vs. No. 1 Arizona

Javier Morales: Arizona and Michigan share extensive past

Bruce Pascoe’s preview package at the Arizona Daily Star

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