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Arizona-UCLA game blog: Top-ranked Cats rally to win

by Anthony Gimino on Jan 09, 2014, under Arizona basketball, Sports

Arizona's T.J. McConnell battles for a loose ball in the first half. Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Arizona’s T.J. McConnell battles for a loose ball in the first half. Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Top-ranked Arizona squandered a 13-point lead then came from behind in the final minutes to beat UCLA 79-75 at Pauley Pavilion on Thursday night.

The Bruins led 70-69 with 1:44 to go but the Wildcats answered with a 7-1 run. UCLA wasn’t done, as Zach LaVine hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 77-75. The Bruins fouled Gabe York after the in-bounds pass with 12.7 seconds left, and he made both free throws to make it a two-possession game.

LaVine missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds.

Arizona improved to 16-0, matching its best start in school history.

“We have a chemistry about us,” coach Sean Miller said afterward on ESPN.

“It’s from the young players who weren’t here a year ago, and it’s also from the returners who played a big role on last year’s team. We don’t break. It’s not that it’s always pretty, but I think we have a resilience and a togetherness that when things really start going the wrong way allows us to fight back.”

Nick Johnson had 22 points to lead Arizona.

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UCLA tried to tie the game at 73 on a 3-pointer by Jordan Adams, who missed. The Bruins fouled Kaleb Tarczewski, who made 1 of 2 free throws.

Kyle Anderson then traveled in the lane while guarded by Aaron Gordon, and T.J. McConnell extended the lead to 76-70 with two foul shots with 34.4 seconds left. Anderson put in a baseline flip to make it 76-72 with 26.1 to go.

* * *

UCLA grabs a 70-69 lead on Bryce Alford’s two free throws with 1:44 to go, but Nick Johnson comes back with a floater in the lane, steals the ball from Alford on a drive and then Aaron Gordon — yes, Aaron Gordon — hits two free throws for a 73-70 edge with 1:03 to go.

* * *

Arizona lost its energy and its shooting. UCLA has tied the game with a 3-pointer from Jordan Adams. It’s time to start over at 68-68 as the Cats call timeout with 2:14 to go.

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Kyle Anderson hits 1 of 2 free throws with 2:47 left to cut the lead to 68-65.

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Aaron Gordon misses the front end of a one-and-one … (shocker, I know).

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OK, so this looks like it’s going down to the wire anyway after Arizona led by 13. UCLA is on a 7-0 run and Kyle Anderson will be going to the free throw line after this timeout with 3:29 to go. UA leads 68-62. Arizona has 17 turnovers, which is the main reason why this one is not yet in the deep freeze.

* * *

Arizona’s turnovers are keeping UCLA in the game. The Bruins take advantage of transition to cut the lead to 68-60 with 4:32 to go.

* * *

Such an amazing team effort so far for Arizona, which is up 68-57 with 5:10 to go, and few teams can supply so many highlight dunks. Nick Johnson’s soaring jam down the lane will give Aaron Gordon some competition on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays.

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Kaleb Tarczewski still hasn’t missed — 6 of 6 from the field — which is one of the reasons Arizona is up 64-54 with under eight minutes to go. Arizona’s defense is beating UCLA’s offense, holding the Bruins to 37 percent shooting. On the other hand, Brandon Ashley and Aaron Gordon now have four fouls. Tarczewski needs to be the rock.

* * *

In a questionable call, Aaron Gordon picks up his fourth foul with 9:39 to go. Arizona up 60-52.

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T.J. McConnell: Six points, seven assists, five rebounds with 11:55 to go. Arizona has its first double-digit lead of the night at 58-48.

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T.J. McConnell with the wrap-up around pass for a Kaleb Tarczewski dunk and a 56-48 lead with about 13 minutes to go.

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In addition to his shooting, there was this big play from Gabe York as he draws a charge on Jordan Adams (his third foul) with 14:02 to go.

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Among the ex-Wildcats at Pauley: Jordan Hill, Miles Simon, Chris Mills, Gilbert Arenas and Luke Walton. Upon seeing his son on camera, Bill Walton says, “Sit up straight, please. Posture!”

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Arizona and UCLA play only once this season and next in the Pac-12′s unbalanced schedule. Our own Javier Morales has been upset about this and Bill Walton just called it a “travesty of justice.”

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Nick Johnson answers UCLA’s 3-point banker in the first half with one of his own from up top at the end of the shot. With a little luck, Arizona goes up 51-46 at the first media timeout of the second half, which also marks the moment when I’ve had enough of listening to Bill Walton.

* * *

Arizona opened its largest lead at 46-38 on Nick Johnson’s floater in the lane, but UCLA responds with six straight to make it 46-44.

* * *

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Nick Johnson leads Arizona with 10 points at halftime. Tony Parker has eight points and seven rebounds for UCLA.

* * *

Arizona leads UCLA 42-38 at halftime. The Cats have hit five 3-pointers – three by Gabe York and two by Nick Johnson — but are surprisingly being out-rebounded 20-19 by smaller UCLA.

Coach Sean Miller, in a halftime interview with Andy Katz, was awesomely sarcastic about his team’s lack of rebounding.

“We’re too small, we’re not strong enough,” Miller said.

“Our greatest strength they’ve completely negated. … Until we start rebounding like men, we’re not going to win the game. That has to change in the second half.”

* * *

Another “Wow” moment from Aaron Gordon, a power reverse dunk on an assist by Gabe York.

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Hard to underestimate the importance of Gabe York’s shooting. He’s hit two 3-pointers vs. UCLA’s zone.

* * *

Arizona, as was the case Saturday vs. Washington, has yet to establish its rebounding superiority tonight. UCLA has a 15-14 edge and leads 31-29 at the final media timeout before halftime. The Wildcats were much better on the boards after the break against the Huskies, eventually taking control.

* * *

Bryce Alford ties the game at 29 with 4:51 before halftime by banking in a 3-pointer from the wing.

* * *

Arizona has used T.J. McConnell, Aaron Gordon and now Nick Johnson to guard 6-9 point guard Kyle Anderson.

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Kaleb Tarczewski picks up second foul with 7:38 to go in the half.

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Arizona is controlling the pace at this point, not afraid to run but to do it with more structure than UCLA and be patient when needed against the 2-3 zone. UA leads 24-18 with 7:50 to go in the half. Kaleb Tarczewski has nine points for the Cats; UCLA doesn’t have a good matchup.

* * *

I agree with this:

* * *

Bill Walton calls Nick Johnson Arizona’s most important player a few minutes after saying the same of T.J. McConnell.

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It’s the Aaron Gordon “Wow” moment. He takes a half-court pass from T.J. McConnell and finishes with a reverse dunk for a 20-14 lead.

* * *

* * *

Defense beating offense so far. UCLA is 2 for its last 12 from the field, and the Cats are up 18-14 with 11:04 to go and Kaleb Tarczewski looking to finish a 3-point play after the timeout.

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* * *

Bill Walton just called Nick Johnson, Nick “Young.” So there’s that.

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Now we see a 2-3 zone from UCLA. Who’s going to shoot it well for Arizona?

* * *

The early pace is what you would have expected — fast — and UCLA leads 10-9 at the first TV timeout with 15:07 to go, but Brandon Ashley will be going to the line to try to give the Cats the lead. Arizona intent of working the ball inside to take advantage of its size, but UCLA is being pesky, forcing four turnovers.

* * *

Overlooked part of Kaleb Tarczewski’s improvement: He’s 40 of 50 from FT line this season, including 3 of 3 early in this game.

* * *

Arizona opens with T.J. McConnell on UCLA’s Kyle Anderson, which surprises me. It’s point guard-on-point guard, but McConnell is giving up eight inches.

* * *

A great win for ex-Cat Josh Pastner’s Memphis team at Louisville tonight on ESPN. If Sean Miller ever leaves Arizona, could you see Pastner as his replacement? Anyway, on to the Arizona-UCLA main event …

PREGAME

It will be hard for tonight’s Arizona-UCLA game to meet the standard of their last meeting — He touched the ball! — but the storylines still overflow as the nation’s No. 1 team heads into Pauley Pavilion, telecast by ESPN.

Arizona is trying to get to 16-0, matching its best start in school history (1931-32). The Bruins are trying to win their fourth in a row in the series. UCLA coach Steve Alford is taking his first whack at the Wildcats.

The Bruins are eighth nationally in scoring at 87.1 points per game and want to play at a frenetic pace. Arizona is tied for third nationally in scoring defense at 54.9 points per game allowed.

“I think it will be potentially our most difficult challenge of the season when it comes to stopping the other team from scoring,” UA coach Sean Miller said.

And then he raved about UCLA’s Kyle Anderson, a 6-9, 230-pound do-it-all sophomore, a point guard who can slide down to the low post. In all cases, he’s a distributor, a playmaker, with a crazy stat line of 15.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game.

He’s a one-man fast break who also can’t be left wide open from the outside. He’s hit 12 of 24 3-point shots. He was 8 of 38 last season.

“There is a lot being made of the elite young players in this country, especially the freshmen,” Miller said. “But I guess since Kyle Anderson is a sophomore, maybe the focus isn’t on him quite as much. …

“The way he impacts the game is so unique. He does play point guard for part of the game. When he’s in with another point guard, it’s like they have two on the court. He’s a very difficult matchup.”

It will be interesting to see how Arizona defends Anderson, either with similar size (Aaron Gordon, Brandon Ashley, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson) or with the smaller Nick Johnson … or with a rotating combination.

UCLA, ranked No. 25, is 12-2, with the losses coming at Missouri and vs. Duke at Madison Square Garden.

* * *

Alford coached Drew Gordon, the older brother of Arizona freshman forward Aaron Gordon, at New Mexico.

Aaron is averaging 12.4 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.

“He’s been awfully good,” Alford said. “When you’re starting on the No. 1 team in the country and you’re almost to a double-double, those are pretty impressive numbers.

“I’ve known Aaron a long time. He’s a terrific young man. Have a lot of respect for him, not just as a player but as a person. I really enjoyed coaching Drew and now I have to go against Aaron. That’s not an easy task.”

* * *

Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic quoted ESPN’s Dick Vitale on UCLA’s Anderson:

“I said it and I stressed it during the (UCLA-Duke) game earlier this year: I don’t want people to write that he’s the next Magic Johnson, but he has the mini-version of that kind of skill,” Vitale said. “Six-nine, playing on the perimeter, looking over the top of the defense … and now he’s added the ability to shoot the ball from the perimeter. Those things make him a legitimate threat.”

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Here is one prediction from a national writer:

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Javier Morales writes that the Arizona-UCLA series is tied at 32 since UA hired Lute Olson for the 1983-84 season.

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