The Wildcats have a good time late in in their victory over Duke.
Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images.

Duke’s Coach K: ‘We had no stop for them’

I’m still waiting. Still waiting for Duke to make a run. For Duke to answer. For Arizona to kick the ball around a bit, take some bad shots, to let the Blue Devils back in the game.

I’m still waiting.

I’m still waiting for Arizona to stop treating Duke as shabbily as Robert Morris. For Derrick Williams to stop being Superman.

I’m still waiting to see if I can make sense of it all.

But when what you just saw defies the logic you thought you had acquired from 36 previous games, it’s probably time to simply submit to one feeling: Belief.

“Nobody really believed in us and that put a chip on our shoulder, like nobody in the world thought we could win this game,” sophomore forward Kevin Parrom told reporters in the locker room. “It’s a great feeling.”

The Wildcats’ wrecked the top-seeded Blue Devils 93-77 in the Sweet 16 on Thursday. They ruthlessly deconstructed Duke in the second half. Out-worked them in the second half. Out-hustled them. Out-Duked them.

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Here come Derrick Williams and the Wildcats. Photo by Jeff Gross, Getty Images Sport

Arizona Wildcats coach Sean Miller left behind his practice sheet after finishing with interviews Tuesday in McKale Center.

Nothing super secretive. It’s not like it would be valuable in enemy Duke’s hands.

And I don’t think it’s breaking protocol to disclose his daily motto at the top:

All in. Do what we do. No excuses. No explanations.

That about sums it up.

Miller probably has a million ways to motivate, and most of this group of Wildcats has been absorbing his relentless prodding for almost two years. The result is a team in his own image — tough, scrappy. It’s a pack of bulldogs.

Arizona teams of the recent past might have been dismissed as “all athlete, no heart” but these Cats are mostly the opposite.

The words from Miller’s postgame talk after beating Texas still echo: “Nastiness is required.”

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Letting Kyle Singler shoot 3-pointers seems to be a keen strategy.
Photo by Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

Duke has lost four times this season. There is a common theme.

“They have struggled from the 3 sometimes in their losses,” Arizona Wildcats coach Sean Miller said. “And even in their tight games.”

And Miller was being kind. Duke hasn’t just struggled sometimes from 3-point range in its losses. The Blue Devils have struggled all the time.

Let’s just look at those defeats.

Duke:

–Was 11 of 35 from 3-point range in a 66-61 loss to Florida State.

–Hit 5 of 26 while losing 93-78 to St. John’s.

–Made only 4 of 20 in a 64-60 defeat to Virginia Tech.

–Was 6 of 27 from beyond the arc in an 81-67 loss to North Carolina.

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This old T-shirt sums up how many college basketball fans feel about Duke.
Photo courtesy of Steve Rivera, TucsonCitizen.com

I have a confession to make.

I don’t hate Duke.

In fact, I used to love Duke.

I know. I know. College basketball fans — especially those Arizona Wildcat fans who know the history of the series between the programs and who are hyper-tuned to the frequency of East Coast Bias — are supposed to despise the big, bad Dookies.

It’s like hating the Dallas Cowboys (I do) or the Los Angeles Lakers (I really do) or the New York Yankees (I really, really do).

But Duke? I kind of feel like I was there from the beginning with Mike Krzyzewski.

Let me explain.

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Arizona hopes to see Derrick Williams in this pose frequently vs. Duke. Photo by Peter G. Aiken-US PRESSWIRE

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, in comments made to media before the Blue Devils departed Tuesday for Anaheim, talked about Arizona sophomore forward Derrick Williams.

Williams has been a first-team or second-team All-American, as selected by various organizations.

“Derrick has to be a first-team All-American,” Coach K said. “I don’t know how he doesn’t get the publicity.”

(Of course, Duke detractors would say that the Blue Devils get more than their fair share of that.)

What Krzyzewski marveled at was Williams’ 313 free throw attempts, which leads the nation. That’s 8.7 per game … which doesn’t even tell the whole story, according to Krzyzewski.

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Kevin Parrom clutches his ankle after he landed on the foot of a Texas player on Sunday. Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Arizona Wildcats coach Sean Miller delivered good news Tuesday afternoon about the status of sophomore wing Kevin Parrom for the Duke game.

Parrom suffered a sprained ankle in the first half against Texas on Sunday; he returned only briefly. Miller said after that 70-69 victory that Parrom’s availability could be limited this week.

Now, he’s more hopeful.

“Kevin has made a lot of progress. That is one positive thing,” Miller said.

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Hugs and smiles for everyone. Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Sean Miller: ‘The toughest teams survive’

Arizona Wildcats sophomore Derrick Williams didn’t even know the shot went in.

He just drives to the hoop as Texas’ Jordan Hamilton crashes into his legs, flips up a shot with his right hand, braces for the fall and hopes for the best.

With the game hanging in the balance.

A berth in the Sweet 16 vs. Duke on the line.

And the shot goes in.

“Surprised it went in,” Williams said in the postgame interview. “Glad it went in.”

Then, Williams made one more shot go in — the free throw for a 70-69 lead.

And then Arizona forced a slashing J’Covan Brown into a wild shot. And then time ran out while Williams — of course — was right there to prevent Gary Johnson from attempting a last-second shot after grabbing the rebound.

All this after the Wildcats forced Texas into a turnover — a five-second violation — as the Longhorns tried to in-bound the ball. And they only did that after coach Rick Barnes, somewhat questionably, called timeout with 14.5 seconds left and his team up two points. Shouldn’t he have just waited for Arizona to foul?

Whatever. That’s Texas’ problem.

Hey, is this fun or what?

I mean, what’s been Arizona’s margin of error in the past two games? About half a second?

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Duke's standouts include Kyle Singler (left) and Miles Plumlee. Photo by Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

Arizona sophomore Derrick Williams was 9 years old when the Wildcats last played Duke — in the 2001 national championship.

Duke won.

Not sure how much he remembers about that, if anything, but he is not alone in this sentiment:

“Everybody wants to beat Duke when they’re younger,” Williams said after Sunday’s 70-69 victory over Texas, “and hopefully we can do that.”

The old rivals will meet in the Sweet 16 in Anaheim, Calif., on Thursday.

The Blue Devils, seeded first in the West Region, are big favorites against No. 5 Arizona. Duke opened as a 10-point favorite.

Related: Lute Olson on Arizona-Duke: ‘It should be another classic’