But our defense eventually took hold."Īnd again, it was that defense-to-offense thing. "I felt like they were scoring every time down. "It didn't feel like that to me," Miller said of the time between baskets. They went 6:10 without a basket, allowing the Wildcats pull away. Washington led 52-51 with 10:09 left before Arizona put the clamps on, limiting the Huskies to just three baskets the rest of the way. He explained it as an "8- or 10-minute stretch where our defense was leading to our offense and we were really getting after it on both ends." It turned on a segment during the middle of the second half of which Miller said "we were really at our best." That's the attitude of our team: We won't give up."įor the Wildcats, it was largely a game of stretches - a couple dunks here, a couple dunks there, a 3-pointer there. "Offensive rebounding was big for us, hitting shots and running in transition. We made our run and made shots when it counted. Their record may not show it, but they are good. "That's what good teams do, battle through adversity," said Arizona leader Nick Johnson, who had a game-high 24 points. Then came the second half, where Arizona turned it on, limiting Washington to 30 percent shooting from the floor and outrebounding the Huskies 26-17. For its part, Washington was doing what other teams this season hadn't been able to do, outrebounding the big, athletic Wildcats 17-12. In the first half, Arizona had the lead for all of seven minutes and went into the half trailing 35-33. It was hardly a Saturday afternoon stroll in the park, like many of the Wildcats' games have been this year. "When (opponents) show up in McKale Center, they are excited."
"We fully expect that we're going to get the other team's best shot.
"We're carrying that right now, but it's not a burden," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. Getting the other team's best shot is the norm it's all about handling it. These are different times in the Pac-12, where the Wildcats are now 2-0. That record was achieved in 1931-32 against the likes of, ahem, Dixie Junior College and the UA Alumni All-Stars. Such has been the life for Arizona the last four weeks, as college basketball's top-ranked team improved to 15-0, one win shy of its all-time best start of 16-0. 1 again after they found a way to get past the Huskies 71-62 at McKale Center in front of an eventually relieved crowd. But come next week, the Wildcats likely will be No. Those old enough to get it understood, and those who are young will eventually: When the pressure's on, the heart can handle only so much.Īrizona is no stranger to pressure at this point, as being No. University of Arizona president Ann Weaver Hart likened Saturday's game with Washington to a "treadmill stress test."
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