UA-OSU postgame: On the Ducks' scare, PJC's shot and Miller's gratefulness

CORVALLIS, Ore. – On the way to Saturday’s Arizona-Oregon showdown, it seems, Thursday night was almost forgotten.

Not only did the Wildcats struggle in the first half against Oregon State, but the Ducks needed a Dillon Brooks Takeover in the final minutes just to get by ASU by a point, at home.

Even Oregon's official Twitter page was encouraging fans to wear yellow Saturday a full four days before the Ducks first had to face the Sun Devils.

But both UA and Oregon found enough to win Thursday, setting up an ESPN telecast that will be everything it was billed to be before the season, with first place in the Pac-12 on the line and, possibly, the conference’s Top NCAA tournament seed (though that may be at best a No. 2 in the West, or a No. 1 elsewhere if Gonzaga keeps winning…)

UA is 10-0 and Oregon is 9-1 so, while a Ducks win would technically put them in a first-place tie, they would hold the tiebreaker since the teams meet only once during the regular season. If both teams hold that position the rest of the way, they would technically be co-champs but Oregon would get the No. 1 Pac-12 Tournament seed and likely an edge in NCAA Tournament seeding.

The two players UA made available for interviews Thursday, Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Allonzo Trier, said all the usual respectful things about the Ducks and noted that they treat every game the same.

But, sorry, it’s big. Trier sort of acknowledged that.

“We respect Oregon a lot. We know what they’re capable of,” Trier said. “We know the kind of season they’ve had last year and this year so we’re excited to go meet them. It’s a tough game but we’ll be ready for it.”

UA coach Sean Miller spoke highly of Oregon coach Dana Altman, the Ducks’ talent and their zone defense.

“They have a little bit of everything; they have great experience,” Miller said. “They have Dillon Ennis a fifth-year senior, (Chris) Boucher is the same, and they have quite a few who’ve been there for three. And obviously, they have a great coach.

“They block shots and get steals, and on offense, they’re shooting and making as many 3s as UCLA so they have everything. That’s why they’re such a great team."

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Because all that talent, length and athleticism gets folded into the Ducks’ matchup zone, it will likely be much tougher than the zones Arizona struggled with in its past two games against OSU and Washington.

“That’s what Oregon does -- they play a matchup zone,” Miller said. “It’s always hard because sometimes you miss some good looks and if you do, it’s not a function of your offense as much as the end of the day someone’s got to make a shot. Sometimes you take tough shots and they go in.

Later, Miller said of Altman: “He has a variety of different presses and sometimes he plays more man-to-man but at some point during the game he’s always played matchup zone at both Creighton and Oregon. I don’t think it’s just us (he uses it for); that’s just his philosophy and he knows what he’s doing.”

Miller said he was encouraged to see Parker Jackson-Cartwright take and make two 3-pointers early in the first half at OSU, after PJC hadn’t made more than two in a game all season.

“Great to see him shoot the ball with confidence,” Miller said. “We’ve seen it in practice and those six points in the first half were big for us because we didn’t have many. He really played well in the 20 minutes that he played.”

Trier went 1 for 4 from 3-point territory which Miller said may explain why the sophomore was less than pleased with his individual performance despite scoring 18 points overall, many off drives inside and free throws.

“He’s worked really hard to become a better shooter,” Miller said. “It just hasn’t translated into the game. It will. He just has to stay with it and make sure he takes good ones. I think that’s where his frustration lies in terms of his overall game.”

Miller said he was glad to receive a two-year contract extension through 2021-22 at a time when the AD job is open and the UA president job will soon be.

“At a time of uncertainty, whether it’s a transition between the athletic director or Dr. Hart, who is outgoing, it’s very, very nice of the university to do that,” Miller said. “They don’t have to do that. The fact that they do means a lot and allows my own family to have stability and hopefully we can have a great future here in Tucson. That’s certainly what we want to do.”

When asked about the fact that he also gets an extra 50,000 shares of stock currently worth $1.2 million if he stays until 2022, Miller said he didn’t know much about it.

“I’m just glad they did it,” Miller said. “There is the opposite, right? I’m just happy they think enough of me to do it.”