No. 24 Arizona handles Beavers to set up Saturday showdown with 14th-ranked Oregon

Maybe it’s late February now but the Arizona Wildcats proved again Thursday it’s never too late to keep learning.

In a game marred by four technical fouls and the ejection of Oregon State star Tres Tinkle, the Wildcats avenged their worst Pac-12 loss of the season. They beat the Beavers 89-63 after losing to them 82-65 in Corvallis during the second week of conference play.

Earlier this week, UA coach Sean Miller noted how the Wildcats’ freshmen had grown since then when answering a question about freshman wing Josh Green’s progress.

“These guys are young, and they learn, and they can continue to grow and get better with each experience,” Miller said. “For example, playing on the road against Oregon State's zone a month and a half ago, (Green is) much more prepared. He's much more at ease and comfortable offensively against that type of defense now than he would have been then just because of his experience.

As it turned out, Green led the way with 18 points on 7 for 11 shooting, including 2 of 3 3-pointersh, while fellow freshman Nico Mannion had 16 points and six assists. Max Hazzard added another 15 points with 3 of 6 3-point shooting.

Arizona guard Josh Green (0) makes a big slam dunk finishing off a turnover triggered fast break against Oregon State in the first half of their Pac12 game at McKale Center, February 20, 2020 Tucson, Ariz.
Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star

Although Arizona shot just 43.8% from the field, the Wildcats made 10 of 21 3-pointers and, with Green leading the way, turned 21 Oregon State turnovers into 26 points.

The win moved Arizona to 19-7 overall and 9-4 in the Pac-12 entering a showdown Saturday with Oregon, which played at ASU on Thursday. The Ducks beat Arizona in overtime 74-73 on Jan. 9 in Eugene.

Oregon State dropped to 15-11 and 5-9.

The Wildcats were in a middle of a 9-0 run early in the second half when Oregon State’s Tres Tinkle was kicked out of the game for a flagrant two foul. Arizona’s Jemarl Baker was called for a personal foul while contacting Tinkle as he drove in from the right wing.

But Tinkle retaliated with a high elbow, earning him a flagrant one foul call and an automatic ejection because it was his second technical of the night (Tinkle and UA’s Christian Koloko were called for a double technical in the first half).

Tinkle also was involved in a mixup last season at McKale when he undercut Chase Jeter as the two tangled for position under the basket and Jeter hit the floor hard, then missed the Wildcats’ next two games with back spasms.

Tinkle left the game with only 10 points scored on 3-for-11 shooting, his lowest-scoring output of the season while Nico Mannion hit 1 of 2 ensuing technical free throws.

Arizona forward Zeke Nnaji (22) exults after picking up a foul on his put-back attempt against Oregon State in the second half of their Pac12 game at McKale Center, February 20, 2020 Tucson, Ariz.
Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star

Just over a minute later, Tinkle’s dad, OSU coach Wayne Tinkle, was also called for a technical foul during an extended argument with an official.

Mannion hit both technical free throws this time, and UA took a 58-40 lead, then cruised the rest of the game.

In the first half, Green had 13 points, including a pair of electrifying dunks, to lead Arizona to a 40-30 halftime lead.

The Wildcats shot just 37.1% from the field against Oregon State’s zone defense but held the Beavers to 37.9% while scoring 15 points off 13 Beaver turnovers.

Oregon State head coach Wayne Tinkle talks with one of the game officials after the Beavers picked up a bench technical late in the second half of their Pac12 game against Arizona, February 20, 2020 Tucson, Ariz.
Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star

Just when Arizona nearly took a double-digit lead midway through the half, getting a 3-pointer from Stone Gettings to make it 24-15, the Beavers cut it to 26-20 after an unguarded 3-pointer from OSU’s Jerod Lucas.

Before and during an ensuing media timeout, UA coach Sean Miller became demonstratively upset, and a clipboard slammed to the floor in the UA’s huddle. Afrer the timeout Miller also threw a towel on the floor.

But UA went on a 7-0 run to take a 35-22 lead with four minutes left in the half, and after another brief OSU surge, took a double-digit halftime lead after a 3-pointer from Zeke Nnaji.

After missing its first three shots, Arizona went on a 10-0 run that was punctuated by Green’s coast-to-coast dunk after he stole a pass from Ethan Thompson.

Green later had another fast-break dunk and a 3-pointer from the right wing to help UA build up a 19-8 lead with 12:03 remaining in the first half before the Beavers closed within six after a 3 from Thompson and a second-chance basket from Tinkle.