A trip to Oregon this week still looms over the Arizona Wildcats, but at least they won’t be limping there.
Just in time before a potentially rough three-game finale to the regular season — at Oregon State, at Oregon and home against second-place ASU — the Wildcats enjoyed some much-needed healing Sunday during their 70-54 win over Stanford.
Not only did the Wildcats get guard Brandon Williams back from his right knee injury, giving UA a key scorer and playmaker for the stretch run, but the Wildcats also received 14 points from Chase Jeter, his most production since a Jan. 19 back injury that cost him two games and has mostly limited him since then.
What’s more, wing Brandon Randolph had his first double-digit scoring game of the month, shooting 4 for 10 from the field, hitting 2 of 3 3s and driving inside with aggression and body language that screamed the word “fun.”
None of that has been seen lately with the Wildcats, not even really in their 76-51 win over California on Thursday. In what was their 19th straight win over Stanford, the Wildcats played well on both ends of the floor while bouncing off the vibes of the announced crowd of 13,854 fans.
The chief guy leading that charge, as usual, was Ira Lee. The sophomore forward led the Wildcats with a career-high 16 points and five rebounds over just 20 minutes, hitting 6 of 7 shots, including his typically emphatic, crowd-pleasing dunks.
“I like to see McKale jumping,” Lee said, smiling.
Brandon Williams makes a pass to Ira Lee, right, on Sunday night. Williams, who had four points, played in his first game since Jan. 26.
But success and optimism for the Wildcats could also be seen in much more subtle ways Sunday. Most importantly, it was that Williams returned to the floor for the first time in six games, after suffering soreness in his right knee that appeared to be related to a congenital issue he had surgery on two years earlier.
Williams played 18 minutes, the top of his minutes limit, scoring only four points on 1-for-4 shooting while dishing three assists to two turnovers. That production didn’t matter as much as that Williams was back on the floor, trying to work his way back into rhythm after four weeks in sweats.
Provided he doesn’t experience soreness in the next two days, maybe Williams plays an even bigger role on Thursday at Oregon State. And maybe the Wildcats have a chance in that game, or on Saturday against Oregon.
“Even though he had a smaller role tonight, you can just sense it’s a shot in the arm and gives us a much-needed depth and equally, some much-needed firepower,” Miller said. “We’re a different team with him for sure, even in the role he played tonight.”
Arizona forward Ryan Luther had seven points and six rebounds in 35 minutes Sunday in the 70-54 win over Stanford. The UA moved into a tie for seventh place in the Pac-12 with the victory.
Williams not only gave some much-needed help defensively, with the UA allowing the Cardinal to shoot just 39.6 percent and take only 11 free throws, but, of course, offensively by bringing both shooting and playmaking ability.
You could see it somewhat in how Randolph came alive to score all 10 of his points in the second half, helping the Wildcats hold off Stanford after both teams heated up offensively after halftime.
The UA held an eight-point lead at halftime, giving up just three turnovers before the half while holding Stanford to just 30-percent shooting. But the Cardinal cut it to 37-33 on a 3-pointer from Oscar da Silva with 13:14 left.
Some 17 seconds later, Williams dished it to Randolph, who answered with a 3 of his own. It was only the second 3-pointer Randolph had made in his last 18 tries, since the UA’s Feb. 7 loss to Washington.
“I think all of our guys miss Brandon because the style that Brandon Williams plays is one that he’s a playmaker, so he gets fouled,” Miller said. “He finds you for open shots in transition, he can both score and make the pass. And then obviously, he could be a double-figures scorer for us.
“For our sake, we can keep growing in building him so that at some point not only is he back but he returns to the role that he had before he left.”
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That’s the tricky part. All indications are that the UA and Williams’ family are handling the injury delicately, since Williams already missed 10 months away from the game in calendar 2017 after having surgery on the area above his right knee.
“Based on just talking to him after the game, I think he’s in a good place,” Miller said. “We’ve been very, very patient and working alongside the right people, the doctors and whatever they say goes, and Brandon is a very compliant person right now because he wants to play.”
Arizona Wildcats forward Ira Lee (11), Arizona Wildcats guard Dylan Smith (3), Arizona Wildcats guard Brandon Randolph (5) and Arizona Wildcats guard Devonaire Doutrive (1) react to a call in the first half during a game at McKale Center on February 24, 2019 in Tucson, Ariz.
Randolph hit another 3-pointer, on an assist from Justin Coleman, to give the Wildcats a 52-41 lead with 10:57 to go, and Stanford only cut it under double-digits for less than a minute total the rest of the way.
“Confidence is big for all these guys and Brandon lost his confidence but tonight, 2 for 3, you could almost sense he just he was relieved,” Miller said. “He’s been in a rut. But you know, the playmaking of Brandon Williams helps Brandon a little bit.
“It’s just another ball handler out there who can pass the ball, find them, and Brandon Randolph had a couple of strong drives to that he made, and a couple that he missed. He also took three charges. He’s one of many guys that kept them off the foul line.”
PHOTOS: Arizona Wildcats 70, Stanford Cardinal 54, Pac-12 men's basketball
Having thrived this season by driving inside for baskets and getting to the free-throw line, Stanford ran hard into the Wildcats’ pack-line defense this time. The Cardinal shot 26 free throws on Jan. 9 against the Wildcats, with standout forward KZ Okpala taking 12 trips all by himself en route to 29 total points.
This time, Okpala had just 10 points on 5-for-9 shooting and didn’t take a single free throw, though he did draw two fouls.
“We’ve been emphasizing pack-line all week,” Lee said. “We were really tight inside and guys were taking charges, Brandon Randolph took like three or four charges. So we just kept it (defensively) inside and they weren’t able to get to the free throw line. Honestly, that’s what stopped them from scoring.”
The win improved UA to 16-12 overall and into a three-way tie with Colorado and Stanford for seventh place in the Pac-12 at 7-8.
Thanks to a season sweep of Stanford, the Wildcats would own the tiebreaker among those teams or the Cardinal alone, but they’re still two games behind Utah for the fourth and final spot that earns a first-round bye.
With only three games left to play, that means the Wildcats are almost certain to play in a first-round game of some sort.
“We can’t control that,” Miller said. “But what we definitely can control is to be that team that other group doesn’t want to play. How we’re playing this week and next week will go a long way towards establishing that.
“College basketball’s about the finish and I hope we can be healthy and maybe be playing our best as we as we approach the finish.”
