PALO ALTO, Calif. β In the world of neutral courts, where season-defining NCAA Tournament games are eventually played every season, the Arizona Wildcats are already pretty well-versed.
UA has played five games on neutral or semi-neutral courts so far, six if you count the tepid atmosphere at Missouri on Dec. 10, and theyβll probably experience another one Sunday.
At Stanfordβs Maples Pavilion, where the glory days of former coach Mike Montgomery have long since passed, the Cardinal drew an announced crowd of only 3,595 on Friday β¦ and lost to ASU.
While Stanford will likely draw more Sunday, Arizona fans will likely be an especially vocal minority, as they were Friday at Cal as part of an announced crowd of 10,844. For nearly every spike in noise when the Bears made a key run Friday, there were βU of Aβ chants when the Wildcats surged.
Also likely to create a semi-neutral atmosphere at Maples on Sunday: The fact that itβs New Yearβs Day, with only 200 or so Stanford students expected to show up, and there will be no band.
Yes, in news thatβs probably not a surprise, the infamously eccentric Stanford Band has been, well, banned. According to Stanford, the band wonβt play through the spring because it violated alcohol, conduct and travel policies.
So, in the end, Sunday should be really just another day at the office for the Wildcats. An office that has been outside of McKale Center for exactly half of their 14 games so far.
βNonconference wise, you try to accomplish several things, one of which is you donβt want to just sit at home,β UA coach Sean Miller said Saturday, before the Wildcats practiced at Maples. βYou want to be able to teach your team how to travel, how it feels to play a road game.
βAll those experiences help you for last night (at Cal) and hopefully tomorrow.β
The Wildcatsβ game Friday at Haas Pavilion was easily the toughest road environment the Wildcats have faced so far this season, though the fact that Cal didnβt have a band or many students may have helped ease the transition.
So did the Wildcatsβ veteran players.
βWe talk about it every day. The Pac-12 is different,β said center Dusan Ristic, who led UA in scoring Friday with 16 points on 8-for-10 shooting. βI think they were pretty prepared for this, but itβs a different environment. If you donβt count Missouri, this was the first true road game test, and the new guys havenβt experienced that.β
It was a tough initial 20 minutes for UAβs freshmen.
While Lauri Markkanen missed all three of his 3-pointers in the first half, guards Rawle Alkins and Kobi Simmons combined to shoot just 3 for 12 from the field in the same time period.
But they adjusted quickly. Simmons threw in eight points over a two-minute stretch early in the second half, confidently weaving his way toward the basket for layups on three occasions, while the Wildcats took their first lead following a 13-point first-half deficit.
βKobiβs a really, really talented player,β Miller said. βIn the second half, he gave our team confidence. His spurt there got us the lead and from that point on it was a different game.
βI thought in the first half both him and Rawle were feeling their way β βWhatβs this about, first Pac-12 game,β β and we warned them (about it). But even Rawle, some of the plays he made in the second half down the stretch were really big for us.β
The ever-confident Simmons said it was just about βfiguring out their defense and not taking my foot off the gas,β while he, Ristic and Miller all acknowledged one other major change: That Parker Jackson-Cartwright was back on the floor.
After having missed six games with a high ankle sprain, Jackson-Cartwright returned to play 20 minutes off the bench. Jackson-Cartwright had four assists and no turnovers, aiding the Wildcatsβ ball movement while allowing UAβs other three perimeter players more time to rest.
βIt was really a good lift to have him out there,β Miller said. βNow itβs just a matter of progressing him, and I think with his role (at Stanford) will probably be similar to how it was against Cal and weβll build from there.β
Miller said he would probably stick with the same starting lineup Sunday, which means bringing Jackson-Cartwright off the bench, possibly for a few more minutes this time. He said he wanted to make sure he didnβt βramp upβ Jackson-Cartwright too much, but noted that Jackson-Cartwright wasnβt experiencing any unusual soreness or reactions on Saturday.
For a team thatβs been shorthanded all season, news doesnβt get much better than that. Not only is Jackson-Cartwright the teamβs only true point guard, but heβs also one of its most experienced players β on home, away or neutral courts.
βParker really helped us leading the team,β Ristic said. βItβs great having Parker back.β
