Wright and Brothers

In a way, maybe you can blame Sean Miller’s brother for the Wildcats' loss Saturday.

Archie Miller initially signed guard McKinley Wright, Minnesota’s Mr. Basketball, to play for Dayton this season. But when Arch left for Indiana last spring, Wright said he found the Hoosiers had too many guards returning and reopened his recruitment.

Wright chose the Buffaloes, and on Saturday he led them with 16 points and 10 assists to seven turnovers.

“He has to be one dumbest coaches in college basketball to not have him as part of his program,” Sean Miller said of his brother, with a small smile.

Team roping

When Colorado upset Arizona two years ago, fans rushed the Coors Events Center floor so wildly that UA coach Sean Miller said center Kaleb Tarczewski was bumped by a fan and complained so vociferously that the Pac-12 instituted fines for court storming.

But the conference also declared it would not fine schools who allow the visiting teams to exit safely, and that’s exactly what happened Saturday: The postgame handshake line was roped off and guarded by a team of security, allowing the Wildcats to greet the Buffaloes and then quietly exit the arena.

“No problem,” Miller said of the postgame scene this time. “They deserved it. I would have stormed the court, too. They should be proud of their team.”

Game face

Roughly 20 percent of the fans inside the Coors Events Center were rooting for the Wildcats on Saturday, and none of them were dressed more appropriately than Gary Triano.

The nephew of a Tucsonan of the same name who was killed in a 1996 car bomb at the La Paloma Country Club, Triano wore an Arizona jersey, red wig and red-and-blue beads to Saturday's game. He also painted his face entirely blue, including his lips and eyelids.

“Didn’t hurt,” Triano said.

Triano, a UA grad who lives in Boulder, was accompanied at the game by son Tyler and his friend, Felipe Alaniz, both of which were also decked out in UA gear.

Omelet powered

Because of the noon start Saturday, the Wildcats substituted their usual pasta-and-chicken pregame meal for an 8 a.m. breakfast buffet.

While maybe it didn't look like it during the game, the meal went down well.

“Guys like breakfast the most, so that’s OK with them,” said Ryan Reynolds, UA’s director of basketball operations.

The Wildcats had all the usual choices – eggs, bacon, pancakes, etc. – but the most popular item were customized omelets from a chef on hand.

Ralphie goes green

There are nearly as many murals and posters around the Coors Events Center promoting “Ralphie’s Green Stampede” as there are about basketball.

CU boasts of being the nation’s first D-I sports sustainability program where energy efficiency, renewable energy and carbon offsets create zero carbon emissions from its zero-waste athletic facilities. CU also claims to be watching water use so as to restore water flow to the Colorado River basin.

Signs also ask fans “What kind of Buff will you be?” asking them to achieve zero waste by 2025 and pledge to reduce water use.

The school also notes that the T-shirts it throws into the stands after Buff 3-pointers are made of recycled plastic bottles.

Coors Plus

Beer and wine might not be served at McKale Center this season after all but there was plenty available at the Coors Events Center, an arena named after a nearby brewing giant.

And the sponsor is OK with it even if you choose another brand.

No wine and beer at McKale this season but both are readily available at Coors Events Center. There are actually some craft beers for sale in addition to the sponsor's stuff... pic.twitter.com/IV09FCjxAR

— Bruce Pascoe (@BrucePascoe) January 6, 2018

While numerous kiosks offer Coors family beers — Coors, Coors Light and Blue Moon — they also sell Old Zippy American Ale and Top Rope Mexican Style Lager from Post, a Lafayette, Colo, brewer, in addition to Buffalo Gold, a golden ale from Boulder Beer Company.

Mile-high warnings

Colorado tries to give opponents a psychological blow on top of what coach Tad Boyle calls a definite altitude factor in Boulder.

The first mural players see when they enter the arena from the loading dock says “Welcome to Boulder, Altitude 5,345.”

And just before player intros, a recorded message is blasted over the arena loudspeakers talking about the effects of altitude.

“There is a risk of failure,” it said. “This is your pregame altitude warning.”

C-Unit limited factor

Colorado’s spring semester doesn’t begin until Jan. 16, and not many students bothered coming back to campus for Saturday’s game.

Looks like C-Unit not gonna be much of a factor today. Probably 20 percent UA fans here, too. pic.twitter.com/ZnRgmGV1rd

— Bruce Pascoe (@BrucePascoe) January 6, 2018

The C-Unit of student fans behind one basket appeared only about 30 percent full at tipoff, though other fans – even ones wearing UA red – filled in the better student seats as the game went on, pushing it to about 50 percent of capacity.

The big number

4

– Arizona losses at Colorado in six games since the Buffaloes joined the Pac-12 in 2011-12

Quotable

“We’ll either fix it or continue to get our asses kicked.”

– UA coach Sean Miller, after saying he can’t get his team to consistently play hard.