Wildcats leverage big-time advantage inside

There’s using your size advantage, and then there’s doing what Arizona did to diminutive Northern Arizona Wednesday night at McKale Center.

The Wildcats used the paint more than Michelangelo did in the Sistine Chapel.

They used the post more than a snail-mail distributor.

If that seems like a bit much, consider: Arizona outscored the Lumberjacks 50-14 in the post on its way to a 92-37 win.

“That’s the type of matchup we always look for,” Arizona point guard Kadeem Allen said. “Tolly is shooting something like 60 percent in the post, Ryan is a monster and Dusan has great footwork. If we can get them the ball in the block, good things will happen.”

Northern Arizona opened the game with a three-guard lineup, which is like stacking up a bunch of pawns against a quintet of kings, or at least rooks.

Long story short: It wasn’t pretty. Watching Ako Kaluna and Isaiah Thomas attempt to man up Ryan Anderson, Dusan Ristic, Mark Tollefsen and Co., you start to feel sorry for them.

Arizona sure didn’t.

“Almost every game, we go in with the mindset to pound the ball inside and keep attacking and crashing the offensive boards,” Tollefsen said.

The opening quarter of the first half might as well have been Dusan Time, the Wildcats went to him so often. Ristic touched the ball on four of Arizona’s first six plays, scoring the team’s first points on a free throw, the team’s first field goal and another quick gimme a few blinks later. When he returned to the game at the 9:46 mark after an extended absence, the Wildcats again looked to him.

First play: pass inside to Ristic, who draws a foul and hits one of two free throws.

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Next play: Ristic sets the screen for Parker Jackson-Cartwright, then rolls inside, catches the pass and misses the shot attempt — only for Tollefsen to corral the rebound and putback.

Next play: Gabe York attempts to dump it off to Ristic but gets called for an offensive foul.

Next play: The Wildcats drop the ball inside to Ristic, who dishes back out to Jackson-Cartwright for a wide-open 3-pointer.

When Ristic re-entered, Arizona was up two; six minutes later, the Wildcats were up 15. They went into the half up 16.

“What we’re trying to get across to him is if he’s more patient and makes the simple pass — he’s had too many turnovers trying to make the home run pass,” coach Sean Miller said. “He’s being simpler with his approach.”

Funny thing is, for all of Arizona’s brawn and bravado, the Wildcats still missed 11 of their first 15 shots.

So much for that “size matters” mumbo-jumbo.

Oh, wait.

They made 30 of their next 44 attempts, and Ristic, Anderson and Tollefsen combined for 47 points.

All this, remember, without Kaleb Tarczewski.

“We had the size advantage, experience, depth there,” Miller said. “It was up to us to take advantage there and we ended up doing it. Ryan Anderson has been much more dominant than I ever guessed.”