Game 3
Arizona 69, Gonzaga 64
Dec. 14, 2008 at Phoenix
What happened: Playing under an interim head coach for the second straight season, the Wildcats shocked the No. 4-ranked Bulldogs. Arizona received 47 combined points from its “Big Three” of Jordan Hill, Nic Wise and Chase Budinger while interim coach Russ Pennell received some unexpected help off the bench from Kyle Fogg, Zane Johnson and Alex Jacobson.
Key player: Hill managed 22 points in 31 minutes despite battling foul trouble, while also hitting both ends of a one-and-one with 1:17 remaining to give UA a 64-62 lead. He shot just 55 percent from the line through his first seven games that season.
He said it: "It's a big win for us. Us three (Wise, Hill, Budinger) have been through a lot in the last few years. I mean, who can say they've had three different coaches in the last three years? It's kind of unheard of." – Budinger
