There was no extended locker-room talk after this one. In fact, Sean Miller may have set a record for the fastest time ever recorded from the postgame locker room to the postgame radio set.
Asked in the postgame group interview, which follows his radio address, about his haste and whether he spoke to the team, Miller said:
βI just want to get this over with, you know, just kind of move on.β
Miller then stood up, crumpled his stat sheet, and left the room.
By then, after a 10-minute media address that followed Oregon's 73-72 overtime win Saturday, Miller had already made his points, in fairly direct and succinct manner, except for his many references to missed rebounding opportunities and Payton Pritchard's general excellence.
Miller said he wasnβt blaming Christian Koloko, who missed two free throws with 1.4 seconds left, saying he would have normally been subbed out after being put in for defense on the Ducksβ final possession but remained in the game because there was not a clock-stoppage that allowed substitutions.
βThis loss doesnβt fall on Christian,β Miller said.
Remember when Miller used to call defensive rebounding the Wildcatsβ βAchillesβ heel" earlier this season?
Thatβs where he put a lot of the blame instead. Apparently as it applied to two Oregon possessions in overtime.
With 18 seconds, Zeke Nnaji blocked Pritchardβs layup attempt but couldnβt grab the ball as it dropped out of bounds below him.
Then, on the Ducksβ final possession, Arizona couldnβt come down with a rebound in a crowd after Pritchard missed a 3 -- instead, Shakur Juiston tapped the ball out to the right corner, where Will Richardson picked it up, then drove inside and passed it back to Juiston, who made the game winner.
βWhen you have the ball in your hands on a defensive rebound, or a shot hits the rim, and youβre up four, youβre up two, thereβs a minute-30 left, thereβs 45 seconds leftβ¦ you go up above the rim, you get it, you land and then they foul you,β Miller said. βThe ball doesn't go off your hands, the guy doesn't run around you, you don't forget to block out, you don't let the guy run and get it.
βThose are the plays that I think really drive you crazy because that's just absolute toughness and effort. I wish we were better in that area, we're not. And that's why we have the number of losses that we do.β
Miller went back to this topic later even when asked about Arizonaβs 14 turnovers, which led to nine second-chance points for the Ducks. (Though Oregonβs 11 turnovers led to nine second-chance points for Arizona.)
βWe had 14, that's too many, but I want to give Oregon credit,β Miller said. βThey're the number one team in our conference at stealing the ball. They play with great effort, and you know when you're them, and you lose a game at Arizona State like they lost, you're gonna come in here and fight and fight and fight to the death.
βAnd we have to be there right with them. You gotta rebound the ball. Itβs like, they missed. You don't get a chance (to not get it)β¦ Ballβs out of bounds. I mean, go get the ball above the above the rim, Rondae Hollis Jefferson, go get it above the square and, guards run and dive on the floor but those coveted late-game shots that miss, you cannot be on the losing end of that in March Madness.β
Miller was correct in that thinking about Oregon. According to the Oregonian, Pritchard said after the game that he vowed to be aggressive for the entire 40 minutes Saturday after he fouled out in Oregonβs loss at ASU on Thursday (as it turned out, Pritchard played all 45 minutes of the game).
βI wanted to prove a point,β Pritchard said. βMoving forward I donβt ever want to be disappointed thinking that I couldβve done more. I want to lay it out every time.β
Pritchard's focus was also evident before the game. During Arizona's pregame video and player introductions, while the rest of the Ducks huddled around, Pritchard bounced up and down constantly, while staring straight ahead at nobody in particular...
The other key, Miller said, is that you canβt go 10 for 21 from the free throw line, as the Wildcats did, counting Kolokoβs misses and the two from Josh Green that could have won the game for Arizona at the end of regulation.
βIt's very difficult to beat a team as good as Oregon with this much at stake, and go 10 for 21 for the line,β Miller said. βSo you go 10 for 21 from line and a couple things that I talked about it really negated some, some terrific play. There's some guys that made big shots on our end, big plays. β¦ Dylan Smith: I don't know if I've seen a guy play any better or harder than he played. He played 37 minutes, not only did he guard Pritchard for most of the game, but he had 18 points. He did a great job, our senior that guy right there, he did a great job I'm really, really proud of them.
βWhere we erred is in the first eight minutes of the game where we didn't put Dylan on Payton Pritchard and he got off to a really hot start. The guy had 20 at the half and 18 in the second half.β
Miller went on about Pritchard, too, comparing him to T.J. McConnell in a sense.
βAnd,β he continued. βI donβt know. Does he not get drafted? Is he just too old? Is that how it works? I donβt know. I watch these guys and Iβd like to think he can play in the NBA. Heβs pretty good, man.β
Asked how much free throws become mental after a couple of misses, Miller worked in a Pritchard reference again (not surprisingly, since Pritchard was also 8 for 8 from the line).
βPressure free throws, I'll go back to Allonzo Trier. He was like the executioner. When you have a guy like Payton Pritchard or Allonzo, you almost take it for granted. Dana next year will think back to so many games that Payton Pritchard was in because he just he's so reliable from the free-throw line, and you know they were 11 for 14 but he was 8 for 8).
βAnd it's just free throws are a big deal in college basketball. That's never changed and tonight we were 10 for 21 and they were 11 for 14. Big difference in the game."
There were successes for the Wildcats, just not ones that translated into baskets. Like the play that led to Greenβs drive for a basket that could have won the game with a layup or free throws, and Bakerβs fullcourt pass to Koloko in regulation.
βThat was a great play,β Miller said of a fake handoff that led to Greenβs drive. βGot to the line and missed it. And I thought our last play of the game β itβs tough to throw the ball 94 feet, get the ball one foot from the rim and have a chance to score it. In both of those cases we executed but we didn't deliver. So, we lost.β
Asked if he thought the Wildcats learned a lesson at least from Saturdayβs loss, Miller said:
βI don't,β he said. βI don't know. We have a lot of guys that are gonna leave and play in the professional ranks and we have guys that have started for 27 games, right? Everybody knows their role. This is what we signed up for. We gotta deliver, gotta deliver. This isn't Thanksgiving anymore.
βOregon delivered and they're on a plane ride home. Theyβve got a great program, great team. I thought Payton Pritchard once again was just an amazing college basketball player.
βMaybe he'll get invited to the (NBA) combine. I know T.J. McConnell didn't get invited to Chicago. I'm hoping they'll give him an invitation. I know he's a senior but I'd like think he might have a chance.β
(FWIW, Miller's lobbying actually helped McConnell get a last-minute invite in 2015).
