Arizona and Oregon came down to the final possession Saturday afternoon, but it was the Ducks who again closed out the Wildcats on their home court.
Arizona’s 63-61 loss was their sixth in a row against Oregon. These numbers explain how it happened:
:34
Saturday’s game was decided in the final minute. The way the last 34 seconds played out will have Arizona frustrated with the result.
Christian Koloko made two free throws to give Arizona a 61-60 lead. After a timeout, Oregon got the ball to its top shooter, Chris Duarte, who knocked down an uncontested 3-pointer to go up by two points with 15 seconds to play.
Arizona had trouble setting up its halfcourt offense and was forced to take a timeout with 1.1 seconds remaining. Kerr Kriisa caught the inbounds pass at the top of the key, hesitated as his defender flew by, then missed what would have been a game-winning 3-pointer.
UA head coach Sean Miller said he was pleased with the play design.
“He did a good job, popped out, caught it and I believe he got a shot to win it,” Miller said. “But unfortunately, (Kriisa) missed it. But it was contested.”
Kriisa, a freshman making his second career start, had his best overall game as a Wildcat but missed four 3-pointers in the second half, none more critical than his potential game-winner.
His misses with Arizona trailing 38-37, 53-52, 57-54 and 63-61.
The silver lining? Kriisa made four of the Wildcats’ nine 3-pointers.
“Game by game, I get better and more confident,” Kriisa said.
38
Miller was not pleased with Arizona’s effort on the glass. Oregon outrebounded the UA 38-30, the first time the Wildcats have not had as many — or more — boards than their opponent this season.
“They beat us up on the glass,” he said.
The two catalysts of Arizona’s offense, James Akijno and Bennedict Mathurin, combined to shoot just 5 for 20 from the field.
Akinjo’s eight points were the fewest he’s had in a game since Jan. 14 against Oregon State; Saturday snapped his streak of seven consecutive games in double figures.
Mathurin, who had hit 7 of 11 3-pointers in his last two games, went 0 for 6 from long range. Arizona made just two of its final 10 shot attempts.
10
The Wildcats missed 10 of the 16 layups they attempted.
26:12
Oregon led for 26:12 of the 40-minute game. The Wildcats were in front for only 5:49 of it; the game was tied the rest of the time.
