BOULDER, Colo. – His team already down 17 when a TV timeout finally broke up the madness eight minutes into the game Saturday at Colorado, Arizona coach Sean Miller calmly took a seat at the center of the team huddle and talked it out with his guys.
There was no need for any drama at that point. All the really tough discussions had already happened.
As rough as its 73-58 loss to Utah on Thursday and 82-79 loss at Colorado on Saturday were for Arizona, things might have been even more fiery inside the Wildcats’ otherwise cozy downtown Boulder hotel between games.
That’s where Miller bluntly let them know that their efforts in Salt Lake City, save for those by Christian Koloko and newly eligible freshman Kerr Kriisa, weren’t going to cut it.
“We had a couple of really tough film sessions,” Miller said. “We had a big meeting.”
Not surprisingly, Miller also held special one-on-one breakout sessions with Bennedict Mathurin, having criticized the gifted Canadian freshman wing for his attitude at Utah.
“I didn’t like the way he played,” Miller said in Salt Lake City, then played Mathurin off the bench in both halves at Colorado — and watched the freshman respond by scoring 22 points on 7-for-9 shooting that included 4 of 5 3-pointers.
Afterward, Miller offered some perspective on Mathurin.
“There’s nobody that can play well as a college basketball player if your mind’s not right,” Miller said. “In fairness to Benn, he’s 18 years old and this is a huge adjustment and challenge.
“He’s somebody that scored 31 points in a Pac-12 game (at Oregon State), he’s starting at Arizona, and whether you’re a freshman at 18 or you’re a senior, there’s some responsibility that goes with that.
“It’s not always going to go your way; you’re not always gonna have a big night, but your team needs you to be a great teammate. You have to be a good defensive player, offensive player, and really over the last two weeks, Benn’s also been simultaneously battling an ankle injury.
“He wasn’t who I believe he really is against Utah and it was good for him to have those talks.”
Mathurin shot 1 of 6 at Utah while scoring only four points and disappointing Miller also on the defensive end, but he was a different player at Colorado.
As with the rest of the Wildcats, it just took Mathurin a while to warm up. After stepping on the floor just 47 seconds into Saturday’s game, Mathurin missed two field goals and committed a turnover during his first five minutes.
Arizona’s Jordan Brown looks to pass after pulling down a rebound in the second half Saturday night at Colorado. The Wildcats didn’t flinch when down 19-2, but couldn’t finish the rally.
He then sat for nearly three minutes but shortly after he returned, with the Wildcats down 19-2, Mathurin hit a 3-pointer that helped UA go on a 7-0 run to pull quickly within 10.
Mathurin did not miss again, hitting all of the last seven field goals he took.
Mathurin was not available for comment after Saturday’s game but, when asked if he met with Mathurin or saw something else about him indicating change, Miller confirmed that they had “two or three really hard talks” together after the Utah game.
“But it’s not to hurt his feelings — it’s to develop him, to teach him, to get him right, to prepare him for things to come,” Miller said. “The road as an athlete at this level is not always going to be smooth and hopefully it’s a lesson he learned on this trip. He certainly responded well tonight. I thought he played an excellent game.”
Combined with James Akinjo’s aggressive drives to the basket, where he went to the line eight times and hit all eight free throws he took, Mathurin had 13 of his 22 points in the second half to help Arizona actually lead for nearly all of the final 10 minutes.
“He’s tough, resilient,” Akinjo said of Mathurin. “He’s a tough, tough kid and I think he has a bright future.”
Still, the efforts of Akinjo and Mathurin, plus 18 points Azuolas Tubelis scored partly against the physical defense of Colorado 260-pounder Evan Battey, weren’t quite enough.
UA guard Terrell Brown missed the first of two free throws that could have tied the game at 80 with five seconds left, forcing Brown to foul Battey — who then sank two free throws to seal the Buffs’ win with four seconds left. A final desperation heave from Akinjo missed at the buzzer.
It was the Wildcats’ fourth straight loss in Boulder and pretty much ensured Arizona will not be able to meet the goal of a Pac-12 regular-season title that it talked about after the school decided to hold the Wildcats out of the postseason.
But Miller still spoke after Saturday’s game as if at least things were headed back the right direction, for whatever’s left of the season. The Wildcats still have between six and eight games left to play, COVID-permitting.
“We were coming off maybe our worst performance of the year” at Utah on Thursday, Miller said on Saturday. “I don’t say that with any disrespect for Utah. We just went quietly away. That’s disappointing.
“That really hasn’t been the personality of our team this year.
“But tonight, win or lose, I couldn’t be happier, prouder of a group of guys. Down 19-2, we were right there at the end of the game. … I wish we could have left with a win, but I’d much rather get on a plane with the team that we have today than the team we were on Thursday. Thursday almost needed to happen for us to be better tonight.”
