The Arizona Wildcats had two chances to beat Oregon on Saturday night at McKale Center — once in regulation and again in overtime.
The nail-biter, one the Wildcats lost, continued a trend of tight games this season. Nine of Arizona's 27 games have been decided by five points or less. Here's a look at each one, with a description of how Arizona played down the stretch and what coach Sean Miller said about the Wildcats' performance:
Nov. 28 vs. Pepperdine in Anaheim, Calif.
Arizona guard Nico Mannion, left, makes the go-ahead basket against Pepperdine during their game in November.
How it ended: Mannion took an inbounds pass from Nnaji and went coast to coast to hit a floating hook shot off the glass from the right side of the basket with four seconds left. Arizona won 93-91.
Miller said it: “He made a really difficult shot. It wasn’t a layup. That was kind of like a Magic Johnson old school hook in the Boston Garden. He just did it off the glass, really a heck of a shot. But he’s poised for a freshman.”
Dec. 7 at Baylor
Arizona guard Nico Mannion (1) moves the ball up the court against Baylor during their Dec. 7 game.
How it played out: Mannion threw in a six-foot runner with 12 seconds left to make it 60-58 while Baylor’s MaCio Teague picked up a foul and hit 1of 2 free throws with 11.8 seconds left. Then Josh Green missed a 3-pointer from the left corner with a second left that would have tied the game and Jared Butler hit two free throws to seal Baylor’s win. Arizona made just two of its last 19 field-goal attempts and lost, 63-58.
Miller said it: “To have an opportunity late in the game to get it to one or two possessions, that’s what you really hope can happen on the road. And it was just bizarre how we got to that point, because it certainly wasn’t because of offense.”
Dec. 14 vs. Gonzaga
UA’s Ira Lee gets swarmed by Gonzaga defenders during their game last season. This year’s rematch will be postponed, if not canceled.
How it played out: There wasn’t really a late chance for Arizona to win the game, but the Wildcats came close. Trailing by 16 with just 2:12 to go, the Wildcats cut the lead all the way to two thanks to 3s from Baker and Mannion in the final 64 seconds while Baker also made a layup with a second left. But after the Wildcats fouled Ryan Woolridge, the Gonzaga guard hit two free throws to seal the Zags’ 84-80 win.
Miller said it: “You look at the box score, and it looks like an even game. But they were a 10- to 15-point better team than us. A 10-point better team than us tonight. For sure.”
Dec. 21 vs St. John’s in San Francisco
Arizona guard Nico Mannion drives to the basket against St. John's during their Dec. 21 game.
The finish: Arizona trailed by up to 16 points, but Max Hazzard hit a 3-pointer to give UA a one-point lead with 1:21 left. After a St. John’s layup gave it a one-point lead, Mannion missed a 3-point attempt, and after Green rebounded the miss, the Wildcats took a timeout with 20 seconds left. They then burned 12 seconds off the clock before Mannion drove and missed a floater from six feet away to the right of the basket. St. John’s held on to win 70-67.
Miller said it: “They went man instead of zone. (Mannion) used a high ball screen, drove it and missed the shot.”
Jan. 9 at Oregon
Oregon guard Will Richardson celebrates with center N'Faly Dante after drawing a foul in overtime of the Ducks' win over Arizona on Jan. 9.
How it finished: Arizona held a 66-64 lead entering the final minute of regulation, but Mannion lost control of the ball in the middle of the Ducks’ defense, eventually leading to a 12-foot turnaround jumper from Payton Pritchard that tied the game. On Arizona’s final possession, Mannion passed to Nnaji, who missed a 17-foot jumper. Officials ruled that Pritchard blocked it cleanly, though Miller vehemently argued that it was a foul.
In overtime, Green intercepted an Oregon pass and drove for a layup that gave UA a one-point lead with 21 seconds left. But Oregon’s Will Richardson quickly scored inside, then raced downcourt to block Smith’s layup on the other end. The Wildcats retained possession, but Mannion then missed an eight-foot floater from the left side of the paint and, after and the ball went out of bounds on Oregon, Mannion couldn’t get his inbounds pass to Green and Pritchard grabbed it. The Ducks won in overtime, 74-73.
Miller said it: “There’s six to eight plays in that game … the loose balls, a 50-50 ball, a defensive rebound and offensive rebound where the ball’s kind of traveling through our hands. Oregon got more of those plays, and in a game like the one we just played in, that really, in many ways, can decide it.”
Jan. 25 at Arizona State
Arizona guard Josh Green sits on the court after being stuffed on a last-second shot at Arizona State in January.
How it finished: Arizona gave up a 22-point lead, in part by shooting only 28% in the second half, and allowed ASU guard Alonzo Verge to drive inside from the left wing for a nearly unguarded layup that gave the Sun Devils the lead for good with 10.7 seconds left. Mannion couldn’t find an effective option on the UA’s final possession, and Green threw up a contested jumper that missed just before the buzzer. ASU held on for a 66-65 win.
Miller said it: “On (ASU’s) last play we went small, and when you go small you have the opportunity to switch pick-and-rolls so you don’t get exposed. We kept Zeke in as our lone big. He’s pretty mobile… but you know at the end it really didn’t matter. They drove us and shot a layup.”
Jan. 30 at Washington
Arizona guard Jemarl Baker Jr. is hugged by a teammate at the end of Arizona's Jan. 30 win over Washington.
How it finished: Hitting 14 of 28 3-pointers, Washington took a nine-point lead early in the second half, but Baker scored six points in 24 seconds to give the UA a one-point lead with 4:17 left — then hit his fourth 3-pointer to put the Wildcats up for good 74-72 with 44 seconds left. After that, Washington missed two 3-pointers and committed a turnover, while Smith hit the front end of a one-and-one for the final score. The Wildcats won 75-72.
Miller said it: “I really give our team a lot of credit for playing all the way to the end. Jemarl Baker was really big for us, a guy who didn’t start, who can really shoot the ball, and I thought his 3-point shots were obviously timely.”
Feb. 6. vs. USC
Arizona forward Zeke Nnaji yells after slamming home a bucket over USC guard Daniel Utomi during their Feb. 6 game in McKale Center.
How it finished: USC cut a 20-point second-half Arizona lead all the way down to three when Jonah Mathews hit a 3-pointer with five seconds left but Mannion drew a foul with three seconds left and hit both ensuing free throws. A desperation 3 from USC’s Quinton Adlesh was then rebounded by Nnaji as time ran out, and Arizona won 85-80.
Miller said it: “It’s kind of like that jockey coming down the stretch. You’ve got to pick and choose, but you can only hit it so hard. … Sometimes the best way to learn is just failing. We’ve done that a number of times, but we have a very young group. We have a group that has a lot to learn.”
Saturday vs. Oregon
Arizona center Christian Koloko (35) walks off the court after missing two free throws at the end of overtime in the Wildcats' loss to Oregon.
How it finished: In regulation, Mannion inbounded from the sideline to Green with 5.6 seconds left, and Green cut to the basket down the left baseline after faking a handoff back to Mannion. Green was fouled at the rim but missed his two free throws, leaving the game tied at 64. In overtime, after Smith hit a floater in the lane to give the UA a 72-71 lead with 29 seconds left, Oregon’s Shakur Juiston tapped away a missed 3-pointer from Pritchard. Richardson picked it up on the right wing, then drove to the left of the basket and passed to Juiston, who made the game-winner with 1.8 seconds left. Baker then fired a full-court inbounds pass to Christian Koloko, who was fouled under the basket on the other end but missed both free throws. Oregon held on for a 73-72 overtime win.
Miller said it: “When you have the ball in your hands on a defensive rebound, or a shot hits the rim, and you’re up four, you’re up two, there’s a minute-30 left, there’s 45 seconds left … the 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. Those 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.”
