Notebook: Kerr Kriisa returns, logs big minutes; Cats could face hostile crowd in San Antonio

SAN DIEGO — “Checking into the game for the Wildcats, No. 25, Kerr Kriisa.”

It had been three games since those words were said over a PA system. But at the 15:34 mark in the first half of No. 1 seed Arizona’s 85-80 overtime win over No. 9 seed TCU in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Kriisa checked into the game for the first since the UA starting point guard injured his right ankle against Stanford in the Pac-12 Tournament.

Kriisa was welcomed with a standing ovation from Arizona fans at Viejas Arena. Less than a minute into action, Kriisa drew a charge from TCU point guard Mike Miles.

Kriisa logged three points on 1 for 10 shooting from the field with one assist, two rebounds and two turnovers in 27 minutes.

“To have (27) minutes on a sprained ankle … I think that tells you what he means to our team,” Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd said.

‘Don’t bet on it’

Online sports gambling is legal in 17 states — including Arizona. In California, it’s still strictly forbidden.

Regardless of location, the NCAA is opposed to gambling on collegiate sports.

Leading up to both games in San Diego, the Viejas Arena video board displayed “Don’t Bet On It” in large white letters with another message below it.

“Sports wagering jeopardizes the well-being of student-athletes and the intercollegiate athletics community,” it said.

The NCAA requested people to not make money off the performances of college athletes.

Cats-Cougars showdown set for San Antonio

Fortunately for Arizona, the Wildcats have played their postseason in cities that’s easily accessible for traveling UA fans and alumni. Whether it was “McKale North” at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Tournament or “McKale West” at Viejas Arena in San Diego, the majority of the spectators in the seats were cheering for the Cats.

That may not be the case on Thursday, when Arizona faces No. 5 seed Houston in San Antonio. Houston is roughly a three-hour drive from The Alamodome.

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The last time Arizona faced Houston was in 2009, when Cougars guard Aubrey Coleman stepped on Chase Budinger’s face in the second half, sparking a come-from-behind 96-90 win for the Wildcats. Arizona trailed by 10 with less than a minute to play, then sent the game into overtime and outlasted the Cougars in the extra period.

The last time Arizona played an NCAA Tournament game in San Antonio was during the Wildcats’ runner-up season in 2001. The Wildcats defeated No. 3 seed Ole Miss in the Sweet 16 and top-seeded Illinois in the Elite Eight at the Alamodome, and punched their ticket to the Final Four in Minneapolis.

Former UA players react to Miller hire at Xavier

Former Arizona head coach Sean Miller was announced as Xavier’s next head coach on Saturday, returning to the program he led before succeeding Lute Olson at the UA.

“Xavier and the Big East Conference both hold special places in my heart,” Miller said. “I enjoyed my experience competing at the highest level in the Big East as a player and have always dreamed of being a head coach in the best basketball league in the country. Xavier has always done things the right way. This is an incredible opportunity for us to build on Xavier’s successful tradition and take the program to new heights.”

Several of Miller’s former players at Arizona congratulated their coach, including current Wildcats Dalen Terry and Azuolas Tubelis, who said, “Coach Miller taught us a lot of things and Xavier is lucky to have him.”

Miller’s first breakout player at the UA, Derrick Williams, led the Wildcats to the Elite Eight in 2011 before he became the second overall pick in the NBA draft that same year. Williams posted a congratulatory message on Twitter for Miller.

“Happy for Coach Miller to get another opportunity!” Williams tweeted. “Big things coming at Xavier!”

Former Xavier and Arizona point guard Mark Lyons, who helped the UA to a Sweet 16 appearance in 2013, also tweeted three game-action photos of Miller coaching him.

“The guy who trusted me, the guy who helped me become a man, the guy who came to the hood and told my mom I would receive a college diploma,” Lyons said of Miller on Twitter.

Former NBA coaches broadcast Cats games

Both of Arizona’s first- and second-round games featured a pair of NBA coaches-turned-broadcasters, Avery Johnson and P.J. Carlesimo. Johnson, the former longtime San Antonio Spur and NBA teammate of ex-Wildcat Sean Elliott, was a color commentator for Arizona’s game on TruTV on Friday and TBS on Sunday.

Johnson was the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks and Brooklyn Nets, before taking over the Alabama Crimson Tide from 2015-19. Johnson and the Crimson Tide split a home-and-home series with Arizona in 2017 and ’18.

Carlesimo, who also broadcasted Arizona’s games at the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas, was on the Westwood One radio broadcast with play-by-play announcer and Bill Walton sidekick on ESPN, Dave Pasch. Carlesimo, who was interim head coach for the Nets once Johnson was fired in 2012, coached Seton Hall from 1982-94. Carlesimo and the Pirates met Lute Olson and Arizona in the NCAA Tournament twice. Top-seeded Arizona routed Seton Hall 84-55 at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles in 1988, but the second-seeded Wildcats fell to the No. 3-seeded Pirates in the Sweet 16 at the Kingdome in Seattle in 1991.