SEATTLE — The numbers can define Arizona’s season so far at the 3-point line, and that’s exactly the kind of nightmare Sean Miller lives to avoid.
The whole point of the UA coach’s defensive focus is to enable his teams to stay in position to win regardless of whether some shots fall, or whether some luck turns bad. To be consistent.
But while the Wildcats have won 19 games already and still sit alone atop the Pac-12, their defensive efficiency is ranked just 106.
And, while that defense has been unreliable, here’s what else has happened:
• During its five losses, Arizona has averaged 20.8 percent from 3-point territory and never shot better than 28 percent from deep.
• During its 19 wins, Arizona has averaged 44.1 percent 3-point shooting.
Their 78-75 loss at Washington on Saturday was yet another example. The Wildcats hit just 2 of 12 3-pointers against the Huskies’ zone defense, and while they managed to shoot 50 percent overall thanks in large part to the efficiency of 7-footers Dusan Ristic and Deandre Ayton, they also saw luck turn against them.
On three Husky possessions in the final 89 seconds, Washington regained the ball after a UA block, then scored.
One was a layup by Noah Dickerson and two were 3-pointers from Dominic Green, including the game-winning buzzer-beater that he hit after scooping up Ayton’s rejection of Jaylen Nowell’s shot.
“We’ve had plenty of good luck,” Miller said. “Dusan hit a 3 (near the end of UA’s 74-73 win over Utah on Jan. 27) and everybody felt good about that. We’ve had a couple plays that could have gone either way — and they went our way. (On Saturday) the ball bounced Washington’s way but to their credit they played hard, had a great crowd and their players made great plays.
Toward the end, the Wildcats could do little more than a tit-for-tat approach, matching the Huskies’ late scores but rarely stopping them.
“When Washington needed the big shots and the ability to score, they did,” Miller said.
“If you can score 47 on them in the second half you have to feel pretty good what you’re doing offensively. But we had no answer for them on defense and that’s been a part of who we’ve been from the onset.”
Miller said it was hard to complain about UA’s offense, which managed the 50 percent overall after Ristic shot 9 for 13 and Ayton was 9 for 16.
“I know everybody talks about the 3s, but that wasn’t really what we were trying to do,” Miller said. “Dusan and Deandre were 18 for 29 from the field, and they scored 40 points. So you shoot 50 percent from the field and have 12 turnovers against that (zone) defense? That’s something I would have signed up for.”
Ristic also said UA’s offense wasn’t why it lost.
“Our offense wasn’t a problem at all,” he said. “I think Washington is one of the best defensive teams in the Pac-12 and we still managed to score 75 points.”
Miller acknowledged the offensive struggles the Wildcats had early, when they missed six of their first eight shots. The UA also had four turnovers in the first four minutes of the second half, when Washington built leads of up to 14 points.
“To me, we were very tentative in the first 8-10 minutes, both on defense and on offense,” Miller said. “They outhustled us to a couple of loose balls. They got some big second shots. But their defense is something that the more you play against it, the more comfortable you get at the beginning of the game.”
Most of the Wildcats did get more comfortable, except on the perimeter. The UA made just 1 of 6 3-pointers in each half, while Rawle Alkins struggled inside and out with a 2-for-11 performance.
Arizona managed to score 47 points on 65.5 percent shooting in the second half, but the Wildcats also allowed Washington to shoot 44.1 percent and make 5 of 7 3-pointers after halftime.
“What they wanted to do on offense, they did to us,” Miller said.
And about that luck at the end? Miller made a case that it was the product of poor defense, too: After all, Ayton wouldn’t have even had a shot to swat toward Green if the Wildcats had stopped Nowell on the perimeter in the first place.
“The reason (Nowell was blocked) was that Deandre had to rotate,” Miller said. “Why? Because of (Nowell’s) penetration. Their offense was too good for our defense.”
Miller said he’s hoping the Wildcats can use Saturday’s game as an opportunity to learn but there isn’t much time: UCLA will bring the Pac-12’s highest-scoring offense into McKale Center on Thursday, and there’s that long-awaited showdown with USC on Saturday.
“It’s very seldom you would say from start to finish they were terrific on defense,” Miller said of his players.
“Some of it is probably our personnel, some of it might be our youth. Some of it might be at this point we have to tweak a few things, and it isn’t like we’re not thinking about that.
“But sometimes with a game like tonight, when you lose it really allows you maybe to be even better. Because you finally make a few changes or adjustments, that can propel your team in a good direction.”
