Arizona to resume Pac-12 play with UCLA in better position to challenge their title defense

For Arizona, the New Year’s weekend resumption of Pac-12 play might look a little like it did last season.

Before last season, the Wildcats were picked to finish fourth but started looking like a favorite when they barged through their pre-Christmas schedule with only one loss. They then went on to win the Pac-12 conference regular-season title while preseason favorite UCLA finished second behind Arizona by three full games.

This season, the No. 5-ranked Wildcats were picked to finish second, but head into their game Saturday at ASU with only one loss ... while UCLA was again picked to win the Pac-12 but sits five spots behind fifth-ranked UA in the AP Top 25.

So were the preseason rankings wrong again? Are the Wildcats the real favorite to defend their Pac-12 title?

That’s still unclear, especially because a closer look reveals some key differences this time. Last season, the Wildcats and Bruins were actually scheduled to play each other on Dec. 30 but both UCLA and USC announced earlier in the week that they were taking a COVID pause (remember those?).

That continued a rough trend for the Bruins, who wound up pausing for three weeks because of COVID and, over the course of the season, literally had every player except big man Myles Johnson pause individually for COVID reasons. They also suffered a rash of key injuries that included never-ending sprains to both of Jaime Jaquez’ ankles while standout wing Johnny Juzang also hurt his ankle — and even injured his hip when he fell off a scooter.

“I’ve never been through a year like we had,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said before the season. “If you add in COVID to all the injuries, it was unusual.”

It wasn’t the Bruins’ year. This one might be.

While UCLA (11-2) has one more loss than Arizona entering its trip to Washington State and Washington this weekend, both came to ranked teams (Illinois and Baylor) at a neutral-site event in Las Vegas last month that appears to have at least given the Bruins some lasting motivation.

Since then, UCLA won at Oregon, beat Maryland by 17 points on the Terps’ home court and took down Kentucky 63-53 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Those losses “just put an edge on our shoulder,” Jaquez said after the Kentucky game, according to the Los Angeles Times. “We had a lot to prove this trip. We knew that we dropped two in Vegas and we knew we’re a much more capable team than we showed.”

Defense has been key for the Bruins. While Arizona’s defense has been inconsistent, ranked just 64th in efficiency by KenPom, UCLA’s defense is No. 10 in efficiency. The Bruins also collect turnovers on 25.3% of opponents’ possessions, the 11th best defensive turnover percentage in Division I.

“Exponential improvements,” Cronin said Thursday, during media availability in Los Angeles. “We’ve improved immensely defensively.”

That improvement helped a team that kicked away a 15-point lead in the second half against Illinois turn around and keep Kentucky scoreless for the final 4:31 of their Dec. 17 game in New York.

“The Illinois game was the best thing to ever happen to us,” UCLA wing Jaylen Clark said, according to the Times. “It’s made us grow, just the embarrassment factor,”

While UCLA will play Friday at Washington State, with a game Sunday at Washington, the traditional 18-game portion of Pac-12 play will resume Thursday when Utah will play at California and Colorado visits Stanford.

Also Friday, USC will visit Washington while the UA-ASU game will be the first of four league contest scheduled Saturday, when Oregon State will play at Oregon, Colorado will head to Cal and Utah to Stanford.

Phillips transferring

Arizona commit Jamari Phillips is making a midseason move from Modesto (California) Christian to AZ Compass Prep.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

A four-star wing in the high school class of 2024, Phillips committed to the Wildcats on Dec. 18 after visiting during their 75-70 win over Tennessee a day earlier. His father, James, confirmed that Jamari is now already in Chandler and might be cleared to play by next week.

UA freshman Kylan Boswell played for AZ Compass Prep last season and was scheduled to this season until he reclassified over last summer and skipped his senior year.

Turkish club acquires Ristic

While playing a standout role for struggling Fuenlabrada in the top-tier Spanish ACB league, former Wildcat center Dusan Ristic was acquired by perenntial Turkish power Galatasaray of Istanbult.

Eurohoops.net reported that Galatasaray “need to reinforce its rotation under the basket” because of a key injury. Ristic was averaging 15.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.8 blocks per game for Fuenlabrada (3-9).

“Excited about the opportunity to play for a big club with a rich culture and tradition,” Ristic tweeted. “Can’t wait to start working with the team! See you soon.”

Ristic also thanked coaches, players and fans of Fuenlabrada, where he played for the past season and a half. In 34 games last season, the Serbian big man averaged 10.0 points and 4.7 rebounds while hitting 56.7% of his two-point shots and 37.3% of his 3s.

“It was my absolute pleasure and honor to play for this club and in this beautiful country,” Ristic said. “The time spent here will always hold a special place in my life. I wish you all a lot of success and good health for the rest of the season.”

Simon says: Retro unis mean title

While “testing” their newly issued 1997-style blue road uniforms with former Wildcat guard Miles Simon, Arizona made plans to wear them on Saturday at ASU.

The program released a video on social media Tuesday in which Simon returns to his Christmas tree to pick up an unexpected present on the day after Christmas. On top of the wrapping paper was a printed card signed by UA coach Tommy Lloyd.

“As MOP of the 1997 Final Four, we thought it would be fitting for you to see the uniform we will debut on Saturday at Tempe!” the card read. “I think it will bring back some fond memories!”

Simon unwrapped the present and quickly pronounced them “cold.”

“These are the best uniforms in Arizona basketball history,” Simon said. “Ohhh — the blue shorts and blue unis, these are the national titles. You know what this means when you got the CATS down the side (of the shorts), the print there, the block A and the basketball on the other side.

“Arizona fans, you know what that means. National title No. 2 is coming.”

Safe travels back

All of the Wildcats returned to practice Tuesday after a four-day break for Christmas without any travel delays. Even guard Courtney Ramey, who had expressed doubts last week about going home to St. Louis because of bad Midwestern weather, made it back on time while cutting his trip to just two days.

The only other change involved guards Kerr Kriisa and Matt Lang, who had planned to visit Lang’s home in Portland, Oregon, but instead went to California after facing travel and weather issues.