Up-and-down Arizona Wildcats show growing pains during nonconference schedule

As his team began wrapping up nearly three months of practice, a full schedule of nonconference games and travel spanning from the Hawaiian Islands to New England, Sean Miller said he knew more about his team now than ever.

Yet it still might be impossible for the Arizona basketball coach to know for sure what he really has.

As they head into Pac-12 next week, will the Wildcats be that fun, tight-knit group that plays unselfishly and with heart, as they did mostly through their first four regular-season games?

Are they the resilient, if not terribly deep, team that hung on to win at UConn, and also played with Gonzaga, Auburn, and Alabama before dropping off in the final minutes?

Are they the ones who possess the kind rugged defensive mindset that Miller talks about, as they have mostly showed against their mid- and low-major opponents?

Or are they the disinterested bunch that, after Miller lit into them following a rebounding breakdown at Alabama, were outrebounded by 32 in their next game, a 58-49 loss to Baylor?

It’s “very inconclusive,” Miller said of his team’s identity after 13 games. “What we know is we’re 9-4 and we have to build and grow from here.”

But at the same time, after the Wildcats edged 3-8 UC Davis on Saturday to wrap up their nonconference season, Miller was sounding alarms.

He said opponents such as the Aggies were “foaming at the mouth” for a chance to knock off the Wildcats at McKale, with the mystique of dominance gone.

He also suggested that the Wildcats could face a struggle in keeping that fun, cohesive spirit together.

“We’ve been a team that’s had a great attitude,” he said. “It’s worked really hard. It’s almost like all of us recognize that you have to do that to have a chance to be the best team we can be.

“My experience is like you can go for a while like that. But it’s really, really difficult to go the entirety. Usually, there’s a crack in the armor. And when that crack comes, we have to fix it and the attitude and the effort level, which has been outstanding, can never waiver.

“If it does, we’re gonna lose a few, win a couple, lose a few more, win a couple. If we want to be better than that, what we love about this team, we can’t lose that.”

These were the different looks the Wildcats displayed during each segment of their nonconference season:

THE CUPCAKES

Site: Four home games at McKale Center

Scores: Arizona beat Chaminade 75-64, Houston Baptist 90-60, Cal Poly 82-61 and UTEP 79-46. (Chaminade was an exhibition opponent but is included because it was arguably a better team that the Wildcats’ first three opponents).

Vibe: The Wildcats put on public display a nearly brand-new team with five new starters, including new go-to guys in Brandon Randolph and Brandon Williams.

Highlight: Brandon Williams didn’t have a single turnover over the Wildcats’ first three regular-season games while dishing 14 assists and averaging 14.3 points.

Lowlight: Arizona led Division II Chaminade just 54-53 with seven minutes to go in their final exhibition game but Williams (23 points) and Randolph (19) helped the Wildcats avoid what would have been their first exhibition loss since 2011-12. The Wildcats then allowed Houston Baptist to collect 18 offensive rebounds in the opener.

Odd moment: A broken rim on McKale Center’s south basket delayed the Wildcats regular-season opener with Houston Baptist for 15 minutes.

Adversity: Chase Jeter was limited against Chaminade and gradually worked back to top form in the early games because of an ankle injury. Forward Ira Lee was suspended for the Houston Baptist game after his DUI arrest in August.

Number: 333 — Arizona’s nonconference schedule strength (according to Kenpom) after its first three regular-season games.

He said it: “For as new as we are together, for this being November, I love the fact that we have a group of guys who are playing really hard. They’re playing with tremendous effort and they’re playing the game to win. We’re far from perfect but I like our hustle. Evidence lies in the number of charges we attempted to take, some of which were called, and a number of shot blocks and hard plays on the ball.

“For us this year, that’s the direction we’re gonna have to go. We’re gonna have to be an excellent defensive team.” — Miller, after the UTEP game.

THE MAUI INVITATIONAL

Site: Lahaina, Hawaii

Scores: Arizona beat Iowa State 71-66, then lost to Top-10 teams Gonzaga (91-74) and Auburn (73-57) in the prestigious multi-team event.

Vibe: The Wildcats flashed Top-25 potential in front of a rowdy, close-in crowds of about 2,000 each at the Lahaina Civic Center.

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Highlight: Arizona trailed Iowa State by 10 with 11 minutes to go in front of a crowd dominated by Cyclone fans, but Justin Coleman hit several clutch shots en route to 18 points with 4 of 8 3-pointers, while the Wildcats made 8 of 8 free throws in the final 39 seconds to clinch it.

Lowlight: With Arizona leading Gonzaga 53-52 with 12:30 left, Jeter was called for a technical when complaining about a personal foul, giving him his fourth and fifth fouls to send him out of the game. That became a four-point play, with Zach Norvell making two technical shots and, when Gonzaga received the ball back, a layup to give Gonzaga a 56-53 lead it never relinquished.

Odd moment: Miller went 0 for 3 from a makeshift free-throw line at the Hyatt Regency Maui during a charity competition before the tournament, after winning the competition before the 2009 and 2014 Maui Invitationals — and hitting 88.5 percent of his free throws as a player at Pitt.

Adversity: Ryan Luther suffered a finger injury against Iowa State and shot 0 for 5 from the field combined against Gonzaga and Auburn.

Number: 19 — of 22 free throws Arizona made in the first half against Gonzaga, when the Wildcats took a 45-37 lead.

He said it: “I’m just proud of our guys. I feel like today just showed how we loved each other as brothers. It just shows the connection we have as a team because we got out-rebounded, we got down 10, but it showed the effort and the togetherness we had through adversity to get back and win the game.” — Coleman, after the Iowa State game.

THE ROADIES

Sites: McKale Center (Georgia Southern, Utah Valley), Hartford’s XL Center (UConn) and Coleman Coliseum (Alabama)

Scores: In between Maui and Hartford, UA beat Georgia Southern 100-70 On Nov. 29 at McKale. The Wildcats then beat UConn 76-72, returned home to beat Utah Valley 80-69 and then lost at Alabama 76-73.

Vibe: Arizona made two straight trips to play Sunday morning games, facing a hostile environment at UConn and a semi-enthusiastic crowd in football-mad Tuscaloosa.

Highlight: Before a noisy crowd that was supporting new coach Dan Hurley’s UConn club, the Wildcats received 20 points from Randolph, who was playing in front of family and friends from nearby Yonkers, N.Y., while the Wildcats also hit 19 of 22 free throws.

Lowlight: Three days after recovering from a 41-29 halftime deficit to beat Utah Valley, the Wildcats fell apart down the stretch at Alabama. They gave up five offensive rebounds that led to 10 points, including a key 3-pointer from Kira Lewis with 13 seconds left, in the final six minutes.

Odd moment: Before the Wildcats beat Georgia Southern by 30, Miller said the Eagles were an excellent team that was “gonna be one of our biggest challenges all season, not just in nonconference, but our conference.”

Adversity: The Wildcats received an extended lecture not suited for family consumption from Miller while sitting in their locker room after the Alabama game.

Number: 52 — Straight nonconference home wins Arizona recorded through the Utah Valley game, a streak that ended the next time out at McKale Center against Baylor.

He said it: “I don’t think there was a point in the game where anybody thought we were going to lose. We had a lot of great plays down the stretch and the guys were very confident.” – Jeter, after the UConn game.

THE HOME STRETCH

Site: McKale Center

Scores: Arizona lost to Baylor 58-49 then beat Montana 61-42 and UC Davis 70-68.

Vibe: The Wildcats played without the same homecourt mojo in a dispiriting loss to Baylor and nearly picked up a potentially devastating loss to UC Davis.

Highlight: Arizona held Montana to just 26.9-percent shooting and received a career-high 21 points from Jeter in the win over the Grizzlies.

Lowlight: The Wildcats were outrebounded 51-19 against Baylor and couldn’t solve the Bears’ zone defense while scoring the second-lowest total ever under Miller.

Odd moment: Fans started heading home during the final media timeout in the Baylor game, and ESPN analyst Bill Walton noticed. “Something I thought I’d never see during the last timeout,” he said, “some of these loyal fans got up and left.”

Adversity: The knees of Williams and Coleman collided in practice a day before the Wildcats played Baylor, and Williams shot 2 for 16 from the field in the next two games.

Number: 35.8 – Arizona’s shooting percentage against Baylor, its worst in nearly four years.

He said it: “There’s not a lot to say.” – Miller, when asked why his post-game address to the Wildcats was remarkably shorter after the Baylor loss than the Alabama loss.

Rim shots

Lee spent Sunday in a minimum-security facility at Pima County Jail, and remained there as of Monday afternoon although he is eligible for home detention through Thursday because of the plea agreement he had following his arrest on DUI charges.

• ASU’s Rob Edwards became the fourth different Sun Devil named Pac-12 Player o the Week, after scoring 13 points in the final 8:33 to help ASU beat Kansas on Saturday. He averaged 14.5 points on 56-percent shooting between the Sun Devils’ loss at Vanderbilt and the win over Kansas.
• ASU moved from 18 to 17 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.