Sean Miller expressed a need to give Ira Lee more minutes after he had 12 points off the bench in UAโ€™s win over Stanford.

Deandre Ayton walked in the Arizona locker room before Thursdayโ€™s game, and Sean Miller said โ€œit was almost like he could playโ€ for the Wildcats right then and there.

But he couldnโ€™t, of course. Aytonโ€™s kinda busy with that obligation he gave the Phoenix Suns after they made him the No. 1 pick in last Juneโ€™s NBA Draft.

So without Ayton and the four other starters who helped win the Pac-12 regular-season and tournament titles last season, the Wildcats have had to do it a different way.

But in a 64-56 win over Colorado on Thursday, in which they struggled at times in the second half, they still managed to send a message that maybe they can do it a different way ... and still defend that title.

Sure, thereโ€™s a largely new cast of players at Arizona but the Wildcats are also playing in a league that is largely in disarray anyway, a point that was driven home earlier Thursday with the news that Utah knocked off ASU in Tempe.

โ€œItโ€™s up for grabs,โ€ said Brandon Williams, who led the Wildcats with 14 points and six assists. โ€œI think everybody sees that. Weโ€™ve got to be ready every game.โ€

On a night when backcourt mate Justin Coleman was limited to four ineffective minutes because of a shoulder he dislocated in practice Monday, Williams led a long list of teammates who still managed to get it done somehow.

What was probably most surprising was that freshman Devonaire Doutrive tied his season-high in scoring with eight points off the bench while collecting a season high four rebounds โ€” three on the offensive end โ€” despite having been in and out of Millerโ€™s rotation all season.

Doutrive only played one minute over three games in the Maui Invitational, not at all at Alabama on Dec. 9 and only four minutes in UAโ€™s less-than-impressive nonconference finale against UC Davis.

But he made the most of his time on the court Thursday.

โ€œIโ€™m just ready whenever my numberโ€™s called,โ€ Doutrive said. โ€œI feel confident out there.โ€

Arizonaโ€™s Brandon Williams, left, and Chase Jeter both get a good piece of Colorado guard Dโ€™Shawn Schwartz on his drive in Thursdayโ€™s game.

Joining Doutrive on the postgame interview podium, Williams complimented Doutrive for his patience and offensive rebounding Thursday, which helped the Wildcats minimize Coloradoโ€™s expected advantage on the glass.

Entering the game as the seventh-best defensive rebounding team in the country, as defined by percentage of opponentsโ€™ missed shots it collects, the Buffaloes outrebounded UA 36-30 overall but lost battles elsewhere on the court.

GREG HANSEN: Devonaire Doutrive sparks Arizona Wildcats in Pac-12-opening win

The Wildcats made just 1 of 10 3-pointers in the second half, shot 43.1 percent overall and were outrebounded 36-30. But UA scored 14 points off 17 Colorado turnovers and outscored CU in the paint 38-18.

The win moved Arizona to 10-4 overall and 1-0 in the Pac-12. Colorado dropped to 9-4 and 0-1.

Up by 15 at halftime, UA maintained a comfortable lead early in the second half despite missing the first five 3-pointers it tried after halftime. The Wildcats hit a scoreless drought of 4:22 late in the second half, allowing Colorado to cut their lead to just 54-45 with 5:22 left, but a 3-pointer from Dylan Smith put the Wildcats back up by double digits with five minutes left.

Colorado later cut it to seven on a 3-pointer from Dโ€™Shawn Schwartz with 2:47 left but Brandon Randolph hit a jumper and the Wildcats maintained more than a two-possession lead the rest of the way.

โ€œThe first 20 minutes were among our best of the year,โ€ Miller said. โ€œWithout Justin Coleman at the forefront, that made us feel really good. But we had trouble putting two halves together. We had some plays that were head-scratchers through the last 20 minutes.

"In the first half, Arizona shot 51.6 percent from the field and outrebounded Colorado 16-13 to take a 39-24 halftime lead.

Colorado took an 11-6 early lead when it hit 5 of 6 shots to begin the game and took an early 4-1 rebounding edge over the Wildcats. But Arizona had 3-pointers from Ryan Luther and Brandon Randolph to help pull into a 14-13 lead with 11:34 left, then took a 19-13 lead after Doutrive hit two free throws, Williams made a three-point play.

The run eventually ended at 20-4, with UA taking a 31-17 lead on a layup from Williams with 4:37 to go.

Miller didnโ€™t play Coleman at all in the second half, after his four-minute spell contained a passing turnover that might have been related to shoulder pain (Miller said he wasnโ€™t sure if it affected Coleman but that it appeared in his teamโ€™s best interests to let other play the rest of the way.

Miller said he was happy the Wildcats were able to hang on through the second half and โ€œmove on,โ€ but theyโ€™ll have to do so quickly: Utah comes into McKale off its 96-86 upset win at ASU for a noon game Saturday.

โ€œWeโ€™re going to play against a very confident team and we have to be ready,โ€ Miller said. โ€œWe donโ€™t have a big margin for error.โ€


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