SPOKANE, Wash. — Arizona basketball players scrambled on a bus for practice at Spokane Community College nearly a half-hour late Friday afternoon, their film study session having run a bit long.
This was no surprise. The Wildcats had a lot to consider.
First, there was that matter of the Washington State Cougars, who have already won more games (13) than during any season over the previous decade thanks in large part to the offensive heroics of sophomore wing CJ Elleby and a dogged man-to-man defense that has the Pac-12’s second-best defensive turnover percentage.
The Cougars, who will host Arizona on Saturday, are 11-2 at home and have lost at Beasley Coliseum only in league play, to USC.
Then, maybe just as importantly, there’s the Wildcats themselves. A team that finally pulled out a road win on Thursday, that might want to exhale a little bit … but probably can’t afford to at this point.
Not yet. In order to turn their 75-72 win at Washington into a weekend road sweep, the Wildcats’ focus probably needs to stay sharp.
“Obviously we’re always trying to do that,” UA coach Sean Miller said. “It’s equally difficult if you don’t win that first one (of a weekend) because you’ve just got to keep the guys really locked in with confidence.”
Considering the youth of the Wildcats’ most talented players, and the fact that WSU’s Beasley Coliseum typically draws so small you have to bring your own energy, staying locked in is not a given for anyone.
But that’s where film review of the Cougars, and a little recent history, might have helped the Wildcats.
Not only are the Cougars 13-9 overall, but there’s that transitive property thing to consider: Just four days after ASU wiped out a 22-point deficit to beat the UA on Jan. 25, the Sun Devils lost to WSU 67-65.
And OSU, which beat Arizona by 17, lost by 13 at WSU.
So what happens Saturday?
“I think our guys they really respect Washington State’s personnel,” Miller said. “You have to respect the fact that they’ve beaten everybody at home except USC, and then they’ve swept the Oregon schools, and they beat ASU and UCLA.
“They’ve had success, and I think that really captures our guys’ attention here.”
The other problem for Arizona entering Saturday’s game is that, as much as the road win might have given the Wildcats confidence as a whole, there are still individuals lacking it.
Senior Dylan Smith went 1 for 7 from the field against the Huskies and missed the back end of a one-and-one with 19 seconds left Saturday and missed the front end of another one-and-one with 13 seconds left. His misses left the UA with just a three-point lead each time and therefore a much better chance for Washington to prevent a loss.
Then there was Josh Green, who followed an 0-for-8 game at ASU by shooting 2 for 7 on Thursday, picking off three steals but also turning the ball over twice.
Those guys undoubtedly needed some reassurance, maybe in the film room or in meetings, or even around a team meal in Spokane.
“Confidence is big,” Miller said Friday. “Some guys played really well last night and a couple guys maybe didn’t. So today becomes trying to get the guys maybe that didn’t play as well ready to go.”
Still, overall there was no doubt the Wildcats are carrying more confidence into Saturday’s game, with two of their more veteran players leading the way.
On Thursday, fifth-year senior Stone Gettings tied his season-high of 13 points while third-year sophomore Jemarl Baker hit his career high of 17 with 4-of-7 3-point shooting, including a long go-ahead 3 with 44 seconds left.
Falling straight into the net from about 25 feet, Baker’s final bomb was not the sort of shot a guy lacking confidence tends to hit.
Max Hazzard chipped in with 2 of 4 3s while Nico Mannion added 3 of 7 from long range, too.
“Jemarl obviously played amazing and hit some huge ones down the stretch,” Gettings said. “But a lot of guys did a lot of different things to keep us in it and when they got hot in the second half we weathered the storm.”
It was a different sort of feeling for the Wildcats. They entered Thursday’s game just 1-5 in games decided by five points or less, the only win coming when Mannion hit his nearly impossible hook-runner to beat Pepperdine back on Thanksgiving.
Now they’re 2-5 in such games, with another one potentially coming Saturday.
“A bit of it is definitely experience,” Gettings said. “Sometimes the margin of difference on the road in close games is very, very slim. I think the more of those games that you play, the better equipped you are to handle them.”
