Small ball

Co-captain and Duke transfer Chase Jeter was held out for an unspecified injury, and he’s Arizona’s tallest player. The next tallest Wildcat is 6-foot-9-inch Pittsburgh transfer Ryan Luther, who started at center Tuesday night with Ira Lee at power forward. UA coach Sean miller installed multiple lineups into the game as Arizona took small ball to a new level.

At one point, the Wildcats’ lineup featured Brandon Williams, Brandon Randolph, Dylan Smith, Emmanuel Akot and Jake DesJardins, all players under 6 feet 8 inches. In the second half, Akot even had some minutes at center.

Brew of A

It’s brewing at McKale Center! 🍻 🍷 On tap at the new courtside lounge (for UA donors):— Stella Artois— Michelob Ultra— Bud Light— Coors Light— Dos Equis— Lagunitas IPA— Barrio Blonde — Black Oak Chardonnay pic.twitter.com/kDGP498xiV

— Justin Spears (@JustinESports) October 31, 2018

For the first time, McKale Center sold alcohol at its concession stands. In March, the Arizona State Liquor Board allowed the university to begin selling beer and wine during home basketball games for the 2018-19 season, joining Arizona Stadium and Hi Corbett Field as UA sports venues to sell alcohol.

Every beverage was served in a plastic cup rather than a bottle or can, and prices ranged from $6 to $8. On tap: Stella Artois, Michelob Ultra, Bud Light, Coors Light, Dos Equis, Lagunitas IPA, Barrio Blonde and Black Oak Chardonnay.

Beer and wine can be purchased an hour before tipoff with the last call set at the 12-minute mark in the second half. There is also a new courtside lounge for UA donors and boosters to sit around, eat popcorn and enjoy a cold one.

Kicks of the night

The sneaker-obsessed Allonzo Trier was a kicks of the night candidate nearly every game last season, but Western New Mexico came with some flavor. The Mustangs are sponsored by Under Armour. So, of course with Stephen Curry being the only NBA player to have a shoe line with the brand, all of WNMU’s players wore the Warriors sharp-shooter’s shoe.

The most noticeable pair was worn by Phoenix native Amarion Cash, who donned purple and yellow Currys with lightning as the main feature. Most of Arizona’s players wore either Kyrie Irving or Kevin Durant sneakers, both Nike shoes.

Costume of the night

Since it’s the Halloween season, several members of Arizona’s student section, the Zona Zoo, showed their spirit by wearing costumes. One of them won McKale Center’s costume contest by dressing as Nacho Libre, a fictional luchador wrestler portrayed by actor Jack Black.

The Wildcaster’s costume of the night went to three members of the Zona Zoo, who dressed up as Snap, Crackle and Pop from Rice Krispies.

The big number

200

Number of miles between Silver City, New Mexico, and Tucson. The Mustangs traveled to UA by bus.

Five-star recruit picks Villanova

Former UA target and five-star 2019 prospect Jeremiah Robinson-Earl verbally committed to Villanova on Tuesday. The 6-foot-8-inch, 235-pound power forward took an unofficial visit to Arizona for the Red-Blue Game, along with Zeke Nnaji and UA commits Nico Mannion and Josh Green.

Robinson-Earl is Green’s high school teammate at IMG Academy in Florida. He is the fourth-ranked power forward for 2019, per 247sports.com.

Another big number

6

The number of international players on Western New Mexico’s roster. Three players are from Mexico while three others are from Trinidad and Tobago, Spain and Greece.

Sean Miller has always had at least one foreign-born player on each of his UA teams. The only one on this year’s Arizona team is Akot, a Canadian.