Ending droughts

Arizona guards Dylan Smith and Alex Barcello both went scoreless at the Maui Invitational and entered Thursday’s game shooting under 22 percent from 3-point range. Barcello responded with a career-high 16 points on 2 of 3 shooting from beyond the arc while Smith scored 10 points with a pair of 3s.

It marked a happy end to an ugly drought. Barcello last hit a 3-pointer in the season opener versus Houston Baptist, and Smith’s struggles dated back to the Cal Poly game. He shot 0 of 9 from deep during the stretch.

Tweak to the intro video

Update to the McKale Center intro video. Let’s see if you can spot it. Hint: It was from this week’s Sean Miller press conference. pic.twitter.com/XDVEKqDwik

— Justin Spears (@JustinESports) November 30, 2018

Earlier this week, UA coach Sean Miller introduced four of the Wildcats’ five incoming recruits for 2019: Phoenix point guard Nico Mannion, five-star wing Josh Green, four-star shooting guard Terry Armstrong and three-star Cameroonian center Christian Koloko.

In the added clip, Miller counts off the national letters of intent at a recent press conference.

“One — hold on — there’s two, there’s three, there’s four,” Miller said.

The clip of Miller counting down the NLIs was picked up by Sports Illustrated and other national media. The UA’s video team added it to the pre-game hype video played right before tipoff. Miller was wearing (superimposed) sunglasses in the McKale Center version.

Notable Georgia Southern alumni

Georgia Southern, a member of the Sun Belt Conference, has produced few notable athletes. Former Chicago Bears running back Adrian Peterson — no, not that Adrian Peterson — won the Walter Payton Award in 1999, which is given to country’s top rusher each year.

However, what Georgia Southern lacks in athletes, it makes up for in food. Daniel Cathy, the president of Chick-Fil-A, is an alumnus; so is Hala Moddelmoog, the former CEO of Arby’s.

The big number

100

Number of points Arizona scored against Georgia Southern. The last time UA scored 100 points was against Washington State on Jan. 31, 2018.

Big Baller vs. Armstrong

A pair of Arizona recruits will take center stage at next week’s Hoophall West, a showcase held at Scottsdale’s Chaparral High School.

Armstrong, a UA commit, will play against the Spire Academy team that features LaMelo Ball, the youngest brother of Lakers guard and former UCLA standout Lonzo Ball. LaMelo joined Spire after a brief stint overseas in Lithuania, followed by playing in his father LaVar’s Junior Basketball Association. Several nationally recognized high school programs have refused to play against Spire, questioning LaMelo’s amateur status. Among them: powerhouse Oak Hill Academy.

Ball’s team will take on Armstrong’s Bella Vista Prep at 7 p.m. Dec. 7, after Mannion and Phoenix’s Pinnacle High take on San Joaquin Memorial High School (Calif.) at 7 p.m. Dec. 6. Mannion’s game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Honoring the champs

The national champs were honored at halftime. 💍 ⛳️ @ArizonaWGolf pic.twitter.com/MyNWAgbwPR

— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster) November 30, 2018

Arizona’s NCAA champion women’s golf team was honored at halftime Thursday. Haley Moore, Bianca Pagdanganan and others carried the national championship trophy onto the floor. A video tribute of the Wildcats’ heroics played over the McKale Center video board.

Coach Laura Ianello wiped away tears as she watched highlights of the UA’s first women’s golf title since 2000.

The biggest number

2,564

Days since Arizona lost a regular season nonconference game at McKale Center. The date: Nov. 23, 2011, against San Diego State. Arizona’s starting lineup in that game was Jordin Mayes, Kyle Fogg, Solomon Hill, Jesse Perry and Kyryl Natyazhko. The loss came the day after Rich Rodriguez had been introduced as the new UA football coach.