LAS VEGAS – Because Arizona has made a habit of avenging nearly every rough moment this season, maybe there was no more fitting way to end its Pac-12 Tournament run.

UA guard Courtney Ramey hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 16.7 seconds left and the Wildcats hung on to beat UCLA 61-59 Saturday at T-Mobile Arena for the Pac-12 Tournament title … exactly a week after Ramey went 2 for 7 with six turnovers in UA’s 82-73 loss to the Bruins at Pauley Pavilion.

UCLA guard Tyger Campbell (10) passes the ball as Arizona guard Pelle Larsson (3) and Arizona forward Azuolas Tubelis (10) defend during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Pac-12 tournament, Saturday, March 11, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chase Stevens)

The win not only avenged the Wildcats’ dreary loss in Los Angeles, and at least partly offset their second-place finish behind the Bruins in regular-season play, but also moved Arizona (28-6) into a stronger position for Selection Sunday.

The Wildcats are expected to receive between a No. 1-3 NCAA tournament seed, though it is uncertain if they will hop over the Bruins for a West Regional placement that brings the right to return to T-Mobile Arena for Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games.

β€œI'm not thinking about that,” UA point guard Kerr Kriisa said. β€œWest. East. You gotta win all the games that they're throwing at you, as many as you can. That's the goal.”

Arizona now has 28 wins to six losses so far this season, and the Wildcats have beaten every team they have lost to. In the case of both UCLA and ASU, whom Arizona beat in the semifinals Friday, the Wildcats have won twice.

On Saturday, the Wildcats edged the Bruins in the sort of grind-it-out manner that was reminiscent of their hard-fought 58-52 win over UCLA on Jan. 21 at McKale Center. The teams each hit only one of their first 10 field goals while defenses swarmed on both sides, and the game was played within a single possession for most of the game.

Arizona guard Cedric Henderson Jr., top, and UCLA guard David Singleton (34) vie for a rebound during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game for the championship of the men's Pac-12 Tournament, Saturday, March 11, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chase Stevens)

It was clear it would all probably come down to a big shot in the final seconds. And considering Arizona’s overall thirst for revenge this season, it was no surprise that the guy who took the big shot was Ramey.

After all, Ramey was 0 for 4 from 3 with six turnovers at UCLA last week, and also 0-4 for the first 39 minutes Saturday, still confident and maybe a little bit hungry to get things right.

β€œI believe in myself, I work very hard,” Ramey said. β€œEver since a child my dad has always told me, `You gotta be ready to make the big play.’ β€œ

At the same time, Ramey was also quick to note that, in his mind, the real hero was UA guard Pelle Larsson, who ultimately rebounded a missed 3-pointer from Azuolas Tubelis with 26 seconds left and UA trailing 58-57. Ballo tipped the ball first, then Larsson pulled it down and dished back to Tubelis, who then fired from the right wing to Ramey at the top of the key.

Arizona guard Pelle Larsson (3) drives the ball against UCLA forward Kenneth Nwuba (14) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Pac-12 tournament, Saturday, March 11, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chase Stevens)

Ramey took a dribble over the 3-point line, then stepped back and put the ball through the net.

β€œPelle made the biggest play of the game by tipping the ball up,” Ramey said. ”I don’t make the shot if Pelle doesn’t tip the ball out.”

UCLA had two final possessions to win. After Ramey’s 3, guard Tyger Campbell almost lost control of the ball at the 3-point line but recovered and drove inside, where he drew a foul. But Campbell missed the second of two free throws, leaving UA with a one-point lead.

Tubelis picked up the rebound and drew an immediate foul, then hit the first of two free throws. After a UCLA timeout, Tubelis missed the second free throw, giving UCLA five seconds to win or tie the game.

UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez picked up the rebound and drove three quarters of the court, then passed to freshman guard Dylan Andrews on the left wing, but Andrews’ 3-pointer wasn’t close, allowing the Wildcats to storm the court and snip the T-Mobile nets for the second straight season after they also beat UCLA for the Pac-12 Tournament title last season.

β€œBTFD,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd shouted over the microphone to the majority pro-UA crowd at T-Mobile Arena, using the emphatic acronym for "Bear Down" as he has done before in similar situations.

Arizona players celebrate after defeating UCLA in an NCAA college basketball game for the championship of the men’s Pac-12 Tournament, Saturday, March 11, 2023, in Las Vegas.

After collecting 19 points and 14 rebounds against the Bruins, UA’s Azuolas Tubelis was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, which also may have served to somewhat avenge the fact that UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez won the Pac-12 Player of the Year award over him earlier in the week.

After playing 26 minutes with a broken left (non-shooting) hand, UA center Oumar Ballo was one of five other players named to the all-Pac-12 Tournament team along with ASU’s Desmond Cambridge and UCLA’s Jaquez, Campbell and Amari Bailey.

Jaquez had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Bruins but shot only 5 for 18 from the field, while Campbell finished with 5 of 14 shooting, and Bailey had 19 points and seven rebounds. UCLA shot only 36.7% from the field, and even though it held UA to just 36.5%, Bruins coach Mick Cronin appeared more disappointed in his team’s defense.

β€œTyger’s beating himself up over a missed free throw but that had nothing to do with some of our bad fouls and defensive breakdowns,” Cronin said.

But the Bruins had been playing all week without wing Jaylen Clark, the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Year, while starting center Adem Bona sat out Saturday because of a shoulder injury he suffered on Friday against Oregon.

With Bona in the sidelines in sweats, the Bruins also completely ran out of big men down the stretch, because both Mac Etienne and Kenneth Nwuba fouled out before the four-minute mark.

But while Arizona had all its players available, Ballo and Kriisa were far from normal. Already having separated his shoulder on Thursday against Stanford, Kriisa also suffered an injury to his right hand that was wrapped up in the second half.

Arizona center Oumar Ballo, left, dumps confetti onto coach Tommy Lloyd while celebrating the team’s win over UCLA on March 11 in the finals of the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas. UCLA and Arizona both have retooled after last year’s meetings.

Ballo, meanwhile, played with his usual wraps on his right hand, having done so since injuring his thumb and pinky on Feb. 2 against Oregon. On Saturday, he wore a stiff-looking black wrap on Saturday over his fractured left hand with his two middle fingers tied together in a splint.

Ballo played just eight minutes in the first half, being taken out with 7:13 to go in the half and not returning. When Tubelis came out with 3:40 left, Lloyd instead inserted freshman Henri Veesaar, who had logged just two minutes over UA’s previous four games.

Ballo finished the half with just two points and two rebounds in the half, hitting 1 of 3 field goals. But he played 16 minutes in the second half, finishing with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Veesaar did not play.

Ballo’s production was typical of the resiliency he has shown all season, winning the Maui Invitational MVP in November while playing an early January game after making three trips to the hospital over the previous four days because of a bacterial infection.

At the end of the game Saturday, Ballo’s somewhat healthier right hand, as well as both of Larsson’s, touched that ball before Ramey fired it in the hoop, too.

β€œI needed to forget about my hands and give my heart and my soul to the team because they needed me,” Ballo said. β€œI just came out to be more aggressive and be there for the team.”

β€œIt’s an extra special honor for me," Arizona head men's basketball coach Tommy Lloyd said passing North Carolina's Bill Guthridge for most wins (59) by a head coach in his first two seasons at the helm. Lloyd spoke to reporters March 9, 2023 after Arizona's 95-84 win over Stanford in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Pac-12 Men's Basketball Tournament at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.Β (Via Pac-12)

Arizona men's basketball coach Tommy Lloyd said he isn't concerned with Arizona’s seeding in the NCAA Tournament or location of first and second rounds: β€œIf you’re worried about that stuff after a 31-game regular season, then you’re worried about the wrong things.” Lloyd spoke to local media March 7, 2023 at McKale center, ahead of the 2023 Pac-12 men's basketball tournament. Video by Justin Spears/Arizona Daily Star

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Contact sports reporter Bruce Pascoe at bpascoe@tucson.com. On Twitter: @brucepascoe