There was no extended locker-room talk after this one. In fact, Sean Miller may have set a record for the fastest time ever recorded from the postgame locker room to the postgame radio set.
Asked in the postgame group interview, which follows his radio address, about his haste and whether he spoke to the team, Miller said:
“I just want to get this over with, you know, just kind of move on.”
Miller then stood up, crumpled his stat sheet, and left the room.
By then, after a 10-minute media address that followed Oregon's 73-72 overtime win Saturday, Miller had already made his points, in fairly direct and succinct manner, except for his many references to missed rebounding opportunities and Payton Pritchard's general excellence.
Miller said he wasn’t blaming Christian Koloko, who missed two free throws with 1.4 seconds left, saying he would have normally been subbed out after being put in for defense on the Ducks’ final possession but remained in the game because there was not a clock-stoppage that allowed substitutions.
“This loss doesn’t fall on Christian,” Miller said.
Remember when Miller used to call defensive rebounding the Wildcats’ “Achilles’ heel" earlier this season?
That’s where he put a lot of the blame instead. Apparently as it applied to two Oregon possessions in overtime.
With 18 seconds, Zeke Nnaji blocked Pritchard’s layup attempt but couldn’t grab the ball as it dropped out of bounds below him.
Then, on the Ducks’ final possession, Arizona couldn’t come down with a rebound in a crowd after Pritchard missed a 3 -- instead, Shakur Juiston tapped the ball out to the right corner, where Will Richardson picked it up, then drove inside and passed it back to Juiston, who made the game winner.
“When you have the ball in your hands on a defensive rebound, or a shot hits the rim, and you’re up four, you’re up two, there’s a minute-30 left, there’s 45 seconds left… you go up above the rim, you get it, you land and then they foul you,” Miller said. “The ball doesn't go off your hands, the guy doesn't run around you, you don't forget to block out, you don't let the guy run and get it.
“Those are the plays that I think really drive you crazy because that's just absolute toughness and effort. I wish we were better in that area, we're not. And that's why we have the number of losses that we do.”
Miller went back to this topic later even when asked about Arizona’s 14 turnovers, which led to nine second-chance points for the Ducks. (Though Oregon’s 11 turnovers led to nine second-chance points for Arizona.)
“We had 14, that's too many, but I want to give Oregon credit,” Miller said. “They're the number one team in our conference at stealing the ball. They play with great effort, and you know when you're them, and you lose a game at Arizona State like they lost, you're gonna come in here and fight and fight and fight to the death.
“And we have to be there right with them. You gotta rebound the ball. It’s like, they missed. You don't get a chance (to not get it)… Ball’s out of bounds. I mean, go get the ball above the above the rim, Rondae Hollis Jefferson, go get it above the square and, guards run and dive on the floor but those coveted late-game shots that miss, you cannot be on the losing end of that in March Madness.”
Miller was correct in that thinking about Oregon. According to the Oregonian, Pritchard said after the game that he vowed to be aggressive for the entire 40 minutes Saturday after he fouled out in Oregon’s loss at ASU on Thursday (as it turned out, Pritchard played all 45 minutes of the game).
“I wanted to prove a point,” Pritchard said. “Moving forward I don’t ever want to be disappointed thinking that I could’ve done more. I want to lay it out every time.”
Pritchard's focus was also evident before the game. During Arizona's pregame video and player introductions, while the rest of the Ducks huddled around, Pritchard bounced up and down constantly, while staring straight ahead at nobody in particular...
The other key, Miller said, is that you can’t go 10 for 21 from the free throw line, as the Wildcats did, counting Koloko’s misses and the two from Josh Green that could have won the game for Arizona at the end of regulation.
“It's very difficult to beat a team as good as Oregon with this much at stake, and go 10 for 21 for the line,” Miller said. “So you go 10 for 21 from line and a couple things that I talked about it really negated some, some terrific play. There's some guys that made big shots on our end, big plays. … Dylan Smith: I don't know if I've seen a guy play any better or harder than he played. He played 37 minutes, not only did he guard Pritchard for most of the game, but he had 18 points. He did a great job, our senior that guy right there, he did a great job I'm really, really proud of them.
“Where we erred is in the first eight minutes of the game where we didn't put Dylan on Payton Pritchard and he got off to a really hot start. The guy had 20 at the half and 18 in the second half.”
Miller went on about Pritchard, too, comparing him to T.J. McConnell in a sense.
“And,” he continued. “I don’t know. Does he not get drafted? Is he just too old? Is that how it works? I don’t know. I watch these guys and I’d like to think he can play in the NBA. He’s pretty good, man.”
Asked how much free throws become mental after a couple of misses, Miller worked in a Pritchard reference again (not surprisingly, since Pritchard was also 8 for 8 from the line).
“Pressure free throws, I'll go back to Allonzo Trier. He was like the executioner. When you have a guy like Payton Pritchard or Allonzo, you almost take it for granted. Dana next year will think back to so many games that Payton Pritchard was in because he just he's so reliable from the free-throw line, and you know they were 11 for 14 but he was 8 for 8).
“And it's just free throws are a big deal in college basketball. That's never changed and tonight we were 10 for 21 and they were 11 for 14. Big difference in the game."
There were successes for the Wildcats, just not ones that translated into baskets. Like the play that led to Green’s drive for a basket that could have won the game with a layup or free throws, and Baker’s fullcourt pass to Koloko in regulation.
“That was a great play,” Miller said of a fake handoff that led to Green’s drive. “Got to the line and missed it. And I thought our last play of the game – it’s tough to throw the ball 94 feet, get the ball one foot from the rim and have a chance to score it. In both of those cases we executed but we didn't deliver. So, we lost.”
Asked if he thought the Wildcats learned a lesson at least from Saturday’s loss, Miller said:
“I don't,” he said. “I don't know. We have a lot of guys that are gonna leave and play in the professional ranks and we have guys that have started for 27 games, right? Everybody knows their role. This is what we signed up for. We gotta deliver, gotta deliver. This isn't Thanksgiving anymore.
“Oregon delivered and they're on a plane ride home. They’ve got a great program, great team. I thought Payton Pritchard once again was just an amazing college basketball player.
“Maybe he'll get invited to the (NBA) combine. I know T.J. McConnell didn't get invited to Chicago. I'm hoping they'll give him an invitation. I know he's a senior but I'd like think he might have a chance.”
(FWIW, Miller's lobbying actually helped McConnell get a last-minute invite in 2015).
