Small potatoes

Arizona was already undersized, but Sean Miller cranked it down a notch further and installed the 6-foot-5-inch Dylan Smith in the starting lineup at power forward in place of Ryan Luther on Saturday.

It was Smith’s first start since the Wildcats’ win over Montana in December.

Miller praised Smith’s ability to defend taller players and rebound in the past and gave him the nod against Oregon State.

Smith guarded Oregon State’s Tres Tinkle, who scored a game-high 25 points.

Smith finished the night with 13 points and shot 60 percent (3 for 5) from 3-point range in UA’s 82-71 victory. He played 35 minutes and had six rebounds.

The big number

21

Offensive rebounds Arizona grabbed, which is a season-high. The Wildcats capitalized on the offensive boards by scoring 28 second-chance points compared to Oregon State’s nine. Luther had seven of those offensive rebounds while Brandon Randolph had three.

Going hard in the paint

Heading into Saturday night, Oregon State had thrived off scoring inside, outscoring its opponents 564-420 in the paint.

Despite Arizona outrebounding Oregon State 41-29, the Beavers still managed to outscore the Wildcats 40-26 in the paint.

No more international Cats

After Canadian forward Emmanuel Akot announced his decision to transfer from the UA following the Wildcats’ trip to the Bay Area last week, he put an end to Arizona’s streak of having a foreign-born player on the roster.

The last time Arizona didn’t have an international player was in the 2013-14 season.

Previous foreign players to play under Miller since his first season in 2009-10 include Kyryl Natyazhko (Ukraine), Angelo Chol (Sudanese-born), Dusan Ristic (Serbia), Lauri Markkanen (Finland), Keanu Pinder (Australia) and Deandre Ayton (Bahamas).

Next season, the Wildcats will have two international players with Cameroonian center Christian Koloko and Australian five-star wing Josh Green.

Another big number

51

Consecutive games Oregon State’s Tinkle has scored in double figures. He passed former NBA legend Gary Payton for the second-longest streak in school history.

DeMarco in the house

Arizona head coach Kevin Sumlin and wide receivers coach Theron Aych brought a famous friend to McKale Center: new UA running backs coach DeMarco Murray.

The three-time Pro Bowler made his debut on the McKale Center video board and received a loud ovation. Murray and the rest of the coaching staff, including Sumlin, hit the road this week visiting several schools in Tucson and in the Phoenix area to get a head start on the 2020 class.

Luther notches first double-double

Maybe Miller should bring Luther off the bench more often. He scored 16 points, one point shy of his season-high, and grabbed 11 rebounds for his first double-double at Arizona. Luther shot 6 of 12 from the field and 2 of 5 from 3-point range.

The graduate transfer averaged a double-double in 10 games at Pittsburgh last season before an injury ended his season.

For the record

Arizona has a 35-6 record against Oregon State in Tucson. Since 1983, the Beavers are 1-34 at McKale Center.

The lone win came in a 63-55 victory over the Wildcats in 2010, Miller’s first year at UA.

He said it

“Today was kind of emotional for me because back in November, my aunt passed and today is her birthday. So I had a little bit more to play for today. Today was pretty special for me because I was playing for my aunt.”

— Arizona point guard Justin Coleman after reaching the 1,000-point mark in his collegiate career