SAN DIEGO — Christian Koloko put up two of the most memorable statistical performances in Arizona’s NCAA Tournament history over the weekend, but a moment not in his box score line may have ultimately defined it.
In the final seconds of regulation in Arizona’s 85-80 win over TCU in a second-round NCAA Tournament game Sunday at Viejas Arena, Koloko was asked to combine with guard Dalen Terry to trap TCU guard Mike Miles on the perimeter after Bennedict Mathurin hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 75 with just 12 seconds left.
Arizona point guard Kerr Kriisa gestured the TCU Horned Frogs hand sign at TCU fans walking off the court at Viejas Arena in San Diego following the Wildcats' overtime win.
Even as the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Year, a 7-foot junior center almost equally as comfortable protecting the perimeter as the rim, this was not an easy assignment. Miles was TCU’s best player, a savvy, talented point guard who knows how to get his shot off or draw a foul. Especially against a 7-footer who might struggle on the perimeter to match his agility at 6-2.
A foul would put Miles on the free-throw line with a chance to win the game, likely before Arizona would have enough time to answer.
“I ain’t going to lie. I was scared when coach asked us (to trap) because I knew he was going to try to get at me and try to get a foul,” Koloko said. “But I think I did a pretty good job just protecting my hip, like coach always says. We knew he was going to try to be a hero. And we wanted to trap him. He turned the ball over. That’s what we wanted to do and it worked.”
“Protecting the hip” is a term UA coach Tommy Lloyd uses to tell his guys to keep moving their feet so that the ballhandler can’t get into their hip to drive by for a basket or pick up a foul.
Lloyd said Koloko “gave up his hips” earlier in the game but had confidence it would work this time.
“Christian’s got amazing feet,” Lloyd said. “I had a good idea they were going to put the ball in Miles’ hands. He’s going to go left and try to come off a ball screen up top. So we had an agile, mobile group out there. What the heck, 10 seconds to go in the game, let’s throw a trap on him and see what happens. And we’ll live with it.”
It worked. Koloko shadowed Miles along the perimeter toward the left sideline. Then Miles backed up and had contact with Terry near the halfcourt line.
Then the situation became difficult for the officials. Did Miles commit a backcourt violation? Did Terry foul Miles? Did Miles flop?
Tommy Lloyd showed faith in his players down the stretch Sunday, and they came through to send UA to the Sweet 16.
No call was issued. Terry picked the ball up and raced to the basket but couldn’t get his layup off before the buzzer sounded.
Overtime. And a little controversy.
Asked about the no-call, TCU coach Jamie Dixon said the Horned Frogs were “going to handle it the right way,” while Miles didn’t hide his feelings.
“They double-teamed me,” Miles said. “I wouldn’t say it was not a foul, but it was a foul. They didn’t call it. That’s what it is.”
Saying UA did a good job of getting Miles to back up on his dribble, Lloyd stayed mostly out of it.
“I know there’s a lot of speculation — was it a foul, whether he was over and back,” Lloyd said. “I’m not watching the foul. I’m watching him go over and back. I don’t know how much time was left. I saw the ball pop loose. I thought we had it. I thought there was enough time.
“I looked up. Dalen was at the top of the key with a second to go. I thought maybe. And so that would have been a cool way to end it. But you know what? There was nothing wrong with going to overtime and having to play another five minutes and find a way.”
In overtime, Koloko played a big role on the other side of the foul equation. He picked up fouls that sent him to the line to shoot two free throws on two different occasions and, while he hit only the first of two free throws on both occasions, Mathurin rebounded his second miss and put it back to give Arizona a 79-77 lead.
Later, after TCU’s Chuck O’Bannon missed a 3-pointer that could have tied the game at 83 with 44 seconds left, Koloko paid the favor back. He dunked in a missed 3 from Mathurin that gave Arizona the final margin with nine seconds left.
The final totals were what you might expect from the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Year (Koloko had 28 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks) and its Player of the Year (Mathurin had 30 points, eight rebounds and four assists).
But they both performed the best with the game on the line, lifting up a team that had only played one overtime and one game decided by a single possession during the regular season.
Despite missing seven of his first nine 3-pointers, Mathurin came through when it mattered most: Firing in the 3 that tied the game at 75 before Miles’ turnover and putting back Koloko’s missed free throw for what became the go-ahead basket with 2:56 left in overtime.
“Benn’s not afraid of the moment,” Lloyd said. “He’s a special player who has an ability to rise it up another level when needed. And he has that clutch gene. I honestly felt really good when he had the ball in his hands there because I knew he was going to shoot a 3.”
Koloko was not only also clutch, but all over the place, all weekend. Between Arizona’s wins over Wright State and TCU, the Cameroonian center combined for 45 points, 25 rebounds, eight assists and eight blocks while making 19 of 23 field goals.
During a brief media session afterward, with the Wildcats scrambling to beat the 11:30 p.m. flight departure curfew out of San Diego, Koloko said knowing that Lloyd trusted the Wildcats helped them get through the adversity.
“He told us we’ve got to hang in there. I think that’s what we did,” Koloko said. “We didn’t panic. We played our game and we came back. We had a good plan and we won. So that’s amazing.”
Lloyd returned the compliment.
“These two guys were obviously special today,” Lloyd said, as he sat next to Koloko and Mathurin. “They pulled us through in moments when it didn’t look good. But I know this: I believed the whole time, and I think they did, too. The way they were communicating in the huddles. I knew we just needed to hang in there, make a play or two, and we would get this thing over the top.”
Rim shots
Lloyd was named one of four finalists for the Naismith Coach of the Year award, along with Texas Tech’s Mark Adams, Providence’s Ed Cooley and Wisconsin’s Greg Gard.
The Wildcats’ Sweet 16 game against Houston will start 30 minutes after the conclusion of a 4:29 p.m. game between Michigan and Villanova, likely around 7 p.m. It will be carried on TBS, with a broadcast crew of Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson and Allie LaForce.
Arizona 85, TCU 80
TCU (21-13)
Miller 3-7 4-4 10, O’Bannon 7-18 4-5 23, Lampkin 8-9 4-10 20, Baugh 3-17 0-0 6, Miles 5-20 9-9 20, Peavy 0-1 1-2 1, Farabello 0-2 0-0 0, Cork 0-0 0-0 0, Coles 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 26-74 22-30 80.
ARIZONA (33-3)
A.Tubelis 2-7 1-1 5, Koloko 12-13 4-7 28, Kier 3-5 0-1 6, Terry 2-8 0-0 5, Mathurin 8-19 11-13 30, Larsson 2-5 2-2 6, Kriisa 1-10 0-0 3, Ballo 1-1 0-1 2. Totals: 31-68 18-25 85.
Halftime: Arizona 39-36. 3-Point Goals: TCU 6-26 (O’Bannon 5-13, Miles 1-6, Miller 0-1, Farabello 0-2, Baugh 0-4), Arizona 5-27 (Mathurin 3-11, Terry 1-2, Kriisa 1-10, Kier 0-1, Larsson 0-3). Fouled Out: Miller, Peavy. Rebounds: TCU 43 (Lampkin 14), Arizona 42 (Koloko 12). Assists: TCU 13 (Baugh 6), Arizona 16 (Terry 5). Total Fouls: TCU 22, Arizona 21.
