J. Cole starts

Arizona point guard Justin Coleman returned to the starting lineup against Utah after coming off the bench Thursday night. He nearly won the game for the Wildcats in regulation. His 3-point attempt from just inside of half-court fell short and sent the game into overtime.

UA coach Sean Miller was complimentary of Coleman, who dislocated his left shoulder earlier this week in practice and is clearly not yet 100 percent.

“Getting through these four or five days, it’s not easy,” Miller said. “I really credit him for playing against Colorado in the time that he did and going like he did today. He’s not at further risk, but you can’t judge him on his performance because he’s the furthest thing from being at his best.”

Coleman’s shoulder is “80 percent,” Miller said. It should improve as the Wildcats prepare for the Bay Area road trip, which begins Wednesday.

RJ returns

Wildcats great Richard Jefferson returned to McKale Center for the second time this season as a commentator for Pac-12 Networks. Jefferson was on call as a color analyst, while Roxy Bernstein handled television play-by-play duties.

RJ has company: Former UA standouts Steve Kerr, Sean Elliott, Matt Muhlebach, Corey Williams, Tom Tolbert and Justin Wessell have each done television. Todd Walsh, a former UA team manager, is a Fox Sports Arizona mainstay.

Another ex-Cat, Jason Terry, appeared on the Pac-12 Networks last month as a special guest analyst.

The Wildcats did their best to make Jefferson feel at home. The former forward was featured in the pregame intro video, punctuating Arizona’s program accolades with the phrase “one national championship.” He was also shown on the McKale Center video board and received a round of applause.

Arizona will appear on Pac-12 Networks four more times this season. Only one game, the Feb. 9 tilt against Washington State, will be at McKale Center.

Mannion visits

Five-star Arizona signee Nico Mannion watched Saturday’s game from a seat close to the UA bench. He sat with his father, Pace, who played at Utah from 1979-83. Both Mannions sported UA gear.

The last time Mannion visited Tucson was in October, when he and fellow signee Josh Green sat with recruit Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and future Arizona commit Zeke Nnaji for the Red-Blue Game.

Mannion is averaging 30.9 points, 5.8 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game in his senior season at Phoenix Pinnacle High School. He has scored more than 30 points in 11 of the last 13 games, including a 45-point performance against Southern California power Mater Dei.

The Big Number

14-0

Arizona’s record against both Utah and Colorado at McKale Center since the Rocky Mountain schools joined the Pac-12. The last time Utah won at McKale Center was in 1986, Elliott’s sophomore season and Lute Olson’s fourth year as head coach. The Utes were members of the Western Athletic Conference at the time.

Afternoon home cookin’

Saturday’s win improved Arizona to 28-1 under Miller in home games that tip off before 4 p.m. The last — OK, only — time the UA lost an afternoon home game was in 2012, when Oregon upset the Wildcats.

Another big number

600

Total wins for Arizona at McKale Center in program history.

He said it

“Our effort was outstanding. Different players really stepped up and it was certainly one of the best victories we’ve had here at McKale during my time just because of how hard the game was and how easily the game could’ve gone toward Utah.” — Miller after Saturday’s overtime win