No Koa Peat. No DeWayne Aristode? No problem.
Arizona missed 11 free throws … no problem.
UA gave up a comfortable lead … no problem.
UA was outrebounded – 39-37 – a rarity. Again, no problem.
But, it was Houston with all the real problems in Arizona’s 73-66 gritty win over host Houston. It was Houston’s second loss at home in 53 games.
Arizona caused so many – turnovers, bad shots, bad decisions, – that Houston looked out of sorts for most of the game, save for its mid-half dash to overtake the Wildcats for good.
But – surprisingly, but not surprisingly – wasn’t good enough to overtake the shorthanded Wildcats in a game that lived up to its No. 3 vs. No. 4 billing.
Houston has now joined the ever-growing list of high ranked teams losing to the Wildcats.
Florida, Connecticut and now Houston, a team that had gone 46-1 at home since joining the Big 12 Conference three years ago.
“It was a great program win,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said in his post-game radio show. “This was one of those ones where you can chalk up to the medical staff, chalk up to the trainers, you chalk up to the strength and conditioning team. Those are the ones that got us through it – and the players were so steady.”
Shaky for some moments, too, but steady when it mattered – like the final eight minutes when it turned around a 50-48 into a 10-point lead, after a 12-0 run to make it 60-50.
“We wanted to hang in the game … we knew it wasn’t going to be a crazy high-possession game,” Lloyd said. “We wanted to be in striking distance in the end.”
They did just that – jumping out early and “able to hold on,” Lloyd said.
“I’m super proud of the program.”
Arizona moved to 25-2 and 12-2 in the conference. Arizona found its magic – again – as it took sole possession of first place in the Big 12 with just two weeks left.
It’s yet another signature win for Tommy Lloyd & Co., who have continued to prove that anytime you say the Wildcats can’t … they do!
It’s so different than a year ago – almost to the same time – when Houston went into McKale and handled Arizona in a rough, physical game. Lloyd said Houston played the way it did – and has – because it’s been established that way. It took Arizona time to be that team.
All season, Lloyd has said Arizona is built for it. And that in time, Arizona would one day be there.
Well, if for a day – maybe even for a season – Arizona returned the favor, outdoing Houston at his own game by being physical and mucking it up offensively. At one point when the game was still on the line, Houston missed 11 consecutive shots.
Clank x 11. And Arizona built its lead to 10 with minutes left.
Houston had a hard time getting near the basket and had to settle for jumpers throughout the game. It finished shooting just under 36 percent, hitting just a handful of shots in the final 13 minutes when the game was a two-point difference. And, oh by the way, Houston had 12 turnovers and couldn’t get a rebound late. It scored 16 points off those turnovers.
Arizona did a lot of double teaming on the perimeter, trying to get the ball out of the guard’s hands. At the same time, Houston had a difficult time getting into lanes to get to the basket, thus having them shoot long 3s.
“Credit to Murph (Associate head coach Jack Murphy) that was his gameplan and I signed off on it.” Lloyd said.
Everything else fell into place.Anthony Dell’Orso, Arizona’s thunder from down under again, had 22 points for the second consecutive game. Jaden Bradley added 17, making 5 of 6 free throws in the game’s final moments.
Ivan Kharchenkov was a busy body, with his hands everywhere disrupting lanes and making Houston miserable. He played a game-high 39 minutes. He had 16 points
“I told him this might be a 40-minute one buddy hang in there,” Lloyd said, with a small laugh. “He did a great job. We slid him to the (power forward spot) and that caused some matchup problems and allowed us to make a little bit of a run. I’m happy for Ivan, he’s been champing at the bit to do a little bit more.
“When you are in a great program like ours you gotta wait your turn. And when it presented itself he took advantage.”
So did Dell’Orso, who had his second consecutive 22-point efforts. After suffering through a slump most of the season, he’s turned into a salivating shooting. He hit 8 of 14 shots, including 2 of 5 3-pointers. He added three rebounds and four steals.
For Houston, that was a problem. Hell, all of it was.
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