Maybe Arizona is going to be okay after all. Maybe the Wildcats will be an NCAA Tournament team when it’s all said and done.
The latter was probably not a commonly-held sentiment shortly after the Wildcats’ 2017-18 season ended with an embarrassing blowout loss to Buffalo in the NCAA Tournament and after several players left school early. But give Sean Miller and his staff credit, because they have regrouped in a big way. And at a time when things don’t look so good overall in the Pac-12 – another season where it’s becoming irrelevant in football and where the basketball product doesn’t look a whole lot better than last year – a development like this certainly helps.
When last season ended with a cloud over the program given the FBI investigation snagging a former assistant coach and a report of an intercepted phone call involving Miller, things looked bleak in the immediate. We knew Deandre Ayton would leave for the NBA Draft since he was going to be one of the first players taken, and Dusan Ristic and Parker Jackson-Cartwright were seniors. Then Allonzo Trier and Rawle Alkins left school for the NBA Draft, the latter a real head-scratcher as the outlook was that he was unlikely to be drafted at all. It meant that they had to replace five starters, and they appeared to have no recruits in the pipeline given the ongoing FBI investigation.
Eventually, Miller and the staff put together a few transfers, and they had Chase Jeter sitting out last year after he transferred from Duke. Now they look like they could be a little better than first expected, although what that looks like and translates into remains to be seen.
The latest sign that the Wildcats may be better than first thought came on Sunday, as they headed up to Hartford and beat UConn 76-72. They had to hold off the improved Huskies without making a field goal over the final six and a half minutes, but they managed. It’s the first time all year in a high-level game that they have succeeded through adversity, as they rallied to beat Iowa State in the opener at Maui before losing to a couple of pretty good teams in Gonzaga and Auburn to end up in fourth place.
While Brandon Randolph (20 points) and Chase Jeter (14) had good games, it wasn’t a game to remember for guards Brandon Williams and Justin Coleman. Coming in averaging just over 25 points a game, each scored just six points on a combined 5-13 shooting, with five assists and seven turnovers. Winning when those two don’t have a good game is another good sign for this team, assuming, of course, that their play in this game ultimately proves to be an aberration and not part of a trend.
Here’s an interesting note: Miller is now 8-0 against brothers Bobby and Dan Hurley. Sunday was his second win against Dan, with the first coming in 2013.
The Wildcats started the week out by blowing out Sun Belt contender Georgia Southern. The Eagles are an experienced team, and the thought was they would give the Wildcats a battle, but that never came close to happening. Add in Sunday’s win, and they look like they’re on their way to a better place than anyone could have imagined back in late March.
Side Dishes
Early Big Ten play continued on Sunday with home teams ruling the roost again as Ohio State took care of Minnesota 79-59 and Nebraska handled Illinois 75-60 in the openers for all four teams. It concludes a tough week for Minnesota as the Golden Gophers entered the week undefeated but lost twice on the road.
UCLA handed Loyola Marymount their first loss of the season, handling the Lions 82-58 behind a double-double from Jaylen Hands (17 points, 10 assists).
Tonight’s Menu
The slate is light, as will often be the case on Mondays the rest of the way, and most games will be in the earlier part of the evening. Big Ten play continues to highlight it.
- Iowa looks to avenge their opening loss as they travel to Michigan State (6:30 p.m.), and later, Rutgers tries to do the same as they go to Wisconsin (8 p.m.)
- Georgetown gets a challenge from a 7-1 Liberty team that comes to the nation’s capital (7 p.m.)
- One game that has the potential to be a really good one is George Mason hosting Vermont (7 p.m.)
