A top 15 matchup. The top two teams in the Pac-12. Two of the best defenses in the nation. A national tv broadcast on ESPN.
And what did we get? Lots of whistles.
Just another hurdle that the No. 7 Arizona Wildcats have had to overcome as they went into the Jon M. Huntsman Center to not only defeat the No. 13 Utah Utes 63-57, but also win a share of the Pac-12 regular season championship.
The first half between the two elite teams in the Pac-12 resulted in two things; excellent defense and tons of foul trouble. Defense has been the trademark of both teams this year as according to Kempom.com, both teams rank in the top 5 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency. So what did both teams do? They limited each other to terrible shooting percentages as Arizona shot only 34.8% while Utah shot an even more miserable 29.6%. Besides the outstanding defense, the whistle from the officials caused significant foul trouble for both teams. Combined, Arizona and Utah had eight players with two or more fouls and 25 total fouls were called before halftime. Despite the foul trouble issues and poor shooting, Kaleb Tarczewski paced the Wildcats with 8 points and 4 rebounds as Arizona led 29-28 at the half.
As was the case with last Saturday's game against UCLA, Arizona came out of the half ice cold. How cold? They didn't get their first field goal until the 12:37 mark in the second half when Stanley Johnson stole a lazy pass and converted the layup in transition. Unfortunately, the offense still was not there until Sean Miller used his second to last timeout just before the mandatory eight minute media timeout. After that timeout by Miller, Arizona scored on three straight possessions with a Gabe York three followed by dunks from Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Tarczewski. With the offense playing better, Utah's Brandon Taylor was keeping the Utes in the game thanks to his silky smooth shooting.
With two high level teams that will make deep runs in the NCAA tournament, the game was ultimately going to be decided by one or two plays on the court and Arizona made that one play. Arizona was down two, with 1:39 left in the game and Gabe York was at the line to shoot two free throws. After making the first, he missed the second, but a fundamental breakdown where Utah failed to block out the shooter, York followed his shot and made the layup.
That extra point helped Arizona hang onto that lead for good as Hollis-Jefferson and York made five of six free throws to end the game. It was also York's third offensive rebound of the SEASON.
In a game where obvious story-lines will be about the Pac-12 referees (56 combined fouls called), Stanley Johnson's poor shooting, or Utah failing to use Delon Wright down the stretch, a couple things stood out that should get Arizona fans excited. First, Kaleb Tarczewski is starting to become a confident basketball player, which means Arizona is a significantly more dangerous team to play. Second, the defense is still elite.
But the most important takeaway tonight is the free throw shooting. Although 27-37 or 73% is not usually something to be boastful about, consider this...Arizona won this game and they shot 33% from the field!
Arizona (26-3) will finish up their regular season by hosting both California and Stanford at the McKale Center next week. First up are the California Golden Bears next Thursday with tip-off scheduled for 7 pm MST.