The Wildcats came out playing superb defense tonight, holding James Harden to 4 points in the first half. Unfortunately, the game remained close going into halftime because of Arizona's own poor shooting. Arizona was 1-9 shooting 3 pointers and only 30% from the field for the first half. Arizona fell to ASU 53-47.
Zane Johnson was a great spark for the Wildcats tonight with 5 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and only 1 turnover in the first half. Zane Johnson finished with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and only 1 turnover. Very solid performance tonight, although the shooting could have been a little better.
Besides Jordan Hill's 14 rebounds, he also committed 6 turnovers, adding 16 points on 5 of 16 shooting. He was called for an offensive foul on a screen with :12 second left in the game. Here is a replay of the highlights from Fox Sports with the foul at the end. Terrible call.
James Harden finished the game 6 for 11 and Jeff Pendergraph finished the game 4 for 7. Their combined shooting percentage was 56%. Meanwhile, their three other starters Derek Glasser (3 for 11), Rihards Kuksiks (2 for 10) and Ty Abbott (1 for 8) shot a combined shooting percentage of 21%.
The Wildcats went on an 8-1 run to go ahead 36 to 33 late in the 2nd half but couldn't hold on down the stretch.
The fact that we lost at home while holding Arizona State to 28% shooting is ridiculous. Someone needs to be held accountable for this performance. NaterB's Sports Capsule wonders if the Cats are NIT bound?
Coach Pennell said it best after the game:
"If we don't play hard, we have no chance at winning, though playing hard doesn't necessarily guarantee a win. If there isn't any effort, there is no chance at winning, especially in a conference like the Pac-10."
I guess that's his way of saying that Arizona will get an "E" for effort, but may not win many games this year. Sad.
NOTABLE NOTES
The score at halftime was 21-18.
Arizona shot 29%. Terrible.
Arizona State shot 28%. Good defense by us.
Arizona was 2 for 15 on 3 pointers for 13%.
Arizona State was 5 for 28 on 3 pointers for 17%.
The score at halftime was 21-18.
Arizona shot 17 for 21 from the free throw line for 80%
Arizona Stat shot 16 for 19 from the free throw line for 84%.
Can someone explain why it took 7 seconds for us to foul after Zane Johnson hit the 3 pointer with 26 seconds left?
Was Pennel's technical really a good time to try and stand up for your team? I think not.