Hell yeah. The Wildcats turned it on in the second half to outscore the Cougars 43-28 to go ahead and turn in a 10 point win on Saturday at McKale Center. Chase Budinger led with 19 points, however; he shot only 5-17 from the field but was a perfect 7-7 from the charity stripe. Jordan Hill had 16 points and 16 rebounds on 8-16 shooting.
Arizona went on an impressive 16-0 run in the second half to go up 48-39. Nic Wise only had 6 points on 2-8 shooting with 4 assists. Kyle Fogg continues to impress as he had another solid performance with 15 points on 4-8 shooting and 6-7 from the free throw line.
I think we accomplished what we needed to do by making Washington State beat us with players other than Rochestie, Thompson, and Baynes. The other players on Washington State shot a combined 5-19. Mission Accomplished!
The Outcome was: Expected, but hard fought. Arizona should have won this game and I am glad that they went on such a huge run in the 2nd half to pull out the 10 point win. Great intensity in the 2nd half. Terrible urgency in the 1st. No game is perfect (ahem, excuse me Washington Game), and I won't focus on the first half too much. Congrats to the Wildcats. That is 3 in a row, should be 4 out of the last five. Looking good for next week.
The Offensive MVP was: Jordan Hill. Yes, I know that Budinger scored more, but how many attempts did he take? 17. How many did he make? 5. Jordan Hill had 16 points shooting 50% from the floor and even had 3 assists. Another solid night for the big man. If there was any question, which there probably was not, that the big man was going to the NBA next year, they are disappearing before our own eyes. Jordan Hill is on fire.
The Defensive MVP was: Arizona's perimeter defense. The Cougars only had two players in double digits this afternoon and a big part was because of the reach of Fogg and Budinger in keeping Rochestie and Thompson from getting good looks. Baynes was 5-7 but held to 12 points by Jordan Hill.
Bench: WHAT BENCH! Jamelle Horn played 23 minutes and only attempted one shot. Stats: Horn, Onobun, Judkins 0-1 with no points. Seriously? This is concerning. Where is Lavender? Why did Onobun only get 2 minutes? Oh wait, they did have one good stat. 4 personal fouls between the three of them. Ha! We need to do better than this!!!!!!
Stat of the game: Arizona shot 18 free throws. Washington State shot 7. Chase Budinger started the game going 1 for his first 12.
Overall: Again, I am glad we got the win. Solid, solid 2nd half for the Wildcats. I am so impressed with Fogg that I can't wait to see what he does in the next game. The kid is starting to become a force and should be getting some props in the Pac 10 this week for his performances over Houston, Washington, and Washington State. We have got to get more from our bench. I can't believe Onobun only got 2 minutes.