Earlier this week, Sean Miller insisted that Arizona’s defense is better than what UCLA saw a month ago at Pauley Pavilion.
“Although I don’t think we’re night-and-day different, we have steadily improved,” said the Wildcats’ head coach.
Heading into the McKale Center on Friday night, UofA had only allowed two teams to shoot more than 50 percent from the field: UCLA and Oregon. It lost both those games, the first of which was punctuated by Bryce Alford’s game-winning 3-pointer at Pauley Pavilion. The latter, meanwhile, marked No. 17 Arizona’s first home loss since February 2013.
The rematch against the Bruins this week, Miller hoped, would see his players put in a much stouter performance.
The Wildcats did enough. After falling into a double-digit halftime hole in Tucson, Arizona closed out an 81-75 home victory. The foul-filled game, which saw UofA shoot 45 free throws to UCLA’s 16, marked the Bruins’ fifth loss in seven outings.
It may have very well ended their at-large NCAA Tournament hopes. Continue reading “UCLA stumbles again in 81-75 loss at No. 17 Arizona” »