Breakdown: ‘Cats derailed by Washington

The Lowdown: With Jay Bilas and the Game Day crew in Tucson
the Arizona Wildcats had the National stage to make a statement against
the top team in the PAC12 this season, the Washington Huskies.

It was a back-and-forth affair until Terrence Ross and the Huskies took a
commanding 62-52 lead with 3:39 to go. Ross scored 7 straight points
during that run finishing with 16 points for the
game. Coach Miller’s decision to go big with Solomon Hill, Jesse Perry, and
Angelo Chol allowed Ross to take advantage of mismatches.

The Wildcats stormed back behind a game-tying three from Hill with nine
seconds to go in the game, but he was bested moments later when Josiah
Turner was called for a blocking foul 70 feet from the basket. The Huskies
C.J. Wilcox knocked down two free-throws to give his team the 69-67
victory.

What went wrong for Arizona: Another poor display of taking
care of the ball was the backbreaker for the Wildcats. They finished with 15
turnovers and most of which were sloppy, unforced errors.

When it was over: This game seemed over with about five
minutes to go but instead it came down to the wire again in this dramatic
recent rivalry. Josiah Turner had a chance to tie the game at the rim, but
was blocked from behind by Tony Wroten with no time remaining to end
the game.

Who stepped up for Arizona: No question it was a banner night
for Hill who carried his team on his back for the final six minutes of
the game. Once the Wildcats fell behind by double-digits, Hill
scored 11 points down the stretch on his way to a career high 28 points
and his third straight double-double.

Who needed to step up: The guards of Arizona. For most of the
second half Abdul Gaddy, Tony Wroten, and Terrence Ross were in foul
trouble. The backcourt did not put any pressure on them to force the
deciding foul or to take any of the Huskies better players out of the game.

Stat of the Game: Solomon Hill’s shooting display was very
impressive tonight going 9-10 from the field, 2-2 from three-point range,
and 8-9 from the free-throw line.

They said it: Hill on the game’s deciding foul called on teammate
Josiah Turner, “The ref made the call and it sucks that it was with so little
time left.”

What it means: The Wildcats are now 14-8 (5-4 in the PAC12) in
the middle of a conference that may not get more than four total NCAA
Tournament bids. The pressure is on with only nine games remaining,
five of which are on the road.

What’s Next: With a home split against the Washington schools,
the Wildcats now head back to California starting Thursday at
Cal and then Saturday at Stanford. The last time
the Wildcats went to California, freshman guard Nick Johnson fell into a
shooting slump going 3-15 from the field (0-6 from three) on the trip.

Follow @AZSports