UA gets another shot at Duke
NEW YORK — Arizona Wildcats players, coaches, staffers and accompanying families all were invited to a big Thanksgiving dinner Thursday night, but the dessert will have to wait until today.
That’s when the No. 4 Wildcats get a crack at No. 6 Duke for the first time since they beat the Blue Devils in the 2011 Sweet Sixteen and only the second time since Duke won the 2001 national championship game.
Also on the line: the NIT Season Tip-Off championship. Duke has won four of them and UA has won three.
“Obviously, for a team, for a player and coach, it’s exciting to have a chance to play in the championship game at this event and to have such a storied program and such an excellent team in Duke to play against,” UA coach Sean Miller said Thursday, before the Wildcats hopped a bus that skirted the parade and took them to practice at Madison Square Garden. “That’s why you want to be a part of Arizona’s program. …
“They represent excellence and it’s to their credit. Anytime you play a program like that you have to be at your best.”
There’s a pretty good chance Arizona will be at its best. The Wildcats know they can’t have a first half like they had against Drexel on Wednesday, when they had no assists and shot 26 percent in the first half while trailing the Dragons 29-20 at halftime.
“All of us want to be challenged at the highest level and we know that we have to play better than we played last night,” Miller said. “We have to play an excellent game but I know we’re capable of doing that. But they’re a very good team, they’re the type of team that’s competing for the national championship, and I think we’ll learn a lot about where we are.”
Wednesday’s late game
Nick Johnson scored 20 points and freshman Aaron Gordon had 10 points and 13 rebounds and UA rallied from a terrible first half to beat Drexel 66-62 on Wednesday night in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
The Wildcats used a 25-4 run spanning halftime to wipe out an 18-point first-half deficit and take their first lead of the game, 33-31 on a basket by Brandon Ashley with 16:11 to play. That was the first of 11 lead changes in a span of 81⁄ minutes as the Dragons stayed around a lot longer than most thought they would.
Chris Fouch led Drexel with 29 points on 11-of-27 shooting and Frantz Massenat added 17. When: 4 p.m. Where: Madison Square Garden, New York.
Drexel
TV/radio: ESPN/KOY-AM (1230).
Late Wednesday No. 4 UA men 66, Drexel 62
FG FT Reb Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS Williams 35 1-3 0-0 2-10 0 5 2 Ruffin 25 0-0 0-0 0-5 1 4 0 Fouch 35 11-27 4-6 3-5 2 4 29 Massenat 37 7-18 1-1 0-1 2 1 17 Lee 23 3-10 0-0 0-2 2 2 6 Allen 22 3-12 0-0 1-2 1 1 6 Pantovic 7 0-0 0-0 1-1 0 1 0 Bah 13 1-1 0-0 3-4 0 3 2 Canady 3 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 1 0 Totals 200 26-71 5-711-37 8 22 62 Percentages: FG .366, FT .714. 3-Point Goals: 5-20, .250 (Fouch 3-11, Massenat 2-5, Allen 0-1, Lee 0-3). Team Rebounds: 5. Blocked Shots: 8 (Williams 4, Pantovic 2, Bah, Lee). Turnovers: 5 (Fouch 2, Williams, Ruffin). Steals: 6 (Massenat, Ruffin, Williams, Lee, Bah, Pantovic). Technical Fouls: None. Arizona
FG FT Reb Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS 35 2-6 6-7 4-13 0 2 10 30 1-8 2-4 0-7 1 2 4 29 7-12 1-3 4-10 0 2 15 28 4-6 1-2 0-4 3 3 11 36 5-12 9-10 1-5 4 2 20 14 0-6 2-2 1-2 0 0 2 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 Gordon Ashley Tarczewski McConnell N Johnson York Mayes HollisJefferson 24 1-3 2-2 1-2 Totals 200 20-53 23-3013-46 Percentages: FG .377, FT .767. 3-Point Goals: 3-13, .231 (McConnell 2-3, N. Johnson 1-6, Hollis-Jefferson 0-1, Ashley 0-1, York 0-2). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 5 (Tarczewski 4, Ashley). Turnovers: 14 (Tarczewski 4, Ashley 3, Gordon 3, McConnell 2, N. Johnson 2). Steals: 2 (McConnell, Mayes). Technical Fouls: None. Drexel Arizona A— NA. Officials— Brian O’Connell, Roger Ayers, Bo Boroski. 29 20 33 46
— 0 0 4 8 12 66 62 66