ARIZONA WILDCATS EDITIONE ARIZONA DAILY STAR | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2020 | PAGE AB1 E X T R A Editor: Ryan Finley | 520-573-4312 | [email protected]

USC 57, ARIZONA 48 CATS SO COLD IN SOCAL

PHOTOS BY MARK J. TERRILL / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS UA’s Chase Jeter, left, tries to get by Onyeka Okongwu during the first half. Without Josh Green and Max Hazzard, UA’s ofense could never get on track in the 57-48 loss in Los Angeles. UA, down two players, is ‘inept’ in ugly loss

By Bruce Pascoe ARIZONA DAILY STAR PAC-12 STANDINGS LOS ANGELES – Some of the Team Conf. Overall faces were diferent, and some of Oregon 11-5 22-7 them couldn’t show up, but the UCLA 11-5 18-11 Arizona Wildcats produced the Arizona State 10-5 19-9 same result at USC for the second Colorado 10-6 21-8 season in a row Thursday. Arizona 9-6 19-9 That is, they couldn’t shoot. USC 9-7 20-9 Not from 3. Not often from 2. A Stanford 8-7 19-9 little from the free-throw line (13 California 6-9 12-16 of 15), but that only accentuated Utah 6-10 15-13 the fact that Arizona scored just 35 Washington State 5-10 14-14 points from the field. Oregon State 5-11 15-13 In a dreary 57-48 loss to USC Washington 3-12 13-15 on Thursday at the Galen Center, the shorthanded Wildcats shot just 28.1% overall and 11.5% (3 guessed it was likely the result of for 26) from 3-point range, their multiple bumps he took against third sub-30s performance of the Oregon last Saturday — and he season after losses to Baylor and will not play Saturday at UCLA UCLA were marred with similarly after not making the trip. bad shooting. “I don’t really have a progno- “Our ofense is inept,” UA coach sis,” Miller said. “We wanted him Sean Miller said. to stay home just because that’s But Baylor and UCLA prodded going to be his best bet to recover the Wildcats into bad shooting by and rehab. pushing them around physically, “There’s no reason to be here more so than USC, which also held when he’s not going to play. We’ll UA to 27.8% shooting at the Galen know more we get back to Tuc- Center in their 80-57 win over Ar- son.” izona last season. Miller was more vague when Mostly, this time, the Wildcats asked about Hazzard’s status. USC’s Isaiah Mobley, center, reaches for a rebound along with Arizona’s Zeke Nnaji, left, and Chase Jeter during just did it to themselves, with “I don’t know,” he said. “Per- the first half. The Wildcats outrebounded the Trojans 36-29, but hit only 16 of 57 shots, including just 3 of 26 USC essentially playing without sonal. I can’t really say much be- from 3-point range. UA is now 1.5 games behind Pac-12 leaders Oregon and UCLA with three games to go. center Nick Rakocevic, who re- yond that.” mained limited because of a virus The guy who had the most rel- that struck him during the team’s ative success for Arizona was no UP NEXT losses at Colorado and Utah last surprise: Zeke Nnaji shot 5 for 13 • Who: Arizona (19-9, 9-6) week. from the field while fending of at UCLA (18-11, 11-5) Arizona was without guards constant USC double teams, and • When: 8 p.m. Saturday Josh Green (lower back sprain) and he also hit 5 of 6 free throws to • TV: ESPN Max Hazzard (for personal rea- total 15 points and 11 rebounds, • Radio: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM sons), forcing it to go often with a a double-double on a team that bigger lineup featuring Stone Get- scored only 48 points. tings at small forward. For USC, Onyeka Okwongu had going scoreless with only one re- “It clearly hurt us, no doubt 11 points and 10 rebounds, includ- bound in 11 minutes. about it,” Miller said. “You re- ing a 72-foot bomb just before the “Nick had no energy,” USC ally feel as though we lost every halftime buzzer to give the Trojans coach Andy Enfield said. “He tried ounce of depth that we have, and a 26-21 lead at the break. to play and gave everything.” I thought guys who played their USC’s Jonah Mathews led the The loss dropped Arizona to hearts out, played with really good Trojans in scoring 14 points, after 19-9 overall and 9-6 in the Pac- efort. sufering a virus that struck him 12 heading into a game Saturday “But we clearly wore down and and Rakocevic hard last weekend. at UCLA, while USC improved to we didn’t shoot the ball well.” “It was the worst sickness I’ve 20-9 and 9-7. Green tried to practice earlier ever had,” said Mathews, saying UCLA beat Arizona State on this week after sustaining a sprain he’s about 75 percent healthy now. a late 3-pointer Thursday and is Arizona’s Nico Mannion, right, shoots as Nick Rakocevic defends during to his SI joint in his lower back – “I’m happy to be back to normal.” the second half. Mannion hit only 3 of 14 shots and finished with 11 points UA trainer Justin Kokoskie said he Rakocevic remained limited, See WILDCATS, AB2 in 37 minutes as the Wildcats stayed stuck on 19 wins. ARIZONA WILDCATS EDITIONE ARIZONA DAILY STAR | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2020 | PAGE AB2 E X T R A Editor: Ryan Finley | 520-573-4312 | [email protected]

USC 57, ARIZONA 48 SEEN AND HEARD FG FT Reb Arizona Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS AT THE GALEN CENTER Gettings 33 2-5 0-0 2-5 2 2 4 Lee 20 2-3 2-2 1-1 1 4 6 Cats go big Nnaji 33 5-13 5-6 5-11 0 1 15 Mannion 37 3-14 4-5 0-1 2 3 11 Arizona went without two key Smith 36 1-9 0-0 1-7 1 2 3 Baker 26 2-9 0-0 1-4 1 3 5 players Saturday, keeping the Jeter 8 1-3 2-2 0-3 0 2 4 Koloko 7 0-1 0-0 3-4 0 2 0 news wraps until just before Totals 200 16-57 13-15 13-36 7 19 48 gametime. The team acknowl- Percentages: FG .281, FT .867. 3-Point Goals: 3-26, .115 (Mannion 1-7, Smith 1-7, Baker 1-8, Gettings 0-1, Nnaji 0-3). edged an hour before the game Team Rebounds: 2. Team Turnovers: None. Blocked Shots: None. Turnovers: 15 (Baker 3, Nnaji 3, Smith 3, that Josh Green (sprained SI Lee 2, Mannion 2, Gettings, Jeter). Steals: 10 (Gettings 3, joint) would not play against USC Lee 2, Nnaji 2, Smith 2, Baker). Technical Fouls: None. — and revealed 10 minutes before FG FT Reb USC Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS tipof that Max Hazzard (personal Okongwu 34 3-7 4-4 2-10 0 2 11 reasons) wouldn’t play. Rakocevic 11 0-3 0-0 1-1 0 4 0 E.Anderson 29 3-6 1-2 0-0 2 2 7 As a result, the Wildcats came Mathews 33 4-10 5-6 0-5 2 2 14 Utomi 34 4-9 0-0 0-3 0 1 9 out with a starting lineup the Mobley 27 3-5 0-0 1-3 0 3 8 Trojans probably didn’t prepare Weaver 25 3-7 1-5 0-6 3 2 8 Agbonkpolo 5 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 for. Stone Gettings played small Totals 200 20-47 11-17 4-29 7 16 57 Percentages: FG .426, FT .647. 3-Point Goals: 6-20, .300 forward, with Ira Lee at power (Mobley 2-2, Okongwu 1-1, Utomi 1-4, Mathews 1-5, forward and Zeke Nnaji at center Weaver 1-5, E.Anderson 0-3). Team Rebounds: 5. Team Turnovers: 1. Blocked Shots: 5 (Okongwu 3, Rakocevic, — and Arizona jumped in front of Utomi). Turnovers: 14 (E.Anderson 5, Mobley 3, Mathews 2, Okongwu 2, Rakocevic, Utomi). Steals: 10 (E.Anderson USC 9-2 in the opening minutes. 4, Mobley 2, Weaver 2, Okongwu, Utomi). Technical Green felt pain in his SI joint Fouls: None. Arizona 21 27—28 earlier in the week. USC 26 31—57 A: 4,121. Ofcials: Kelly Pfeifer, John Gafney, Verne Harris He did not make the trip to Los Angeles because of it, and is unlikely to play Saturday against UCLA. The UA ofered no other WILDCATS details about Hazzard’s status, or Continued from Page AB1 when he might return. now tied with Oregon atop the They’re back conference. While the Wildcats were short- Without two key perimeter handed, the Trojans were close to players, Miller went with a big full strength after a virus zapped lineup out of necessity, start- starters Nick Rakocevic and ing Ira Lee at power forward and Jonah Mathews before, during moving Gettings from that spot and after USC’s loss at Utah last to the small forward. Backup cen- Saturday. ter Chase Jeter also received eight Listed at 6 feet 11 inches and minutes. 225 pounds, Rakocevic reported The Wildcats jumped out to an losing 16 pounds during the early 9-2 lead with that lineup, illness. Mathews, meanwhile, possibly in part because that line- missed part of the Utah game up was not what USC expected. when he went to the locker room “Definitely,” Lee said. “It’s a big- to throw up. ger lineup — 6-9, 6-8, 6-11, that’s Both started Thursday. a really big, agile lineup. I think However, guard Kyle Sturdivant that helped us a lot on the board missed the game because of the but it’s a new thing and we’re ad- recent death of his father. justing to it.” Arizona never built a lead big- Beating the trafc ger than that seven point advan- Just 14 miles separate USC’s tage, trailing by 16-14 with eight Galen Center and UCLA’s Pauley minutes left in the first half and Pavilion, but Arizona has found by five at halftime after Okwongu moving hotels between games launched his three-quarter court saves the Wildcats time. shot. The Wildcats stayed Wednes- “I just saw Nico missed a shot, day in downtown L.A., just over and I was working on (long) shots two miles away from USC. They with our (graduate assistants) after MARK J. TERRILL / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS checked out Thursday, drove to practice,” Okwongu said. “So I just Arizona’s Zeke Nnaji, center, shoots as USC’s Elijah Weaver, left, and Isaiah Mobley defend during the second half. USC to play, and then drove to took a chance. Got fouled. No call, Nnaji had 15 points and 11 rebounds but UA was outscored 55-39 after taking a quick 9-2 lead. Santa Monica late Thursday night. but it still went in anyways.” They’ll stay there until Saturday’s In the second half, Arizona fell er to cut USC’s lead to 43-38 with for 8 from 3 and even Nnaji, despite “We have a lot of depth,” Lee game at UCLA. behind 41-32 when Daniel Utomi 8:26 left and Nnaji hit a pair of free his usual efciency inside, fired up said. “It’s not like last year. We’ve The move minimizes the hit a 3-pointer with 11:55 left, throws that brought UA within 50- three 3s and missed them all. got a lot of guys who could play. It Wildcats’ time in trafc, while also though Utomi gave it back when 46 but the Wildcats came no closer In the end, Lee said he didn’t was just tonight shots weren’t fall- allowing them to stay in a resort he fouled Nico Mannion behind in the final minutes. think the loss of Green and Haz- ing. near the beach before the UCLA the 3-point line on the other end — Mannion finished just 3 of 14 zard disrupted the Wildcats that “We were playing great defense. game. Arizona will practice Friday and Mannion hit all three ensuing from the field, while he and Dylan much, not like last season, at least. We’re getting stops. We know our at a nearby high school, since free throws. Smith were both 1 for 7 from Even if something was clearly scouting report. It’s just shots Pauley Pavilion is being used — Mannion later hit a 3-point- 3-point range. Jemarl Baker was 1 wrong. weren’t falling, especially from 3.” the UCLA women’s basketball team is hosting Colorado. Ryan Reynolds, the UA’s director of basketball operations, said PAC-12 ROUNDUP the late-afternoon workout will allow the Wildcats to stay in their between-game routine. “It’s more about time than Last-second 3 lifts UCLA into tie for first location for us anyway,” Reynolds said. “Having a late-afternoon THE ASSOCIATED PRESS California pulled away in the sec- practice allows us to watch the LOS ANGELES — Jaime ond half. film (before) and lets the guys Jarquez’s 3-pointer with .6 sec- Kareem South had 19 points sleep.” onds remaining gave UCLA a 75- and Paris Austin added 12 as the 72 victory over Arizona State on Golden Bears (12-16, 6-9 Pac-12) Mannion’s stock still high Thursday night and put the Bruins emphatically ended a five-game One of the most frequent in a share of the Pac-12 Conference losing streak against the Bufaloes questions we receive about the lead. and gave first-year coach Mark Wildcats these days is whether Jarquez was one of five UCLA Fox his most significant win of the Nico Mannion is actually an NBA players in double figures with 13 season while handing Colorado a lottery pick. points. The Bruins (18-11), who stinging setback. We passed that one over to were 8-9 and 1-3 in the conference McKinley Wright IV scored 18 ESPN draft analyst Mike Schmitz, at one point, have won six straight points and Tyler Bey had 13 for who was on hand for Thursday’s and eight of their last nine to share Colorado. game. the conference lead with Oregon at The Bufaloes (21-8, 10-6) were Schmitz told the Star that NBA 11-5. among a handful of teams who be- scouts aren’t just drawing on Jake Kyman tied a career high 21 gan the night a half-game behind Mannion’s Arizona performances, points, with 19 coming in the first conference-leading Arizona State. having seen him play well for the half, and Jalen Hill added 13 for the The Sun Devils played at UCLA Italian national team and in the Bruins. RINGO H.W. CHIU / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS later Thursday. Hoop Summit, when he outplayed Tyger Campbell tied it at 72 UCLA guard Jaime Jaquez Jr., second from left, celebrates with teammates Cal’s win came nearly a year to Cole Anthony. with a free throw in the final min- after his late 3-pointer knocked ASU out of first place. the day after its previous one over “They have a familiarity with ute but the Bruins were called for a Top 25 team, a 76-73 victory him,” Schmitz said. “Of course, a lane violation on the second at- NO. 14 OREGON 69, with 13 points, including a trio against No. 25 Washington on Feb. he’s going to need to play better tempt. Remy Martin — who scored OREGON STATE 54 of 3s, while Mathis led the Ducks 25, 2019. to (keep his draft stock high). a game-high 30 points — missed a EUGENE, Ore. — Payton with 11, also hitting three 3-point- The Bears led nearly the en- He’s got to make more shots, he’s 3-pointer, which set the stage for Pritchard scored 15 of his 23 points ers. tire game and pulled away after got to defend more and he’s got Jarquez’s game-winner. in the second half and Oregon Mathis was back in the starting the Bufaloes scored the first two to play better. Hopefully he can do Rob Edwards added 23 for the pulled away to win by 15. lineup with Chris Duarte out after buckets of the second half. those things.” Sun Devils (19-9, 10-5), who had Oregon (22-7, 11-5 Pac-12) had undergoing a surgical procedure Bradley, who appeared to hurt Both Mannion and fellow pro- their seven-game winning streak only a four-point halftime lead but earlier in the day for a broken fin- his elbow shortly after the break, jected first-rounder Josh Green snapped. started the second half with a 22-4 ger sustained almost a month ago. spearheaded the surge in nearly also have unusual athleticism Arizona State jumped out to a run to send the Beavers (15-13, 5-11) Oregon scored the first five every way. that few players in the projected 24-14 lead before UCLA responded to their fourth consecutive defeat. points of the second half for its big- He made a shot just inside the 2020 class possess, and Schmitz with 11 straight points as part of an Will Richardson added 15 points gest lead of the game to that point 3-point line, then later had a 16- noted that “it’s hard to find guys 18-2 run. Kyman scored 14 during for the Ducks, including 13 in the at 34-25. The lead was 10 when the foot fadeaway. Bradley added a with that profile.” the rally, including three straight second half as he and Pritchard Ducks went on a 9-0 spurt, aided 3-pointer, then stole the ball from Schmitz, a Scottsdale native 3-pointers. A 3 by Edwards pulled combined for 28 of Oregon’s 40 by three OSU turnovers in a span Evan Battey and sparked a fast and UA grad, spent two seg- Arizona State within 36-35 with points after the break. Anthony of four possessions, for a 45-28 break ending in a 3 by Paris Austin ments on air Thursday night with 1:04 remaining before the Bruins Mathis finished with 13. advantage seven minutes into the that made it 56-40. broadcasters Dave Pasch and Bill scored the final five points to go up Ethan Thompson led Oregon second half. Colorado, coming of a 70-63 Walton. Schmitz showed of his 41-35 at halftime. State with 15 points and Tres Tin- Pritchard and Richardson hit loss to UCLA, got within 12 with floral-lined sportcoat to Walton, UCLA extended its lead to nine kle had 14 points and 10 rebounds. 3-pointers on consecutive Oregon 3½ minutes remaining before and shared a years-old selfie of with 11:44 remaining on a dunk Zach Reichle scored 11 and Kylor possessions as the lead reached Paris Austin scored on a reverse for him and the basketball legend. by Hill but the Sun Devils went Kelly added 10. 51-29. The Beavers never got closer California. on a 14-4 rally to grab a 60-58 ad- Oregon led 29-25 at halftime than the final score. Colorado trailed until Siewert The big number vantage three minutes later as Ed- as both teams struggled shoot- made back-to-back 3s midway wards powered the run with eight ing. The Ducks shot 36% in the CALIFORNIA 76, through the first half. Bradley fol- 72 Estimated length, in feet, points. first half despite making five of 11 NO. 21 COLORADO 62 lowed with consecutive 3s for Cal, of USC forward Onyeka Okwongu The lead would change hands 3-pointers, while the Beavers were BERKELEY, Calif. — Matt Brad- including one that ended in a four- buzzer-beating heave before four times over the final eight min- at 38%. ley matched his career highs of 26 point play after he was fouled by halftime. utes. Thompson paced the Beavers points and five 3-pointers, and Bey. — Bruce Pascoe