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Saturday, March 31
Wildcats get near-perfect balance
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – At the start of the season, Loren Woods
proclaimed Arizona perhaps "the greatest college team ever."
With the Wildcats' phenomenal show of quickness, spectacular
athleticism and near-perfect balance from the starting five, the
statement seemed no exaggeration in an 80-61 rout Saturday of
Michigan State in the NCAA semifinals.
"Words cannot explain," Richard Jefferson said. "We've been
through so much this year. I think this whole team has kind of a
calm about us, because we knew things were going to work out."
Jefferson soared to block a shot to start the game, and Woods
blocked one at the half.
Then Michael Wright, who had vanished in the previous game and a
half, burst to life in the second half.
All five starters average in double figures, and each had a big
hand in the humbling of the defending national champions.
"We had five guys in double figures for the umpteenth time in
the last two years," Jefferson said, "probably more times than
any other team in the country. That's our thing – balance."
Jefferson scored 16 of his 17 in the second half. Wright scored
13, all in the second half. Jason Gardner scored 21, 13 in the
first half. Woods, the much-maligned center, was everywhere with 11
points and eight rebounds.
Oh, and Gilbert Arenas, the leading scorer on the season for
Arizona, had 12 points, seven assists and six steals. Late in the
game, he was knocked to the floor by Michigan State's burly Zach
Randolph on a screen and left with an injured shoulder. He returned
to help seal the victory, but was unavailable for interviews while
receiving postgame treatment.
Afterward, he went into the stands with a big ice pack on the
shoulder.
"It's a team," coach Lute Olson said. "We have to count on
everybody that we have to do the job. In the first half, Michael
was having problems, so it wasn't surprising the first offensive
set in the second half went to Michael. We followed that up with
another one to Michael, and we got some momentum going out of him
to add to what we already had going with the perimeter guys."
Arizona had more steals than turnovers, 12 to eight.
"This team is very quick and plays great defense," Olson said.
"People seemed surprised about that, but we're a very good
defensive team."
Eugene Edgerson, the retro-warhorse with the Afro and 1970s
shoes – a member of Arizona's 1997 national title team – was strong
off the bench, and ended the game with a slam-dunk rebound.
Playing mostly a zone defense instead of its usual man-to-man,
the Wildcats may have surprised the Spartans, the 7-foot-1 Woods
and the rest of the Arizona front line lifted their arms like
tentacles around the basket.
On the perimeter, the quickness of Jefferson, Arenas and Gardner
resulted in steal after steal after – usually capped by a
spectacular dunk. The Wildcats had 12 steals, nine in the second
half.
Remember, all five Arizona starters were nominated in the
preseason for the John Wooden Award as player of the year. Against
Michigan State, they showed why.
Leading just 32-30 at halftime despite seeming in control, the
Wildcats outscored Michigan State 21-3 to start the second half to
go up 53-33 on Jefferson's 3-pointer with 14:10 remaining.
Wright, the team's second-leading scorer, had taken just one
shot, and missed, in the first half after going without a shot in
Arizona's victory over Illinois in the Midwest Regional final.
He scored 11 in the first 6:50 of the second half.
The Wildcats have won 11 in a row. They are 18-2 since coach
Lute Olson returned from a leave-of-absence following the death of
his wife, Bobbi, of ovarian cancer Jan. 1.
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