Sean Miller won 300 games with the Arizona Wildcats and perhaps none were as important to his future with the program.
Arizona led in the last 28 minutes, defeating Pac-12 leader USC 81-72 on Saturday afternoon at the Galen Center in Los Angeles to break the Trojans’ seven-game winning streak in 17th place. It was the Wildcats’ first road victory over a ranked (if not ranked) opponent since taking down Washington in Pullman in 2008.
James Akinjo had 20 points and 7 assists, making up for a 0 in 9 performance at home defeat to USC last month, while Azuolas Tubelis had 16 points and 15 rebounds and Jordan Brown added 19 and 13 off the bench. It was the first time that Arizona has had two players with doubles since Stone Gettings and Zeke Nnaji did this in Washington state last February.
The UA (15-8, 9-8 Pac-12) broke the skid of two games and won only the third time in eight games, despite not having made a field goal in the final 6:09, instead of 14 of 16 on the dirty line. Akinjo made 7 of 8 during that period, while the Wildcats were 15 of 19 in the second half, after trying only four free throws in the first half.
Arizona led 37-31 at the interval, but that advantage went away a few minutes later. Freshman Evan Mobley, the chosen one in the 2.13 meter lottery who gave only two shots in the first half, scored the first eight points of the USC, including a 3-point to tie 39 with 17:14 remaining.
Mobley finished with 23 points, 19 in the second half.
A faster pace allowed the UA to step back and build a 57-49 lead with 12:06 remaining in 3 consecutive seconds. Dalen Terry, who had not made a triple since January 30 and had not made two baskets in the previous five games.
The Wildcats were in 60-52 when a crucial series that could have changed USC’s path. Kerr Kriisa had a 3-point entry and exit, so Christian Koloko walked after collecting the offensive rebound. In subsequent possession Ira Lee soiled Isaiah Mobley in the act of shooting, and when the play ended Koloko pushed USC’s Chavez Goodwin to the ground and was hit by a technical contact fault.
Isaiah Mobley made his two free throws, but Noah Baumann missed the two technical shots. USC (18-4, 12-3) retained possession and entered the double bonus, making 1 of 2 free throws, to arrive within 60-55.
Even so, Arizona didn’t give up, instead scoring 7 consecutive points with a Kriisa feeding Koloko in pick-and-roll for a one-handed dunk to raise 12 with 6:09 to finish. The Wildcats then maintained at least an eight-point lead the rest of the way, hitting their free throws and taking care of the ball, making just three turns in the final 22 minutes of play.
USC scored in its first three possessions, evoking images of UCLA’s 73 percent firing in the second half on Thursday. But Arizona held the Trojans goalless for the next four minutes to take the lead and ended up holding most of the first half.
Three consecutive points from Akinjo and Tubelis put Arizona on 27-21 with 6:28 left in the first half, so Jordan Brown’s layup on an Akinjo feed gave the Wildcats a 33-25 lead with 3:59 remaining.
300 from Millerº victory came in his 408º game in Arizona, the third smallest number of coaches in the history of the Pac-10/12 to reach 300 wins. Fight Olson and legendary Washington coach Hec Edmondson needed 395 games while John Wooden necessary 425.
Arizona returns home for its last game weekend, hosting Washington State at 9 pm MST on Thursday.