Once the Washington Huskies hit the McKale Center floor Thursday, it was obvious Arizona had two main advantages: Size and, of course, fans.
But defense? And zone defense?
It all played out during Arizona’s 99-67 victory Thursday, giving the Wildcats a 48th straight home-court win and a much-needed antidote to last weekend’s rough Los Angeles trip, when Arizona lost by three at UCLA and to USC in four overtimes.
First, the Wildcats pounded the ball inside to Ryan Anderson and Kaleb Tarczewski, who combined for 37 points and 22 rebounds.
Then, after leading just 44-41 at halftime, the Wildcats predictably fed off an overcapacity crowd of 14,479 fans and took leads of up to 35 points.
Meanwhile, after allowing Washington to shoot 51.5 percent in the first half, the Wildcats tightened up defensively — while throwing in a surprising zone defense that UA coach Sean Miller dislikes but, on some occasions, can’t live without.
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So it is. Zonies, at least for a few possessions.
“I don’t think we have a choice,” Miller said. “We have to be able to show that. We have to mix it in.”
Miller said UA has been experimenting with zone in practice all season and certainly faced a lot of it in the nonconference season. But after last weekend’s trip, when UA dropped two games and lost leading scorer Allonzo Trier to a broken hand, Miller said, the Wildcats really cranked it up.
“We have to use it. We don’t have enough depth,” Miller said. “At times we want to put a different group on the court, and illustrate the good characteristics of that group out there.”
Indeed, Miller went often with big players Thursday in an effort to counter Washington’s athleticism, even keeping 7-footers Tarczewski and Dusan Ristic in the game together at times.
While Tarczewski totaled 16 points and 13 rebounds, Ristic totaled eight points and three steals.
“Kaleb was unbelievable,” Anderson said. “We’re bigger than most teams and we’ve got to use that to our advantage.”
With 21 points and nine rebounds, Anderson wasn’t half-bad, either. Especially after he was limited to just five points and eight rebounds at USC on Saturday.
“It was the coaches and the players telling me to be positive and play hard,” Anderson said.
The way Miller explained it, why wouldn’t they? UA coaches knew Anderson has been remarkably consistent, and they knew he had a competitive fire that had to be burning up after that L.A. trip.
“Ryan’s been our best player from start to finish,” Miller said. “He didn’t play well against USC, and nobody knows that more than him. … When you lose the game, lose in overtime and lose in Los Angeles, where you’re from, it stings a little.
“He’s having an excellent season. So it was `Hey, put that one behind you.’ ”
Anderson was particularly productive early in the game when the Wildcats needed it most.
Arizona struggled with the Huskies most of the first half, and even trailed by three points with two minutes to go before halftime, trying to adjust in their first game without Trier.
“Everybody had a different role,” Miller said. “Allonzo’s been the focal point. It’s almost like it took 20 minutes for everyone to take a deep breath.”
UA had a three-point lead at halftime, but after Washington’s Noah Dickerson scored inside 35 seconds into the second half, the Wildcats immediately began clamping down defensively. Washington missed seven of its next eight shots while UA went on a 12-2 run from there, taking a 56-45 lead by the time Kadeem Allen hit a three-pointer with 15:17 left.
Arizona extended its run to 22-4 after Mark Tollefsen hit his third three-pointer of the game, with 12:39 left then Gabe York tipped the ball in with 11:40 left, giving the Wildcats a 19-point lead.
Tollefsen wound up scoring 11 points on 3-for-3 three-point shooting, including two in a row during the second half, much to Miller’s relief.
“Without Allonzo, Mark has to shoot the ball,” Miller said. Even “if Allonzo’s playing, he’s still one of our team’s best shooters. His stretch broke the game open.”
The Wildcats shot 70.4 percent after halftime and 60.3 percent from the game. Arizona out-rebounded Washington 43-26, and also beat the Huskies at their game a little: Even though Washington often fuels its offense with defensive havoc, Arizona scored 24 points off Washington’s 15 turnovers.
The win moved Arizona to 14-3 overall and 2-2 in the Pac-12, while extending its winning streak at home. The Wildcats will next face Washington State at McKale Center on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Washington dropped to 11-5 and 3-1.
The game was being played during a potentially big recruiting week for the Wildcats. Not only was four-star Australian forward Harry Froling in attendance at McKale Center, but the Wildcats are now reportedly a favorite to land five-star guard Kobi Simmons of Georgia on Saturday.
