Seen and heard in San Diego: McKale West, Krivas' jaw-dropper and pizza at Othick's place

Arizona beat Iowa State 82-80 in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals on March 13 despite rowdy Cyclones fans turning Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center into something comparable to Iowa State’s Hilton Coliseum.

Then, after earning the right to play in San Diego by earning a No. 1 NCAA Touranment seed, the Wildcats took care of LIU before UA fans that filled up about two-thirds of the Viejas Arenas crowd.

“I saw the majority of U of A fans,” freshman Dwayne Aristode said. “It did feel like a little bit of home game for sure.”

It was even more special for UA freshman Brayden Burries, who was playing just two hours (plus traffic, of course) from his hometown of San Bernardino. It was Burries’ second college game in Southern California, but he had just five points while shooting 1 of 6 from 3-point range against UCLA in Los Angeles, back on Nov. 14 when he was struggling to begin his college career.

Burries said he knew his mom, dad and sisters were on hand but wasn’t sure how many total friends and family.

“It was great being back in Cali,” Burries said. “The weather’s great. Got to see my people. It was great.”

Bradley not concerned

UA point guard Jaden Bradley appeared compromised when he had to return to the Big 12 championship game against Houston with a protective wrap around his left index finger after jamming his finger earlier in the game.

But he had no such trouble Friday, having had six days to work with UA trainer Justin Kokoskie and get acclimated to the wrap in practice. Bradley had seven points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.

“We did some treatment on it, taped it up to give it some support,” Bradley said. “It’s all good.”

7-foot wizard

Trailing Motiejus Krivas into the paint early in the second half as the big man took the ball under the basket, Koa Peat had a thought that maybe he would finish the play.

Just not via the sort of assist he received.

Krivas dished a no-look pass directly behind him, setting up Peat for a layup that gave Arizona a 55-29 lead.

“I’m just being ready,” Peat said. “If my man goes and doubles, Mo’s probably gonna hit me or hit the skip. He made a great behind-the-back pass. That was a great read.”

The two players grinned at each other as they ran back on defense, and Krivas had even more fun with it in the locker room afterward.

“Just happened,” Krivas said, smiling when he added: “We had film session of behind-the-back pass.”

Wildcat fam 

While speaking as he often does about being a "servant" to the proud Arizona program, UA coach Tommy Lloyd mentioned that he experienced it in yet another way Wednesday.

That was when he and other UA coaches took their families to the Crust Pizzeria that former UA standout Matt Othick owns in Solana Beach. Several others tied to the program also showed up.

"I think (Othick) told anybody that had any affiliation with the Arizona Wildcats to show up, because I was expecting a small little get-together of a few players," Lloyd said. "But man, the place was hopping. It was great to hang out with guys like (former UA players) Jud Buechler and Kevin Flanagan. These guys are great Wildcats. They're the fabric to our program.

"So it's something that I don't take lightly. It's an honor to be at the helm of the program. Trust me, every day I think about it's my job to honor and respect this program and move it forward in the direction that makes our supporters and our former players proud."

No room for EMOY

Because the NCAA allows only 22 players and coaches to sit on the team bench, the Wildcats weren’t able to get the full energy of ever-demonstrative equipment manager Brian Brigger.

Brigger and performance enhancement coach Chris Rounds were among the several UA staffers who operated behind a barrier between the bench area and public seating. But Brigger, commonly known as “EMOY” (Equipment Manager of the Year), wasn’t complaining.

“I got enough energy behind them,” Brigger said. “We’re good.”

Frequent flyer

With eight of his conference’s teams in the NCAA Tournament, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has a good problem to have.

He has to figure out where to be.

“Saw Houston last night and I’m just moving around,” Yormark said just before the Wildcats and Sharks tipped off Friday.

Yormark took in the game from the second row behind the scorers table, sitting next to UA athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois.

Houston blew out Idaho 78-47 on Thursday in Oklahoma City.

The big number 

28: The most minutes played by any Arizona player against LIU on Friday, when the Wildcats were able to rest their rotation players somewhat for their game Sunday against Utah State.

Quotable 

"This is a moment, a lifetime moment. They're going to always remember this. Whenever they go back to New York or they come back to LIU, people will remember them for building a culture. And so I'm proud and I'm happy for them for that." — LIU coach Rod Strickland on players in a program that won only three games just three years earlier