Arizona Basketball: Arizona defeats Clevveland State

For the Arizona Wildcats, a season-long saga of the surreal is evolving into an epic of the exceptional.

By defeating Cleveland State 71-57 on Sunday for a second consecutive double-digit victory in the NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats of interim head coach Russ Pennell have advanced to the Sweet 16. They’ll take their 2008-09 Theater of the Bizarre on an unforeseen expedition to Indianapolis for at least one more spotlight performance, a regional semifinal on Friday against top-seeded Louisville.

“I’m extremely proud of the guys and happy that the outcome of the game was in our favor,” Pennell said following the win over Cleveland State. “Making the Sweet 16, that’s kind of a benchmark for teams.”

It’s also a plateau that few believed the Wildcats could reach after the team was stunned by the late-October retirement of head coach Lute Olson, was staggered by a series of last-minute defeats during the early and middle portions of the season, and was nearly knocked out by a stretch of five losses in six games prior to Selection Sunday.

Under the direction of Pennell, who was named interim head coach on Oct. 24 (the day after Olson retired due to health reasons), the Wildcats have persevered. They cashed in during the NCAA Tournament’s opening weekend first by dispatching the Utah Utes (by a score of 84-71 on Friday) and then by eliminating the Cleveland State Vikings.

“They’ve been a lot of fun to coach,” Pennell said. “They’re fun to be around, and they genuinely have had a good time. And so for us to get another week of basketball, guaranteed at least one more game, that’s a real blessing and we’re looking forward to that.”

Junior point guard Nic Wise took center stage for the Wildcats (21-13) in Sunday’s second-round Midwest Region matchup at American Airlines Center in Miami, finishing with game highs of 21 points and eight assists for the 12 th-seeded Wildcats in their wire-to-wire victory over the 13 th-seeded Vikings (26-11).

“He’s the best with the pick-and-roll, and he’s been showing it all this season,” Arizona junior wing Chase Budinger said about Wise, who also grabbed five rebounds. “He’s really showing it in the postseason right now, and he’s stepping up for us big-time and being one of our huge players.”

“The thing about Wise is he’s not only quick with the ball, he makes great decisions while he’s moving at the type of speed he’s moving at,” said Arizona sophomore forward Jamelle Horne. “I think that’s one of the things that makes him so special.”

“He’s a very quick point guard, very shifty with the ball,” said Cleveland State guard Norris Cole, who led the Vikings with 17 points. “It was difficult keeping him out of the paint. That was our plan, try to make him go east and west and not north and south, and he’s a very quick point guard. I don’t know how people rate him or anything, but from all the guards that I’ve checked this year, he's definitely one of the more difficult guards.”

Budinger and junior forward/center Jordan Hill have shared the Wildcats’ top billing with Wise throughout the season. Hill contributed 16 points and nine rebounds on Sunday, while Budinger added 15 points and five rebounds. Horne, a key member of Arizona’s supporting cast, enjoyed one of his best games, also finishing with 15 points and five rebounds.

After jumping ahead 7-0 on a three-pointer by Horne, a reverse layup by Budinger and a pair of free throws by Wise, the Wildcats led for the duration of the contest. They extended the margin to 20-10 on a fastbreak dunk and subsequent free throw by Hill, and they ended the first half with a 35-25 advantage.

After Cleveland State pulled to within 56-52 on a three-point basket by Trevon Harmon with 6:27 remaining, the Wildcats responded with a 15-5 run to close out the game. Wise began the clinching surge with a three-pointer, and he followed by making two free throws on Arizona’s next possession.

Wise put the exclamation point on the victory with a fastbreak layup with 50 seconds remaining to stretch the Wildcats’ lead to 69-54.

“What’s happening now doesn’t surprise me with this team,” Pennell said following the Wildcats’ 71-57 triumph. “We’ve seen it before at points in the season.”

The upcoming trip to the regional semifinals in Indianapolis is especially rewarding for Arizona’s core of veterans who were recruited by Olson but have played for three coaches in three years -- Olson in 2006-07, interim coach Kevin O’Neill in 2007-08 and Pennell this season.

“I don’t think anybody signed up for what has happened, especially me, Nic and Jordan coming here three years ago,” Budinger said. “We thought we would be playing for one coach our whole college career. You know, things change on you. You just have to go with it and stay positive, and I think that’s what we’ve done.

“You know, making it to the Sweet 16, it feels great for us,” Budinger said. “We have the team to do it, and we’re showing that we’re a lot better than what people thought of us.”

“That’s to me the most enjoyable part of coaching,” said Pennell, a former assistant at Arizona State whom Olson hired to the Arizona staff in May 2008. “So to see them happy, looking forward to playing again next weekend, that’s where I’m getting my joy right now. And I’m sure as I reflect on the flight home, it may kind of sink in that I’m going to be coaching next weekend in the Sweet 16.”

NCAA Tournament second round: #12 Arizona vs #13 Cleveland State