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Arizona Wildcats vs Washington State Cougars Basketball Recap

Arizona 79, Washington State 70

With performances like this, many may start to think that Arizona star Derrick Williams is more than just a man. Sporting a bulky cast which, at first glance, turned the forward into a bionic caricature, Williams was the difference maker on both sides of the floor as Arizona won its seventh straight game and set the Wildcats up for a showdown with the only other Pac-10 school with double digit conference wins, the Washington Huskies. With the victory head coach Sean Miller’s Wildcats have now won 14 straight games at home at the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona.

This home victory, however, did not come as easy as the past few for the Wildcats. The Pac-10’s leading scorer, Klay Thompson, was every bit the star Williams was on Thursday night. Thompson scored a game-high 30 points on 11-of-24 shooting, including 5-of-8 beyond the arc. Thompson’s individual performance was overshadowed by a poor Cougar start to the second half. Trailing by eight at the break (41-33), the Cougars surrendered the first nine points of the second and found themselves in a 17- point hole after Williams dunked home a pass assisted by Solomon Hill.

This Arizona squad is beginning to stir the echoes from past Wildcat greats with its ability to score. Having a player with the capability of Derrick Williams certainly doesn’t hurt. Williams was supremely efficient on the evening, scoring 26 points on 7-of-10 shooting, adding a 12-for-12 performance from the charity stripe, and pulling down a game-high eight rebounds. All of this was done in 33 minutes of action.

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Washington State head coach Ken Bone had to be pleased with the way his squad responded to adversity despite getting down by double digits multiple times in each half. It was Thompson’s ability to take over a ballgame which kept the Cougars in the contest in the first stanza. Having fallen behind by 17, Thompson scored 11 points in the final three-plus minutes to bring the game back within striking distance. The Cougars got within five points with 6:01 left in the second half (64-59), but the Wildcats answered with another mini-run to put the game out of reach. DeAngelo Castro added 14 points and 6 rebounds for the Cougars.

The Wildcats, who improved to 20-0 when leading at the half, continue to play tremendous basketball at the right time. Arizona has now won 14 of its last 16 games and is looking more and more like a team to be reckoned with come NCAA Tournament time. If the “bionic man” Derrick Williams can play this way with limited mobility in his shooting hand, Arizona fans have to salivating at the possibilities for this team come March.

By Zach Bloxham
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer