At first glance, Jordan Hill’s team-high 16 points and game-high 15 rebounds and three blocks look impressive. You probably wouldn’t be able to tell that the junior forward had a dismal first half, offensively.

Hill didn’t score in the first half, though he pulled down six rebounds and had two blocks in Wednesday night’s 53-47 loss to No. 17 ASU.

“”In the second half I came out, and I just felt like my team needed me more, so I just came out and gave them my effort,”” Hill said.

For nearly 10-and-a-half minutes in the second half, Hill scored 14 straight Wildcat points. He finished the game shooting 5-for-16 from the floor.

“”I thought Jordan had some awful good looks inside,”” said UA interim head coach Russ Pennell. “”I didn’t see a lot of his explosiveness like I’ve seen before, and I think a lot of that is credited to (ASU).

“”(Jeff) Pendergraph is long, and I thought he got into Jordan’s lower body a lot – and I’m not saying it was fouls; it was good defense, and that’s how you coach it – and Jordan had a hard time getting a lift.””

Jacobson gets second career start

Arizona center Alex Jacobson earned his second career start in place of Kyle Fogg, and Zane Johnson started for Jamelle Horne for the second straight game.

Jacobson played 8 minutes and scored one point.

“”I just wanted to change it up a little bit,”” Pennell said. “”He had a nice game against USC, and I thought he gave us a little bit of size against (ASU’s) zone. He can kind of wedge in there and do some things.””

Pennell said the team is getting physically tired and worn down, but he didn’t use four of his players, including Garland Judkins, who started four games early in the season.

“”To our bench’s credit, they’ve improved and I feel a lot more confident putting them in,”” said Pennell, who used three bench players.

Playful rivals

The first half of the game opened up as a physical, defensive battle with multiple no-calls from the referees. Both Budinger and Johnson were knocked over in the first 4 minutes of the game, but no whistle was blown.

Two minutes into the second half, though, ASU guard James Harden got playfully physical.

He gave ASU a 22-21 lead when he made a short jumper, but UA guard Nic Wise was called for a foul on the play. Harden got up from the floor smiling and gave Wise – who was also smiling – a playful pat on the butt, then knocked down his free throw.

ASU’s cheerful

ASU brought along its cheerleading squad, despite the rumor that the school’s athletic director, Lisa Love, had cut the cheer program altogether.

Last spring, a photo of six females in their underwear was published on a gossip Web site and the women were identified as ASU cheerleaders. Several publications reported the program had been cut because of the photo.

But the cheer squad is now under the oversight of the marching band director rather than the marketing department, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Presidential times

Michael Crow, ASU’s president, sat with UA President Robert Shelton on Scholarship Row.

Under the direction of Crow, ASU has established many research programs, such as the Biodesign Institute, the Global Institute for Sustainability, and MacroTechnology Works.

Ooh, Ahh: The cleaned-up version

The Ooh Ahh man made his third appearance of the season, coming onto the floor for his routine with the score tied at 32. His act, however, was more conservative than usual; There was no stripping.