The Killer Bs gave a hint of dominating performances to come in McKale Center last night, even as they did it for a “”C”” team.

Sophomore Chase Budinger and freshman Jerryd Bayless combined for 42 points in the No. 17 men’s basketball team’s 96-73 win over Team Georgia.

In a sloppy exhibition game by both teams, the Wildcats had 23 turnovers and hit just 51.6 percent of their shots, while Team Georgia had 21 turnovers and shot 39.1 percent.

“”We have a lot of things we need to work on,”” said Bayless, a guard. “”Offensively, we struggled. Defensively, we struggled. I’d give it a ‘C’ if I had to give us a grade on the game.””

Arizona went into the half leading 45-35 after trailing for the first nine minutes of the game. It was an odd showing from a squad that averaged a 35-point margin of victory over Team Georgia – which is made up of former college players – the last three years.

Arizona trailed 7-0 to start the game.

“”We didn’t come out focused,”” said guard Nic Wise, who had five assists off the bench. “”You can’t start off 7-0 like that against good teams. It was an exhibition game but it’s not gonna get easier from here on out. We gotta figure out what we’re doing wrong and handle that and we’ll be fine.””

Tied at 22 in the first half, Budinger drained three of his game-high 22 points to start a 23-8 rally. Seconds later, Wise tossed an alley-oop to Bayless that brought the crowd of 13,680 to its feet.

It was one of seven dunks for the Wildcats and the first of two oops – the second going to Budinger.

“”Those dunks get the crowd excited and they get us excited,”” Bayless said. “”We needed that boost of energy.””

Frustration from Team Georgia loomed as head coach Al Outlaw received a technical foul with 9:53 left in the game for yelling at a referee after UA forward Jamelle Horne – making his first college start – blocked a shot. Outlaw thought it was goaltending.

It was one of three technicals for Team Georgia. One was issued for a player not checking in and another was called against Brandon Childs for intentionally pulling down guard Jawann McClellan as he went up for a shot.

Team Georgia received 24 fouls to Arizona’s 26.

“”It was physical out there,”” said Horne, who had three fouls, “”but it was a good experience to see that early because that’s what we’re going to see in our regular-season games.””

Horne finished with 16 points and nine rebounds.

Forward Jordan Hill played for just 2:09 in the first half after grabbing early two fouls.

“”Jordan can’t get into foul trouble like that,”” said Arizona interim head coach Kevin O’Neill. “”If he does, it’s a question of who to go with off the bench – go with a bigger guy or a smaller guy.””

O’Neill went smaller, putting forward Bret Brielmaier in the game. He was one of 12 players to see floor time. Only Lucas Spencer and David Bagga rode the pine the whole game, despite “”Da-vid Bag-ga”” chants from the crowd.

But O’Neill couldn’t play everyone, especially with the surges by Budinger and Bayless

Budinger

went 9-of-17 from the floor and added nine rebounds. Bayless drained five of 13 shots and made all eight of his free throws.

“”Me and Chase definitely have a connection,”” Bayless said. “”We know where each other will be at, and we try to give each other the ball as much as possible.

“”I’m not going to lie, Chase didn’t play that well,”” Bayless added. “”I didn’t play that well. I had three turnovers. That’s very uncharacteristic of me. I need to pick up my slack, he needs to pick up his slack, and we’ll get it all together by Tuesday (for the season opener).””

And 1

Forward Fendi Onobun was not at the game. O’Neill said Onobun came late for treatment for his shin splints, so he sent him home. … Freshman Zane Johnson was still out with a head injury and wore street clothes. O’Neill said he is unsure of
Johnson’s status.

Guardian Davis sees bright future ahead for Tangara

UA forward Mohamed Tangara has not done much on the basketball court for the Wildcats entering his fourth year in the program.

But Team Georgia assistant coach Linzy Davis, his legal guardian, still feels Tangara’s college years have prepared him to win at the game of life, so long as Tangara finishes his education with a degree.

“”He’s going to have a tremendous career ahead of him as it relates to being able to play basketball,”” said Davis, who expects Tangara to play professionally in Europe. “”And then when basketball is over and the air comes out of the ball, he’ll continue on because he has a degree from the University of Arizona. He’s got options.””

Davis stresses that Tangara must make the most of any opportunity he gets, whether it’s one minute or 30 minutes.

“”He wants to play, he wants to contribute and feels like he can’t contribute (due to lack of playing time), but to be able to do that you have to have opportunity,”” Davis said after Tangara grabbed one rebound in four scoreless minutes last night.

– Michael Schwartz