In the culmination of the Pac-12 Tournament, No. 5 overall and top-seeded Arizona (30-3) will take on the Oregon Ducks (25-8) on Saturday in the Pac-12 Tournament championship game.
Fresh off a 70-64 win over fourth-seeded UCLA in the semifinals, Arizona is looking for its first Pac-12 Tournament championship under coach Sean Miller. The Wildcats have lost in the championship game each of the past two years.
“We’ve been in a championship game four times in the last five years, and you don’t have to ask me how it feels because we haven’t won it; we know that,” Miller said. “We’ll see what we can do [on Friday]. We know whoever we play … it’s going to be a great game.”
Meanwhile Oregon continues to build on a strong second half to the season. The Ducks got to the championship game by defeating Utah 67-64 in the second semifinal matchup. Oregon guard and Pac-12 Player of the Year Joe Young hit a 3-pointer with about one second remaining to send the Ducks to the championship game.
Young scored a game-high 25 points, including 18 points in the second half alone, and will be the primary focus for the Arizona defense.
“They have a lot of young players and Joseph Young has carried that team,” Miller said. “We’re well aware of how well they’ve been playing.”
With wing defenders like Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Stanley Johnson and T.J. McConnell, Arizona fared well in the two regular season matchups with Oregon this season. The Wildcats defeated Oregon 80-62 in Eugene, Ore., and 90-56 in Tucson, Ariz.
In both games Arizona held Young to an average of 12 points per game on four made field goals. Young went 8-24 from the field and had more turnovers (five) than rebounds (three) or assists (four).
Hollis-Jefferson drew the primary defensive matchup and used his length and quickness to give the Pac-12 Player of the Year fits. The game in Eugene, Ore., saw Young go 4-15 from the field and struggle to get off a consistent look.
Young said he didn’t lead the team in those two games as well as he could have.
“I felt like I didn’t lead my team at that time,” Young said. “But I think we’re more as a team, more as a family. Coach got us ready, and we’re just going to make it a ballgame [on Friday].”
Oregon coach Dana Altman reiterated the view that his team is much different since the January 8 and 28 matchups with Arizona.
“It’s a different day, different game,” Altman said. “You know, we’re just going to have to do a good job.”
Arizona players said much of the same. UA forward Stanley Johnson said beating the same team three times in a row is tough, but the team is ready for the challenge.
“I’ve never played in an Arizona championship game, other than the one this year, so in my mind I’m 0-0,” Johnson said. “All we have to do is focus on winning that game. We’re a new team, we have a new face and I think we can win the game for sure.”
The championship game can be seen on Saturday at 8 p.m. on ESPN and will be both teams’ last action before Selection Sunday.
— James Kelley contributed reporting to this story
_______________
Follow Roberto Payne on Twitter.
