Jordan Hill will start again on Saturday in place of Marcus Williams, who’s still bothered by a right ankle he sprained against North Carolina.

“”We need his presence in there,”” UA head coach Lute Olson said of Hill.

Hill played 24 minutes but only seven of those came in the second half because Hill missed an offensive assignment. Meanwhile, Williams said the still-swollen ankle is still bothering him.

“”Sometimes defensively and pushing off (is difficult),”” said Williams, who played 29 minutes off the bench.

Chase Budinger turned his ankle early in Wednesday’s practice and wore a boot prior to yesterday’s game.

Budinger iced the ankle for the rest of practice and was in for treatment Wednesday night. Olson said the boot was strictly for precautionary measures and Budinger was not feeling any ill effects.

The freshman played 35 minutes and led the Wildcats with 19 points.

Brielmaier stays on bench

Bret Brielmaier didn’t see any action last night, but not because of his surgically-repaired right knee.

“”We probably should have (used him),”” Olson said.

Shakur named finalist for award

Senior point guard Mustafa Shakur was named one of 17 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation’s top point guard.

Shakur is leading the Pac-10 in assists, is second in free throw percentage and 11th in points per game.

Illinois’ Dee Brown took home the award last season.

This time, students don’t show

There was no campout this time around and getting inside McKale Center was not a problem last night. In fact, only 1,200 student tickets were sold for a match-up of two nationally ranked teams.