Wildcats
overcome opening war losses

Arizona men’s basketball head coach Sean Miller likes
to divide every 40-minute game into approximately 10 four-minute “wars.”

The Wildcats lost the two opening wars Saturday –
the time between the start of the half and the first media timeout – by a
margin of 22-4.

The Huskies jumped out to a 14-7 lead to start the
game. In the opening minutes of the second half, Washington turned a six-point UA advantage
into a 51-45 Washington lead.

“Washington has a style that is very difficult to
compete against here at home because they’re fast, they’re athletic and they’re
frenetic,” Miller said.

In both halves, Washington opened up with an aggressive
defense, going to a full-court press to start the game and switching to a zone
defense in the early minutes of the second half.

It took Arizona some time to adjust to Washington’s
speed. The first half’s pace was particularly hectic as it featured 22 total
turnovers.

The Wildcats’ fighting through those stretches of
insecure, shaky play signaled to Miller that his team’s “resiliency [and]
experience” is coming to light on the court.

Trier
back to normal after return

After Arizona’s win, Allonzo Trier made little deal of
playing in his hometown of Seattle.

To Trier, the fact that he played at all Saturday
served as his source of alleviation.

“I felt good,” Trier said. “I was just excited to get out
there and play. I really missed from being away the game. You can never take
that for granted.”

Trier didn’t know he would play until practice Friday when the freshman guard practiced full-contact for the first time since he
injured his right hand at USC last month.

He felt fine during practice and made the decision to
play on his own, Trier said.

Trier’s time on the court Saturday was abbreviated as he
fouled out late in the second half after dealing with foul trouble all game.
Trier finished with seven points in 16 minutes of action.

When asked if his hand felt sore afterward, Trier
acknowledged it did but said the pain wasn’t anything severe.

“I knew I wasn’t going to be full speed today but I
did what I could,” Trier said.

Huskies,
Wildcats fans provide rare sellout

The last time Washington sold out its home Alaska
Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, the opposing team featured Josiah Turner running the show as point guard and Jesse Perry as a make-shift center.

Yet it hadn’t been since February 2012 that
Washington sold out the arena with a capacity of
10,000.

The gym was rocking with a packed student
section Saturday. Plenty of Washington fans were casting purple jackets and sweaters, and a solid
contingent of Arizona fans were in the arena’s upper corners.

In fact, the fans in red were the ones making
the most noise.

Whenever Arizona went on a run, an audible “U of A”
chant would break out, followed by a chorus of boos from the Washington faithfuls. 

Follow Ezra Amacher on Twitter.