All season, it's been a question of which Arizona team will show up -- and not just in games or in halves, but from possession to possession. It's been that inconsistent.
On Thursday, it couldn't have been more apparent, as the Wildcats' night was filled with swings in a game that might be remembered as the one in which this team grew up.
Arizona played with poise and confidence in defeating California 78-74 in Haas Pavilion, giving the Bears their only home loss this season and their first in 17 games.
"It's huge," Kyle Fogg said in a postgame interview with FOX Sports Arizona. "They're tied for second and (were) about to be in first place. I think some people might have even given up on us, but we know as a team we are trying to get these wins."
Arizona is now 15-8 this season and 6-4 in the Pac-12. California had a chance to stay in a first-place tie with Washington, but instead fell to 7-3 in the conference and 17-6 overall.
The victory wasn't without a possible downfall. Miller, in his postgame radio interview, said sophomore Jordin Mayes might have broken his foot in the game. It isn't clear what happened as of yet.
"We will cross our fingers and hope Jordin is OK," Miller said.
The win came five days after junior Kevin Parrom suffered a season-ending broken right foot against Washington.
Arizona again got a huge game from Fogg, who had 23 points and went 5 of 6 from 3-point range. But it was his defense that drew the most praise, as he partially blocked Allen Crabbe's attempt at a three-pointer late in the game that would have tied it. He also hit the game-deciding three with 1:18 left.
"Kyle Fogg played defensively about as hard as I've ever seen a guy play," Miller said.
California was just 1 for 8 on 3-point attempts.
Arizona also picked up some solid and consistent play from freshman Angelo Chol, who had eight points and four rebounds.
"It's the best game Angelo has played," Miller said. "We really need him more. He takes over for Kevin's role."
Miller said Chol is the team's hardest worker and will "now have this opportunity over the next four to six weeks to have an increased role, and hopefully he'll respond like he did."
Freshman Josiah Turner, who played with four fouls for a big portion of the second half, was steady enough to make sure his teammates didn't completely unravel when Cal rallied in the second half. And freshman Nick Johnson also came up big in the final minutes on the defensive end with a crucuial blocked shot.
Forward Solomon Hill, who has been the team's steadiest player, missed much of the second half due to foul trouble before eventually fouling out with just six points, but seniors Fogg and Jesse Perry picked up the slack.
It was Arizona's first win this season in a game decided by five or fewer points after having gone 0-4 previously.
"We've been in about 18 in a row of these, minus two or three," Miller said somewhat jokingly to FOX Sports Arizona. "It was good to see us break through. We weren't perfect. We missed a lot of free throws. But I do know we played really hard and with a lot of energy."
Miller later said that "energy and heart" was exactly what the team needed to get the win, particularly with Parrom out.
"Kevin, we got this one for you," Miller proclaimed.
It was a game that had nearly everything from both sides: Good defense, flurries of offense, late-game drama and even a small skirmish between California standout Jorge Gutierrez and UA assistant Joe Pasternack after Gutierrez went after a ball on UA's sideline.
When the dust finally settled, Arizona had prevailed.
UA was down 22-9 early and then -- all of a sudden -- turned into an NCAA tournament team for most of the final 30 minutes.
Arizona started out 3 for 10, only to make a furious offensive run, hitting 14 of 17 shots to take a 45-34 halftime lead. It was only the fourth time in Pac-12 play Arizona had led at the half.
It was Fogg who led the charge, as he hit a couple of jumpers, got a steal and almost single-handedly propelled Arizona to a 30-8 run.
"Kyle was terrific," Miller said. "For us to have the lead we had at halftime was one of the keys for us winning, and it was all from his performance -- not only on offense, but on defense."
