LAS VEGAS -- This might as well be a big thank you letter from Arizona guard T.J. McConnell to his teammates, some of the best players in the Pac-12 Conference, the west and just maybe the country.
"They make me look better than I am," said McConnell, after Arizona raced passed California 73-51 on Thursday afternoon at the MGM Grand Garden Arena to advance to the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament. "The guys that I'm playing with are incredible. They score so easy. I don't deserve any credit. They make it all so easy and make me look better than I am."
There he goes again -- this time with a verbal assist to shooting guard Stanley Johnson, small forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, big forward Brandon Ashley and everyone else. But Arizona's two, three and four positions haven't been this good, collectively, since Gilbert Arenas, Richard Jefferson and Michael Wright played together on Arizona's 2001 NCAA runners-up.
The trio combined for 44 of Arizona's points and 20 of UA's 37 rebounds. For California, it was like playing three-card monte. And, in Vegas, that's a losing proposition.
"It's like pick your poison," said McConnell, who had six assists and two turnovers. "If you want to take away Rondae, then you have Stanley, and if you try to take away Stanley then we have Brandon, and if not Brandon, then Kaleb (Tarczewski)."
And if not them you have Gabe York lurking on the perimeter, like he did so effectively on Thursday, and has done the last two months.
"When they play well it opens the floor for me," said York, who added eight points -- six on a pair of step-back 3-pointers. "The court spreads and makes it better even though I haven’t even touched the ball."
Once the game got to the second half -- the Wildcats held a 33-27 lead at the half -- Arizona (29-3) played its game of run-and stun and looked comfortable doing it, eventually putting away the Bears (18-15).
"Statistically we did a great job," Arizona coach Sean Miller. "They shot 34 percent from the floor. We tried to make sure that we stuck to our halfcourt, man-to-man defense and take away their transition."
Said Johnson: "I think we have substance to our team. Once (we) got comfortable and set in, saying we're going to get stops, we got out in transition, that's when the game opened up."
The win was the ninth in a row for Arizona, and it has averaged 22 points in doing it. Arizona will now play UCLA on Friday in the semifinals as it continues its bid for its first Pac-12 postseason title since 2002.
Thursday's victory prompted questions of how far Arizona can go in the postseason. California coach Cuonzo Martin was asked if they were good enough to win a national title.
"I think they have just as good a chance as anybody," Martin said. "They have the parts. They have interior play … They have been together. They understand. They feel like they came up short last year, and they have the parts to do it."
It was the wings that had the Wildcats flying on Thursday. Johnson had a team-high 19 points. Hollis-Jefferson finished with 10 but seemed to have an impact on almost every play, flying around and diving for anything not in someone's hands.
And Ashley's 15 points now has him with 24 double-figure games this season and 12 in his last 15 games. The last six weeks have seen a more aggressive and instinctive Ashley assert himself.
"It's me allowing the game come to me rather than forcing the issue," Ashley said. "But at the same time, it's about still being aggressive and putting my footprint on the game."
Arizona continues to put its footprint all over the conference. Thursday was a continuation of the regular season.
"It's really hard to beat a team that has so many people that can do so many different things," said Ashley. "Everybody that plays can affect the game in so many different ways. We're very talented if everyone is locked in."
Thursday's tone was physical from the beginning, with "chippy" play from both sides. It culminated in a skirmish between Ashley and David Kravish after they got tangled late in the game. Each was assessed a technical foul.
"That’s a game style that we almost enjoy and almost relish and look forward to," Ashley said. "It was a battle for majority of the game, and we kind of pulled away in the end."
Johnson was key to that, making 8 of 14 shots from the field, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
"If I can make shots it opens up the court for everybody," Johnson said. "That's always better for everybody, and then when Rondae is doing what he's doing, it becomes unreal. I just start watching the game when he's making crazy plays.
"It's very cool we can hit you in a variety of ways."
And for that, McConnell thanks everyone.
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