Arizona heads into Saturday's game at Stanford with a ton of momentum.
The Wildcats, who were seemingly spinning their wheels and dealing with the devastating news that forward Kevin Parrom suffered a broken bone in his foot Jan. 28, pulled off their biggest win of the season Thursday night. Arizona ended Cal's 17-game home winning streak and knocked off the Pac-12 co-leader, earning a 78-74 victory in Berkeley.
"It's huge," shooting guard Kyle Fogg said of the win. "I think some people might have given up on us, but we know as a team we're still going."
Arizona improved to 15-8 overall, 6-4 in the Pac-12, two games behind league-leading Washington. Stanford also is 6-4 in the league.
The Cardinal are coming off a 68-44 victory over Arizona State. Senior post Josh Owens (12.7 points per game, 60.4 percent from the field) will be a tough matchup for an undersized Arizona front line. Stanford can go very big across the front.
"They are a much improved team because they have recruited well," coach Sean Miller said of Stanford. "They played a lot of young players a year ago, and now those guys are in their second year, which is always good. They are much more well-rounded and able to win games."
Here's the bad news for Arizona: The Cats have won their past four Thursday games only to go 0-3 on Saturday. But getting a sweep on the toughest trip in the Pac-12 would put Arizona back in the discussion for an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament.
It should be noted that the Wildcats are likely to be without Jordin Mayes, who injured his right foot in the win at Cal.
NOTES, QUOTES
-- Forward Solomon Hill, coming off a career-high 28 points against
Washington, was held to six points at Cal before fouling out late in the game.
Hill is a versatile offensive player, but his consistency from game to
game -- and even from half to half -- has been lacking. With a dwindling
bench because of forward Kevin Parrom's broken foot (and guard Jordin Mayes' possible broken foot), Hill needs to be on top of his game
every night.
-- Stanford has a 12-1 record at Maples Pavilion this season. The
Cardinal are tall and deep. Senior F Josh Owens has had a consistently
solid season, and freshman G Chasson Randle has made big plays in the
clutch as a rookie.
BY THE NUMBERS: 0 -- Arizona's win total in five games this season decided by six points or fewer prior to the win over Cal.
PLAYER NOTES
-- Backup PG Jordin Mayes, a sophomore, sat out the final 14:10 of the game at Cal and might have a broken foot, coach Sean Miller said. Mayes was scheduled to undergo X-rays. If he is out, the Wildcats don't have another true point guard on the roster to back up Josiah Turner. SG Nick Johnson might be asked to fill in occasionally at the point.
-- Senior SG Kyle Fogg tied his season high with 23 points in the win at Cal, hitting five of six 3-point attempts, including what turned out to be the game-winner with 1:23 left. That broke a 74-74 tie, and Arizona went on to win 78-74. His defense was, as usual, outstanding, as he tipped a 3-point attempt in the final minute and helped hold Cal's Allen Crabbe to a 4-of-12 shooting effort.
