Tyrone Wallace totaled 16 points for the Bears, but it wasn't nearly enough to overcome the powerhouse Wildcats on Thursday night. T.J. McConnell heard "MVP" chants throughout Arizona's home court, McKale Center.
"To be honest, I got the chills tonight when I heard it," McConnell said. "It kind of just fired me up to show the support of the fans like that. I'll say it a million times 'til I'm blue in the face. We have the absolute best fans in America."
"After that loss to Arizona State it kind of really woke us up. We kind of just put it into another gear."
Arizona (27-3, 15-2) now clinches another Pac-12 title as well as a number-1 seed in the upcoming Pac-12 tournament. Brandon Ashley led the Wildcats in this game with 21 points. McConnell had 8 points to go with his 11 assists on the night. Star-forward Stanley Johnson added 12. Last season, Cal pulled off an unreal upset over Arizona when Zona was ranked number 1 in the country. Brandon Ashley had gotten hurt in that game and would sit out the rest of the season. That, however, was in Haas Pavilion. This time, the wildcats, and especially Brandon Ashely, got to have their revenge over the Golden Bears in Tuscon.
"I think when you lose a post presence against a team that defends as well as they do, things can get tough," Bears coach Cuonzo Martin said, "because they can extend on the perimeter. I thought it changed the game."
Coach Martin was right in that Arizona has much more skilled big men down low, and that plays a giant factor in the game. Cal's guard play are right up there with anyone in the Pac-12, but their play goes downhill dramatically when there is no post presence. Arizona has such a smothering defense that