Arizona faces some tough practice days

TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona overcame its shortcomings through the season’s first 12 games thanks to a smothering defense that always seemed to be at its best when things got tight.

But when the Wildcats’ defense let them down against UNLV, it left them not only defeated, but surrounded by opposing fans who stormed the court.

The difficulty of getting through the crowd is nothing compared to what they’ll go through until their next game is played.

With 11 days off before facing rival Arizona State, there won’t be much of a break during the holiday break for the third-ranked Wildcats (12-1).

“There’s going to be some really, really hard days in McKale Center for the next 10 to 12 days,” coach Sean Miller said.

“We’re going to find out who wants to play hard, who wants to play defense and who doesn’t.”

Defense has been the cornerstone of Miller’s teams since he arrived in the desert, helping the Wildcats reach the Sweet 16 twice in the past three seasons.

They leaned heavily on their defense over the season’s first two months, helping them pull out victories when the offense wasn’t in sync and the free throws weren’t falling.

Some of the wins were impressive, too, including Kansas State and San Diego State in the Maui Invitational, and Gonzaga in a top-10 matchup at McKale Center.

Arizona went into Tuesday’s game a 12 1/2-point favorite over UNLV, a young, athletic team that had played inconsistently though its first 10 games.

Instead of rolling over, the Rebels attacked the Wildcats, playing more aggressively throughout.

UNLV’s length and athleticism gave Arizona all kinds of trouble.

A good rebounding team, the Wildcats allowed UNLV to grab 16 more boards, including 14 on the offensive glass that led to 19 second-chance points.

As they have all season, they also struggled to make free throws, going 16 for 27 from the line.

The 71-67 loss ended Arizona’s 39-game regular-season nonconference winning streak.

“When you take a loss like that, you really make sure you lock in and focus,” said junior forward Brandon Ashley, who had not lost a nonconference game at Arizona before Tuesday.

“At this point, it really opens up everybody’s eyes that we’re not unbeatable, one of those teams that’s untouchable.”

That’s what Miller is hoping.

“When you get that sick feeling, when they storm the court, how it feels when the horn goes off, there’s nothing that simulates that,” Miller said.

“Moving forward, we have an ideal opportunity to get their attention, and we have to figure out what can make us better.”