LOS ANGELES – We’re one day away from the most energetic college basketball event in this town since the days of Kevin Love.
Arizona plays UCLA at 1 p.m. Saturday, as Pauley Pavilion rediscovers its pre-renovation madness. The game has such shining-moment potential that, on Thursday night, the Wildcats’ eyes began wandering crosstown.
Ahead and cruising by 23 early in the second half, Arizona wheezed to a 73-66 victory over USC.
“We got a little too comfortable,” Arizona center Dusan Ristic said.
Comfort probably isn’t in the cards Saturday.
It took a transatlantic 3-point ricochet by Finnish freshman Lauri Markkanen in the final minute to boost Arizona’s lead from three to six.