WILDCAT BLOG: UA 84, UTAH 71

Updated 6:26 p.m.

Hello and welcome to the biggest Live Blog of the season.

At 4:10 p.m., the 12-seed Arizona Wildcats (19-13) will square off against the Mountain West champs from Utah (24-9). Worker productivity around Southern Arizona will cease, as every pair of eyes will be focused on the Cats and their unlikely tournament bid.

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like people are way more excited about this first-round game than they have been in the past couple of seasons. I didn’t feel the same sort of attachment to last year’s team, which lost to West Virginia in the opening round. People all across this region have convinced themselves that Arizona will win this game.

Will it actually happen? It depends.

The pessimist’s take: Look, the Wildcats finished the season 1-5 and beat only Stanford (a team which finished WELL outside of tourney consideration). They haven’t beaten a tournament-quality team on the road, as that 2-9 mark can attest to. Meanwhile, Utah, with its four seniors and outstanding defensive intensity (teams shot only 40 percent against the Utes this year) will likely give Arizona fits. Plus, Nic Wise will have a very tough time around the hoop, with the 7-foot-2 Luke Nevill waiting to swat away those wild lay-up attempts that only Wise seems to make. Arizona barely made it into the field, while Utah has consistently been one of the nation’s best-kept secrets. Why is Arizona suddenly a betting favorite?

The optimist’s take: Arizona at its best is MUCH better than Utah at its best. If the Arizona team that defeated Kansas, Gonzaga, Washington and UCLA shows up today, it could beat Utah by 20. No double-digit seed in this tournament has Arizona’s ceiling. With two future NBA prospects (Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill) along with a third guy who might be the best point guard nobody talks about (Wise), the Wildcats simply have more talent. Plus, guys like Budginer, Hill and Jamelle Horne are vastly superior athletically to anyone on Utah’s roster. Hill, in particular, could completely take Nevill (leading Utah with 17 points and nine rebounds) out of the game. Hill is far too skilled and too quick for the sluggish Nevill, and could explode for the game of his life, if his ankle cooperates. Budinger has a lot to prove after that stink bomb he submitted against Arizona State, so look for him to come out fired up against Utah’s swing players. Wise should also find ways to penetrate into the lane, almost at will. Plus, 12-seeds have had a ton of success against 5-seeds in the tournament.

Which side wins out? We should know for sure in a couple hours.

The Live Blog will be updated as often as possible, so if you’re at work or you just want to follow along with me, check www.gvnews.com constantly, and have your “refresh” button warmed up and ready to go.

PREGAME: CBS’ Seth Davis likes Arizona today, which is good news for Wildcat fans. Davis is one of the best college hoops analysts out there.

Other action happening during UA/Utah: Louisville versus little Morehead State, Boston College against the red-hot USC (which should be a fantastic ballgame) and Xavier versus Portland State. I like Louisville to win big, USC to squeak out a hard-earned victory, and Xavier to hold off a valiant upset attempt.

TIPOFF: Looks like a LOT of empty seats in Miami right now. That’s disappointing. Kyle Fogg sets the tone with some serious defensive intensity.

19:34: Nic Wise! The blazing junior guard explodes to the bucket and scores the game’s first hoop. The game is barely underway and the Wildcats look MUCH quicker. Luka Drca immediately turns it over after UA goes into its press.

19:08: Drca makes up for his turnover with a nice jumper for Utah’s first bucket.

18:45: Two straight turnovers for Jordan Hill. Not the start he was looking for, obviously.

18:18: Kim Tillie beats everyone to the offensive glass and draws a foul. The Utes take a 4-3 lead.

17:48: Fogg executes a textbook jump-stop for a nice lay-up. Fogg came to play today.

17:15: Hill uses his quickness to explode past Nevill and draw a foul. I look for this to become a trend, but Hill needs to convert at the line. He gets one of two to fall.

17:09: Tyler Kepkay commits the second Utah travel. Looks like they need some stick-em on their shoes.

16:22: Hill finds Budinger on a backcut. Chase aggressively attacks the hoop and draws a crucial second foul on Nevill. The enormous Aussie heads to the bench early. Look for a steady dose of Hill now. Advantage: Arizona. Wildcats lead 7-4.

15:36: Well, that wasn’t the best offensive possession. Wise airballs a three, and Budinger bricks a long contested trey with the shot clock winding down. Immediately after, Hill picks up a stupid foul in the backcourt. Both teams are a little out of synch.

15:19: Zane Johnson buries a three after Arizona’s pressure defense forces another turnover. Utah is really struggling with Arizona’s trapping. 10-4 UA.

14:14: Kyle Fogg has been the early star of the show. He gets his hands in the passing lane and breaks away for a lay-up. 12-4 Wildcats as Utah calls a timeout to stop the bleeding.

14:02: The first ridiculous foul call of the game, with Zane Johnson picking up a ticky-tack reach-in foul 45 feet away from the hoop. Utah can’t take advantage, as it commits yet another turnover.

13:24: Utah misses a wide-open three from the corner (expect the Utes to get a lot of those looks), but Tillie can’t chase it down. Nevill surprisingly re-enters the game. Arizona will attack him immediately.

13:00: Budinger is rewarded on his aggressive take with an easy lay-up. Wildcats lead 14-4. Everything is going Arizona’s way right now.

12:23: Nevill pulls down an offensive rebound and slams it home. He’s so so big.

12:09: Budinger wiggles his way in front of Nevill and scores an offensive putback. Budinger’s anticipation skills are unrivaled.

11:44: Hill attempts to go to work on Nevill, but the official whistles him for a travel before he can get it going.

GAME BREAK: The downside of March Madness. I don’t care AT ALL about any of these other games right now. I’m fully invested in Arizona/Utah, just like everyone else who lives in this area. Cut back to the Arizona game NOW, CBS. This drives me crazy. Expect this to mess with the Live Blog all afternoon. What if Luke Nevill were to pick up his third foul, and we miss it? This is infuriating.

10:00: And we’re back! It’s 18-10 Arizona, but don’t expect me to know what happened these last couple minutes.

9:44: Fogg, at it again! He gets a tough lay-up to fall after a very persistent move in the middle of the lane.

9:30: After a sloppy Utah possession in the backcourt, a turnover leads to a Wise three and a 23-10 lead. It’s like the ball is drenched in butter, but only when Utah holds it.

9:07: Utah gets a long two from Drca.

8:57: Budinger knocks down that jumper at the elbow in rhythm. That’s the Budinger UA fans want to see.

8:28: Shaun Green -- Utah’s super sub -- nails a three in the corner.

8:17: Wise was totally out of control on that drive. Nevill almost got called for the third foul on that one.

8:10: What was Drca thinking with that pass? We’ve seen more bad passes from Utah in the first 12 minutes than I expected to see the entire game. What happened to the experience and the upperclassmen leadership?

7:36: Nevill might be big, but he’s totally awkward. He took about six steps on the block and seemed puzzled when the ref whistled him for traveling. Of course you walked, Nevill!

7:12: Hill gets that jump hook swatted away by Nevill. Kepkay buries the ensuing three to cut UA’s lead to 25-17.

6:44: Another airball from Wise. He’s either been terrific or awful this game, with very little in between.

6:16: Um, what? Utah’s Borha barrels into Budinger, but the refs call the foul on Chase for standing in his way. That is the textbook definition of charging, but what can you do? Nevill is subbed back out, by the way.

5:45: Fogg draws a foul on yet another aggressive take to the hoop. He’s having a heck of a ballgame, but he bricks both freebies. That hurts. CBS flashes a jaw-dropping graphic: 11 Utah turnovers already. That’s insane.

5:22: Another strong Budinger move results in a lay-up. Budinger steals it a couple seconds later and dishes it to Fogg, who barely misses what would’ve been a backbreaking corner three.

4:40: Hill establishes terrific position, misses his first attempt, but sticks with it and hits the follow.

4:13: Awful defensive set. Just awful. Borha gets a wide-open look from the corner, but misses it. However, nobody on Arizona boxes out, leading to a repeat of that open corner three. Borha hits that one, but Arizona still leads 29-20.

3:43: Wise, out of control again, throws it wildly in Hill’s direction, but it results in a turnover. Borha pulls up for a long jumper and sticks it. But his toe was on the line, making it a two. Wait, what? The replay determines that it’s a three. OK, then.

3:12: Hill drop steps and gets the lay-up to go. He’s been having a rough time on the offensive end, but he did a nice job on that play.

2:43: Well, there’s something you don’t see very often these days -- a three-second call. Hill draws the call.

2:19: Utah is starting to figure out that the corner three is going to be open all day long. Kepkay hits that three to cut UA’s lead to 31-26.

1:50: Wise nails that three to get the momentum back on Arizona’s side.

1:35: Borha had a 3-on-1 fast break, but decides to pull up for a three. It rattles out. Not a very smart decision.

1:16: Budinger, who has been extremely active today, draws another foul call on a strong take to the bucket. Arizona gets one of two to go. The Wildcats have been terrible from the line so far.

0:52: Budinger makes another steal, but can’t finish. He did everything right except for the lay-up, where he left that finger roll short.

0:04: Well, that was the worst possible finish for UA. The Cats get a nice defensive stop, but give up the long offensive rebound. Green gets a second look at a three and knocks it down to cut Arizona’s lead to 34-29.

HALFTIME: Arizona had the best possible half. The Cats got Luke Nevill into foul trouble and forced a ton of Utah turnovers, but they only lead five. That is not a good sign. Not at all.

Budinger and Fogg have played with terrific aggression and they’ve forced the tempo into UA’s favor. But Wise is completely out of control and Hill has failed to take advantage of Nevill’s foul problems and exploit Utah’s back-up big men. It stands to reason that Utah won’t turn the ball over as often and will continue to exploit the corners against the Wildcat zone, which really started to open up late in the half.

On the bright side, Arizona looks much quicker and much more athletic than Utah at nearly every position on the floor. This second half could get really interesting.

19:51: Arizona begins the second half exactly how they started. Fogg’s steal leads to a quick Wise lay-up. Arizona has no interest in trying anything new -- especially when Fogg has turned into such a disruptive defensive force. Fifteen turnovers for Utah.

19:13: Hill gets a pretty jump hook to fall over Nevill. That’s exactly what Hill should be doing every trip down the floor. Those two fouls have Nevill playing on his heels.

18:30: Wow, how about that! Jamelle Horne sticks a contested three. That’s a big boost.

18:02: Luka Drca knocks down a really tough lefty runner in the lane. That was quite a shot. It’s 41-33 Arizona, though.

17:30: OK, Utah has figured it out. Nice ball movement results in an open Kepkay three. Teams have exploited Arizona with patience.

17:11: Budinger cuts to the rim. Hill finds him with a nice pass, which leads to another Chase lay-up. Hill’s passing skills have really improved the second half of the season.

16:50: Yikes. Utah commits another turnover with a bad overthrow. That one wasn’t even close.

16:31: Wise gets one of those only-Nic-Wise-would-even-consider-it reverse lay-ups. He wanted the foul, too, but didn’t get it. Utah promptly responds by committing a 5-second penalty -- the team’s 18th turnover.

16:10: And the hits just keep on coming. Hill goes right at Nevill and draws his third foul. The MWC Player of the Year has had very little impact on the game thus far.

15:49: After Drca gets away with a clear travel, Nevill works his way into the post with another awkward knees-and-elbows move. There’s nothing fluid about Luke Nevill’s game. He’ll head to the line for two.

15:45: I think Hill ends up being a solid NBA player, but he really needs to work on his boxing out. He just let a Utah guy sneak around him to rebound Nevill’s missed free throw. Those plays add up.

15:15: Nevill goal-tended that one, but the refs give him credit for the tip-in. Wouldn’t have even happened had Hill boxed him out.

14:45: Fogg, with another subtle but effective play, draws a foul on Carlon Brown when they’re both trying to track down a rebound.

14:38: Now THAT’S big play. Budinger goes right at Nevill and draws his fourth foul. Nevill doesn’t like the call, but he was totally out of position and fouled Budinger at least three times before the shot went up. Budinger hits both freebies for a 48-39 lead. No more Nevill for quite a while.

14:30: Kepkay thought he had a free lay-up, but Fogg makes an excellent block from behind. “You can’t get through the Fogg,” exclaims Ian Eagle. I think he was waiting all day to use that line.

14:27: Tillie finishes with a dunk to stop the bleeding for Utah. They’re hanging around.

14:08: Wise is just too quick for the Utes. Give him another lay-up, and it’s 50-41 UA.

13:41: Horne thought he had a nice hustle play, but the ref whistles him for foul No. 4. That one hurts. Horne thought he was the one who drew the foul.

13:29: Tillie has a wide-open dunk off a set play. Where were you at on that one, Jordan Hill? Pennell is really frustrated with his team’s defensive effort right now.

13:00: Wise blows by his defender for another lay-up attempt, but good help defense from Utah swats that one away.

12:29: Hill throws down an emphatic slam to stop Utah’s mini-run. 52-43 Wildcats.

11:47: Wise tosses a spectacular lob pass to Budinger, who gets REALLY high to throw that one down. He hasn’t gotten up that high in a while. Budinger is having one of his best games of the year. 54-43 Arizona.

11:29: Utah is pushing all of its chips into the table now. Nevill is back on the floor with four fouls.

11:16: Wise smartly attacks Nevill, blowing past his initial defender (who can’t stay in front of him) and gets that lay-up to fall past a tentative Nevill.

11:02: Kepkay knocks down two free throws after Wise’s reach-in puts Utah in the bonus.

10:48: That was just outrageous. Wise knocks down a 13-foot floater -- the type of shot you don’t even attempt in a game of HORSE.

10:27: OK, that had a zero percent chance of success. Budinger tries an awkward lob-type play to Hill, but the ball sails out of bounds. No need for that.

10:06: Nevill gets an easy bucket near the hoop -- one of his rare baskets this afternoon.

9:48: Wait, what? Nevill just knocked Wise down hard and doesn’t pick up the foul. Nevill fouled him twice (with the smack to the face and with the body), but the refs curiously swallow their whistles on that one. Just terrible. How does he not get called for anything there?

9:30: Kepkay drills a nice jumper after a terrific offensive set -- lots of ball movement there.

9:15: Drca picks up a touch foul on Budinger. How is that a foul but Nevill’s aggravated assault isn’t?

9:03: Wise, back in action, wiggles his way into the lane and scoops that one in. He’s on fire now -- 20 points. UA up 60-50.

8:33: Borha is left all alone in the corner, so he obliges by knocking down a three.

8:16: It’s the Nic Wise show. He uses a double screen to bury his own three.

7:58: Kepkay answers with a jumper from the elbow. They have some rhythm now, but they can’t get a stop.

7:40: Wise bricks that lay-up, but it looks like he got fouled there, too.

7:20: Hill and Wise attempt to execute a lazy dribble handoff (lots of contact, too), but Utah gets the steal and a lay-up. Can’t get lazy now, Cats. It’s only a six-point lead.

7:08: Wise is getting into the lane whenever he wants.

6:58: Budinger, after yet another aggressive drive, is tripped and picks up another Utah foul.

6:42: Hill really wanted that bank shot to fall, but he draws a foul on Tillie. When Hill gets position, Utah can’t do anything about it. Hill hits one of two, for a 64-57 lead. Nevill returns to action, as well.

6:24: Brown takes it strong to the hoop and earns that lay-up. Utah is right where they want to be, down five with six to play.

6:00: Wise throws the ball 10 feet in the air and somehow almost gets that ball to drop. Just ridiculous. Also, Nevill has committed two more fouls, but hasn’t been called for either of them.

5:31: Hill finally gets a call in the midst of this frantic pace. He misses the front end of that one-and-one.

5:17: Of course. Kepkay buries a corner three on another nice Utah offensive set. It’s a three-point game.

4:52: Brown turns it over, because he’s playing way too fast. Fogg (of course) and Horne create the turnover, and Brown fouls to stop the break.

4:32: Budinger takes it at Nevill, but can’t get the lay-up to drop. Hill cleans up the mess with a huge slam. 66-62 Arizona.

4:05: Fogg, once again, strips the ball away and turns it into a one-man fast break. Fogg draws the foul on Green and gets his two to fall at the line. 68-62 Wildcats.

3:39: Green had a good look from the corner, but he airballed it. Arizona slows it down for this possession. Timeout Wildcats. 68-62 UA.

3:14: Hill knocks down an easy 12-foot jumper in the middle of the lane. Nevill didn’t have any interest in defending him.

2:58: Nevill makes one of two. UA leads by 7. It’s the stretch run.

2:29: Huge reverse lay-up from Budinger, who is making his living by taking it right at the Utah defense.

2:15: Nevill’s reverse lay-up attempt is a little less graceful than Budinger’s. Cats still lead by nine.

1:48: Borha pushes Wise out of bounds and gets called for it. Why is Borha arguing? He clearly shoved Wise. The star of the show makes his free throws to give UA a 74-63 advantage. It’s a 10-1 run for Arizona.

1:30: Nevill gets a jump hook to fall, giving him 10 points. He’s coming on a little too late for Utah.

1:21: Wise at the line again. His pair of freebies gives UA a 76-65 lead.

1:11: Brown’s lay-up doesn’t fall. Budinger finds Hill breaking free for an easy jam, and the icing on the cake.

1:00: CBS names Wise the player of the game. It’s the right move. He was everything and more for the Wildcats in the second half.

0:51: Fogg’s two free throws put UA up 80-67.

0:46: Borha gets a lay-up to go, but why is Hill fouling him? Ugh. Borha misses the free throw, though.

0:38: Horne breaks out for a slam, but the ball never falls through the hoop. It gets caught in the net and bounces out. No basket. That could only happen to Horne, right?

0:20: Two more free throws for Wise. It’s a done deal.

FINAL: 84-71 Arizona, and a great deal of excitement for Southern Arizona.

POSTGAME: Who’s laughing now, Dick Vitale?

Arizona didn’t belong in the tournament, huh?

The Wildcats proved they belong, and then some today. From the opening tip, UA set the tone with its phenomenal defensive intensity and never let Utah breathe. While the Utes made it a game and even cut the lead to two, the Cats proved to be way too athletic and way too fast. The optimist’s view was right on.

Nic Wise completely took over the game with his quickness and agility. Utah has probably never seen a player with a deeper bag of tricks. Wise finished with 29 points on 10-19 shooting. Chase Budinger also rebounded from that nightmare of an ASU game last week with a terrific all-around game (20 points, eight boards, five assists). He never stopped taking the ball to the hoop and reaped the rewards.

Jordan Hill shook off a slow first half to finish with 17 points and 13 rebounds, completely dominating the sluggish, foul-plagued Luke Nevill. Just add tonight’s game to Hill’s always-increasing reel for his NBA audition tape.

Kyle Fogg chipped in with 12 points and keyed Arizona’s defensive gameplan. He was an absolute terror against Utah’s guards. Fogg had his hand in almost all of Utah’s 20 turnovers.

Tyler Kepay kept it close for Utah, with his 19 points, but the Utes didn’t have the horses. Arizona is still very talented, regardless of what that record says.

The only record Russ Pennell and crew care about now? 1-0, with the winner of the Wake Forest versus Cleveland State game waiting on Sunday.

In the three other late afternoon games, Louisville won by 20, USC cruised by 17 (I guess the Trojans haven’t cooled off from that red-hot performance in the Pac-10 Tourney) and Xavier blasted Portland State.

Check back here on Sunday when I’ll Live Blog the next Arizona game, time to be determined.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747