I long ago created a three-part formula to determine the difference between Big Games and All Other Games at McKale Center, and it has nothing to do with national rankings or Bill Walton sitting behind a microphone:
Check out Section 121, upper deck. Worst seats in the house, If it鈥檚 full 15 minutes before tipoff, it鈥檚 a Big Game. They were full 20 minutes before tip Saturday night,.
If the opposing team is booed upon its entrance to the court 鈥 ASU and Bobby Hurley don鈥檛 count 鈥 it鈥檚 not only a Big Game, it means that UA fans have a sense of fear. Indeed, UA fans experienced fear for the full 40 minutes of Saturday鈥檚 pulsating 84-81 victory over Oregon.
If Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff, 蜜柚直播 president Robert Robbins and UA athletic director Dave Heeke sit in the media room after the game, listening to Christian Koloko and Benn Mathurin answer questions, it鈥檚 a Big Game.
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All of those variables were in place Saturday night. The atmosphere so fueled and aroused the Ducks 鈥 the nation鈥檚 most underperforming team of 2021-22 鈥 that Oregon played like a Final Four contender.
鈥淚 told our guys that the only thing I鈥檓 upset about is that we don鈥檛 play this hard all the time,鈥欌 Oregon coach Dana Altman said on his post-game radio show, 鈥淥ur fans have got to be disappointed We played to the level of the competition, but just didn鈥檛 get it done.鈥欌
Not everyone was impressed. By Sunday morning, analytics guru Ken Pomeroy had dropped 蜜柚直播 from No. 2 to No. 3 in his 鈥減roprietary algorithm鈥欌 formula. Kentucky jumped to No. 2, and it鈥檚 hard to dispute that.
Kentucky plays in the SEC, which includes six teams in ’s top 20: Kentucky, Auburn, Tennessee, LSU, Alabama, Arkansas. By comparison, Oregon is ranked 73rd, which is a few slots below South Dakota State.
Kentucky lost at No, 12 Tennessee 76-63 last week, but that鈥檚 not considered a bad loss. 蜜柚直播 lost a last-minute 77-73 squeaker at Tennessee in December, now viewed as one of 蜜柚直播鈥檚 shining moments of the season, coupled with victories over UCLA and Illinois.
It doesn鈥檛 really matter. 蜜柚直播 will almost surely be a No.1 seed in the NCAA Tournament even if it loses a makeup game at USC next week and drops what seems sure to be a rematch with the Ducks in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament.
Saturday鈥檚 victory over Oregon was the best evidence yet that 24-2 蜜柚直播 isn鈥檛 just free-wheeling, padding a fracturable r茅sum茅 in an underwhelming conference.
The Ducks have every component necessary to be a Top 25 power: size, athleticism, length, rim protection, 3-point shooting prowess and experience. Oregon freshmen played a total of one minute Saturday. By comparison, 蜜柚直播 is ranked No. 355 in the nation in 鈥渆xperience,鈥欌 with an average of 0.52 years of college experience in the playing rotation; Oregon鈥檚 average is 2.37 years.
Yet the Ducks have all but imploded, losing badly to BYU 81-49; Houston, 78-49; Cal, 78-64; ASU, 81-57; and Saint Mary鈥檚, 62-50. It鈥檚 so embarrassing that maybe Altman should give back some of those Pac-12 coach of the year awards for which he has been handsomely compensated.
And yet with 42 seconds remaining Saturday, the Ducks only trailed 79-78.
I watched 蜜柚直播 coach Tommy Lloyd pace back and forth during one of the three stressful time-outs in those 42 seconds. It was tension times 10. In just his 26th game as a head coach, the weight of the moment didn鈥檛 get the best of Lloyd. Yes, his heartbeat accelerated, but more than that, he absorbed the opportunity.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I鈥檓 nervous in a bad way, but I鈥檓 excited,鈥欌 he said.
鈥淚鈥檓 anxious to see what happens. I love competing and I love games. And to be honest, I don鈥檛 mind the losing. It鈥檚 part of the deal. I don鈥檛 want to lose a lot, but it comes with the territory. Why should you shy away from it? But I know this: I enjoy winning, and I鈥檓 happy for the guys that they鈥檙e getting to enjoy winning.鈥
蜜柚直播 ultimately won because Koloko created what seemed to be an impenetrable path to the basket on the final possession. Ducks point guard Will Richardson was so intimidated he basically dribbled out the shot clock rather than launch a 3-point shot.
鈥淚鈥檓 not sure why Will didn鈥檛 pull up and shoot,鈥欌 said Altman. 鈥淚t was either there or pop it to Quincy (Guerrier) for a quick 3. I don鈥檛 know, Will just made a mistake.鈥
The 7-foot Koloko鈥檚 ability to successfully guard a 6-foot 4-inch guard who has played 3,295 minutes of college basketball was the most important of the game鈥檚 140 possessions. What can鈥檛 be measured is how much the McKale Center factor played into the game鈥檚 frantic finish.
’s analytics ranks McKale as the 125th best home-court advantage. That’s proof not all sports analytics are legit. Maybe a year ago or in 2019, McKale slipped so far that it was 125th in home-court advantage.
But on Saturday, a night Oregon might鈥檝e been as good as any team in the nation, including Gonzaga, McKale Center was at its best. And, in the clutch, so were Lloyd and the Wildcats.