Arizona Proves It's Still in Pac-12 Driver's Seat in Big Statement Win vs. Utah

The Pac-12 is the only Division I conference that doesn't lie about the number of teams it has in its name. There's also little confusion about who the league's best team is, either.

But in case you were uncertain about that leader of the pack, Arizona made sure to reassert itself as the standard-bearer out West. And the Wildcats did so at the expense of one of the hottest teams in the country, one that had a higher ranking and was trying to make a case that it was deserving of top billing.

Tenth-ranked Arizona rolled to a 69-51 win over No. 8 Utah on Saturday night, turning the Utes into the 32nd straight victim the Wildcats have slayed at McKale Center. It also improved to 8-0 against Utah since it joined the Pac-12 in 2011-12. WildcatAuthority.com's Jason Scheer described Arizona's win as a "statement":

On paper it will look like Arizona was just clearly the better team, but that's not giving Utah its due. A better description of what happened in Tucson on Saturday was that the Wildcats continued their season-long trend of showing up best on the big stage. There have been some sluggish outings, but it's not when the matchup called for maximum effort.

And certainly not when Arizona was considered by some to be the second-best team on the court.

Utah (14-3, 4-1) had come in on a roll, ranked in the Top 10 for the first time since 1999 and with four Pac-12 wins by an average of 24 points. Three of those had been in Salt Lake City, but then the Utes easily won at Arizona State at Thursday in their first road game in nearly a month.

The Utes, who hadn't beat Arizona since 1998, carried over some of that road momentum early on, led by floor leader Delon Wright.

The 6'6" senior guard has been one of the most complete players in the country this season, averaging 15.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.7 rebounds coming in, but after he scored seven points in the first 4:07, it was like he disappeared from the court, ending up with his lowest point total (10) against a Division I team since mid-November.

The same could be said about the entire Utah team or at least the one that came in shooting 50.3 percent from the field and holding opponents to 36.6 percent from the field. Credit Arizona for turning those stats on their head, with Utah shooting 38.1 percent and Arizona making 49.1 percent of its shots, despite the Wildcats using an unorthodox approach to make it happen.

One of the best defensive teams in the country, Arizona (16-2, 4-1) has been enigmatic on offense this season. That continued Saturday, but it was in a surprisingly positive manner.

Pass-first point guard T.J. McConnell, who came in averaging 8.7 points per game, had 12 of his 16 points in the first half to throw off Utah's defensive game plan, which had been geared toward limiting the touches and production inside from a sizable front line.

That approach neutralized Arizona's most athletic player, freshman Stanley Johnson, but only for one half. After being scoreless (and with no stats other than two fouls) in the first half, Johnson erupted in the final 20 minutes to finish with game highs of 18 points and nine rebounds. Coach Sean Miller said Johnson's second half was "sensational," via Anthony Gimino of FoxSportsArizona.com:

Johnson had one fewer field goal than Utah's entire team did in the second half. And beyond the scoring woes, the Utes also were destroyed on the boards, turning most of their possessions into one-and-done tries, while allowing Arizona to pull down offensive rebounds almost at will.

"It was a bit of an eye-opener for us," Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak told Kyle Goon of The Salt Lake Tribune. "We'll have our guys full attention on Monday when we talk about playing more physical."

USA TODAY Sports

One game doesn't make a season, for either team, but it does point to some trends.

Utah's losses have all come in hostile environments, getting shut down at San Diego State and running out of gas against Kansas (in a psuedo-home game played in Kansas City) before this decisive loss.

Arizona, on the other hand, continues to ascribe to the "play to the level of competition" approach, with its best efforts coming in the biggest games—against SDSU in Hawaii, in overtime at home against Gonzaga and here—while dropping road games at a hot-and-cold UNLV team and last Sunday at unheralded Oregon State.

Yet, Arizona is big when it matters most. It improved to 19-4 in conference games the past two seasons, and it's had a target on its back for nearly every matchup during that span.

"The guys have been the hunted for two years now, and with that it can be a burden," Arizona coach Sean Miller told reporters afterward, via Javier Morales of AllSportsTucson.com. "It's not only about the win and result."

More than just the final score and the addition to the win column, it's been about maintaining Arizona's hold on the keys to the Pac-12 Corvette.

Arizona's win forges a logjam atop the Pac-12 standings after three weekends, with the Wildcats, Utah and Stanford all tied at 4-1. There are plenty of remaining matchups between the three leaders, most notably when Arizona makes the return visit to Utah on Feb. 28, but for the time being, one thing is very clear.

The Pac-12 is Arizona's to lose, and it has no plans to give up that crown without a fight.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.