John Locher / AP
Arizona’s Brandon Ashley holds up the most outstanding player of the tournament trophy after Arizona defeated Oregon in an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Pac-12 conference tournament Saturday, March 14, 2015, in Las Vegas.
Sunday, March 15, 2015 | 12:30 a.m.
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Sean Miller kept his cool at the front of the pogoing confetti-showered mob of Wildcats passing the Pac-12 basketball tournament championship trophy around Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The Arizona coach was the only stoic person on the podium after his team obliterated Oregon 80-52 until a presentation snapped him out of the seemingly subdued state. When the announcer revealed junior forward Brandon Ashley as the tournament MVP, Miller smiled as wide as the Wildcats’ margin of victory and clapped as fast as they ran in transition.
“Brandon winning the MVP is right for so many reasons and on so many levels,” Miller gushed. “I’m proud of him, happy for him. It’s not easy to overcome what he did last year.”
Ashley wasn’t able to help his team in this spot a year ago, watching from the bench with a broken foot as UCLA upset Arizona for the title. The memory forced the local Findlay Prep product to tear up as he hoisted his award.
He tore up the competition in his return to the event, scoring a game-high 20 points in the championship game a night after doing the same with 24 versus UCLA in the semifinals. The performance led Miller to suggest it’s the best Ashley has played in his career.
“I think it’s everyone just sticking with me coming off of injury,” Ashley said. “It really does take a lot of time to get all the way back to where you want to be.”
Ashley chose Arizona after establishing himself as one of the top recruits in the country at Findlay. He mostly came off of the bench his freshman year, contributing to a team that reached the Sweet 16.
He broke out last season, leading the Wildcats to a 21-0 start to the season before suffering the injury. Arizona went 12-5 without him.
Ashley continued to display how valuable he is to the Wildcats against the Ducks. He set up a 14-0 run in the first half after Oregon raced out to a 10-4 advantage.
Ashley substituted in after a quick breather and immediately got to the free-throw line, sinking both attempts. He made eight of 10 freebies on the night, and also went 6-for-8 from the field.
“For every great team, there comes a point where you have to come together as a team and continue to grow,” Ashley said. “I think we’ve done a great job of doing that. It’s just the right time. It seems like everybody is really clicking.”
Freshman phenom Stanley Johnson was the other primary offensive option Saturday, chipping in 14 points. Senior leader T.J. McConnell paced the show with 12 points and six assists.
Sophomore Rondae Hollis-Jefferson grabbed nine rebounds to go with seven points and four assists. Ashley had five rebounds, helping the Wildcats to out-rebound the Ducks 37-20.
“When we rebound well, we always play our best,” Ashley said. “It takes over everything else for the rest of the game and makes it easier on us to maintain that control.”
Oregon appeared to stabilize midway into the first half, putting in back-to-back buckets to cut Arizona’s lead to 20-15. Ashley then ignited another rush, this one a 10-0 surge that practically put the game away, with a jumper.
The Wildcats had a 15-point lead at halftime, and never let the Ducks get within single digits in the second half. The conference tournament championship was Arizona’s first in 13 years.
After losing in the final game three of the last four years, it was a streak that haunted the Wildcats and fueled their detractors.
“Everyone’s got to come up with something different now because that one has been answered,” Miller said.
Arizona recovered well last season, bouncing back from the UCLA loss to reach the Elite Eight. A one-point overtime defeat to Wisconsin kept it out of the Final Four.
The Wildcats knocked off one goal they weren’t able to achieve last season with the tournament title. They’ll have extra help in going after the next one in the NCAA Tournament.
“We were a man short last year with Brandon going down,” Miller said. “If you can imagine Brandon playing like this on last year’s team what we could have done. And nobody knows that more than him.”
Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
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