Freshman Williams delivers in win over Stanford
A slow start all-but-assures that the Arizona Wildcats won’t earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in head coach Sean Miller’s first year. But if the young ‘Cats keep improving, winning the Pac-10 conference tournament and its automatic bid to extend its record 25 straight Tourney appearances isn’t out of the question.
On the strength of a monster second half by freshman Derrick Williams, Arizona defeated the Stanford Cardinal at home, 76-68 to take sole possession of second place in the conference.
Williams scored 16 of his team-high 23 points in the second half to withstand the Cardinal and give the Wildcats their third straight win, despite potential Pac-10 player of the year Landry Fields’ 31 points and 11 rebounds. The difference was at the free throw line, where the Wildcats outscored the Cardinal 27-10.
The win sets up a showdown with conference leader Cal on Sunday in Tuscon, whom Arizona trails by a single game.
