H-U-S-T-L-E

Still being upset from ASU killing UA's football dream of getting to a meaningless bowl game, I really wanted to see UA kill ASU in basketball, like by a good 50 or so. The thing that pissed me off most about our home-loss in football was having ASU fans taunt us after the game and then have the pleasure of driving back to a real city. We couldn't even give them the whole "At least we don't live in Tucson," because we are the ones who live in this barrio.

Fortunately despite Tucson freezing over we still won the basketball game, 71 to 47, preventing a mass suicide from our athletics department. The Zona Zoo sold out the game for the I think the second time this season, which was more annoying than beneficial. Where the hell were these fans during the rest of the season. Thank you fair-weathered fans for making it harder for me to get a ticket and making it even harder for me to get a good seat. It will be real interesting to see who shows up to the Washington State game next Wednesday night, a game which will be a much better match-up than the slaughter that will be the UNC game.

Also I don't mean to boast, but damn if I don't brag: My friend Tarny and I did have one of the best signs in McKale Center history tonight. The sign (seen above) of course referring to Nic Wise's return to the game from his academic probation, which Nic claimed was the result of some confusion on a road trip. Whatever Nic, we got your back. The sign actually got a small laugh out of the man himself during his pregame warm-ups.
On to the game...

• Marcus Williams is in street clothes, I presume resting his sprained left wrist for the UNC game. I am wrong and we now have a new problem to add to the three-game losing streak.
• Fendi became the newest member of rock your iPod during warm-ups club. Nothing like a good ol' Screw tape to get the kids ready for the game.
• I'm really opposed to the passing out of free t-shirts, whether it be in game or pregame. If you get more excited over a shitty XL tee with sponsors all over it than the actual event maybe you should have gone to a mall instead of a sporting event.
• Not everyone is of this belief (i.e.: Tarny) who dove across three metal seats to get an "ASWHOO" shirt he later claimed came down from heavens to find his hands.
• 17:50 Budingers throws a perfect pass to Radenovic down low. Radenovic doesn't like his beat down low or the ball down low and he misses the easy lay-in. Fortunately, Jordan Hill, in his first start ever, follows the miss for the rebound and two-handed slam. Radenovic is really turning into one of the worse big men to ever touch a basketball court. Here is is his shot selection (taken from cbssportsline.com): Keep in mind this is going against a man an inch shorter than him. He only got off nine shots in 31 minutes all without Marcus Williams taking his normal 20 shots. Again against the worst team in the Pac-10 with no dominant big men.
  
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• 11:47 Nobody, except for Budinger, on the floor is willing to take a shot for the Cats. UA leads 13-11. Off the top of my head I remember ASU not scoring until the 8-minute mark in last year's game. Damn we look horrible.
• 8:36 Fendi misses a 12-footer from the baseline. I'm not looking this up but I would put money on this being Fendi's first shot attempt in the first half of a game this season.
• 7:52 Nic Wise checks in. Budinger already has 9 points.
• 7:24 ASU's Derek Glasser hits a long 3 to put ASU up 17-18.
  
• 6:05 Wise finds Jawann in the corner for a 3 to put the Cats back on top and on top for good, 20-18.
• 2:43 H-town hooks up again. Wise to Jawann for a 3-pointer. 29-23, Cats.
  
• Jawann strokes another three just before the half. 37-26, Cats.
• The Win-a-Buick halftime shooting contest hits an all time low when they have some grandma try to hit a lay-up, free-throw, 3-pointer, and halfcourt shot to win a Buick. The woman doesn't even hit the bottom of the net on the lay-up and her 30 seconds are up before she knows it. How the hell does Buick find these people to compete.
• 19:38 Jordan Hill starts right were he left off, with a two-handed dunk.
• 16:37 Jordan Hill drives baseline and has something like a 230° one-handed dunk that he is fouled on. It was more than a 180°, and a real sick dunk outta the freshman who complained that assistant coach Josh Pastner was being too hard on him in practice. Hill misses the and-1 but Budinger ends up with a three on the play to make it a 5-point possession.
• 14:09 Radenovic hits a three on the fourth shot in one possession for the Cats.
  
• Boring rest of the game, Cats would win it 71-47.
• Budinger lead UA with 21 and 10. ASU was lead by Glendale native Christian Polk, who had 11 points. Overall we looked pretty bad and I expect us to lose to UNC by 16.
  

Nic Wise Moment of the Game: You'll never find a dime that is not Nic Wise's. My friend Greg, who missed his chance to get a UNC ticket, went last-resort style and put a note on Facebook saying he was desperate for a ticket. The only response to his cry for help. One, Nic Wise who I'm sure broke all kinds of NCAA and team rules by selling a ticket in his name to Greg for 80 bones.

Sneaker Watch: Chase Budinger finally switched it up and got new blue/white/red Zoom Kobe I...Mustafa Shakur all-black Zoom Lebron IV...Nic Wise Kingwood H.S. edition black/red Nike Shox (it's killing me that I can't remember the name on these)...Marcus Williams Jordan Mars IV... I need better seats and/or the local papers and the SID office to hook up some better pictures, the 14th row makes the sneaker watch tougher than it needs to be.