UA, Kentucky to battle for title

The Associated Press Arizona Daily Wildcat Arizona's Miles Simon (34) goes up over North Carolina's Vince Carter in their semifinal game Saturday in Indianapolis. Arizona will face Kentucky tonight in the NCAA Championship game.

Kentucky will pair up two two teams with more than a mascot in common.

Both Wildcat teams should look to push the ball and increase the tempo, meaning a final score in the 100's is not out of the question.

The tip-off is set for 7:18 pm (Tucson time) at the RCA Dome.

"Our guys like the fast-paced games. If they have a choice of what kind of

game they'd like to play, it will be a get up and down the court game," UA

head coach Lute Olson said. "It's going to be like watching a tennis match,

so people better do some neck exercies before they come in tomorrow."

Kentucky's (35-4) arsenal consists of a one-two punch of defensive pressure

and outside shooting. UK effectively uses a suffocating full-court

press to force turnovers that amount to quick transition baskets.

"Obviously, in playing them it begins and ends with dealing with their full

court pressure," Olson said. "There are three things that we have to do if we want to be successful. Our biggest challenge is going to be getting ready for that pressure. Secondly, how to deal with (Ron) Mercer. Thirdly, how to deal with their three-point shooting."

Mercer, a sophomore forward, poses the greatest matchup problem for Arizona (24-9). The Wildcats will start with junior Bennett Davison on him, but might rotate in juniors Miles Simon or Michael Dickerson if Davison gets into foul trouble as he did in the win over North Carolina.

"They give Mercer great screens and he really knows how to utilize them.

Plus, when he comes off the pick, he just flatout jumps over everyone with

that shot," Olson said. "He gets squared so quickly, he elevates so well and

he's got a great stroke."

At 18.3 points per game, Mercer is the only Kentucky player in double

figures. The Wildcats, however, do have four players averaging between eight and nine points a game. The headliner of that group has been sophomore point guard Wayne Turner. In the tournament, Turner is averaging 13.6 points and over three steals per game. In Kentucky's 78-69 win over Minnesota, Turner played 39 minutes, recording eight points, seven assists and just one turnover.

"My hat's off to Wayne Turner. I don't know how he did it," Kentucky coach

Rick Pitino said. He took on all that pressure from Minnesota, and then

turned around and gave pressure, penetrated when we needed it and played 39 minutes of great basketball with only one turnover. He gave a remarkable performance."

Arizona will look to freshman point guard Mike Bibby to help break through

Kentucky's pressure. And while that is a daunting task, Bibby is confident in his team's ability.

"Teams that have tried to press against us have only done it a couple of

possessions because we have broke it everytime," Bibby said. "We just have to handle the basketball and be ready for them to come at us."

In the scoring department, Arizona will have to counter Kentucky's 47 percent shooting outside the arc with Simon and Bibby. Simon is scoring 20.4 points a game in the tournament, with Bibby right behind him at 17.8 points per game. Yet Simon's court savy and floor leadership might be more important than his scoring.

"He's another voice on the floor since Coach Olson can't be out there," Davison said. "He knows what to do when, and when to slow it down and take care of the ball. He kind of keeps everybody focused and together as a team."

In the tournament, the Arizona Wildcats have had a revolving door for the title of game hero. Saturday it was Bibby, against Providence it was Simon, and A.J. Bramlett took the honors against Kansas. That depth and confidence possessed by this young Arizona team is something that impresses Pitino.

"There's not one or two guys you can key on. This is a team that goes to all

their players," Pitino said. "They've got incredible quickness and speed, and they didn't beat Kansas on a fluke game. They beat Kansas because they were outstanding against an outstanding ball club."

Arizona's depth did receive a scare Saturday night when sophomore guard Jason Terry collapsed due to exaustion. And while Terry spent the night in Memorial Hospital, the team is confident he will play on Monday.

"After the game, Jason was dehydrated and then taken to the hospital," Olson said. " He was back this morning and our trainer, Ed Orr, said he was feeling fine. He should be alright."

While Arizona will be facing a very talented Kentucky team, the players are

optomistic and feel like a team of destiny.

"It might be (destiny). Good things have happened to us this year. We'll have a big lead, blow it and still pull the game out," Bramlett said. "We've come through some tough situations and I think that's a ccredit to the guys on this team.

"We would love to be the team to get Coach Olson a national championship."