UA gets back on track at Oregon

Associated Press Arizona Daily Wildcat Oregon's A.D. Smith (00) can't keep UA senior forward Bennett Davison (21) down with the tug of his jersey Saturday in Eugene, Ore. Waiting for a rebound is UA junior center A.J. Bramlett (42).

Mike Bibby scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half and the third-ranked Wildcats bounced back from Thursday night's near-loss with an 81-66 victory over Oregon Saturday.

Miles Simon added 20 points and five assists as the Wildcats (24-3, 14-0) held Oregon without a basket for nearly six minutes during a key stretch of the second half and cruised to their 17th straight win, the nation's longest winning streak.

If the Wildcats win their last four games - including No. 10 Stanford at home and No. 12 UCLA on the road - they would finish with the first-ever 18-0 record in the Pac-10, which expanded from the Pac-8 in 1978. Arizona has gone 17-1 three times, including 1987-88 and 1988-89.

"If we keep playing like we did today, we might go undefeated - probably go undefeated," said Bibby, who was 4-of-8 from 3-point range.

The defending national champions avoided their first conference loss of the season Thursday night by beating Oregon State 71-70 on Simon's running jumper at the buzzer.

Simon called a players-only meeting the day after the win, which came on the heel's of last week's narrow 83-82 victory over Arizona State. Now the Wildcats, who likely will move in the polls after top-ranked North Carolina lost Saturday, have gone from appearing vulnerable to being almost assured of a No. 1 seeding in the NCAA tournament.

Arizona coach Lute Olson said he hasn't thought that far ahead yet.

"We'd best not be looking ahead to Stanford, because Cal is capable of putting a hurting on you too," he said. "I'm not concerned about running the table, I'm concerned about playing well and winning the league."

Arizona led 38-29 at halftime, but Oregon went on an 8-2 run to open the second half. Three baskets by Henry Madden, followed by Jamar Curry's leaning jumper, cut the lead to 40-37 with 16:09 remaining.

The Wildcats clamped down on defense, going on a 17-2 run and holding the Ducks to just two free throws over a span of 5:56 to go up 57-39 with 10:44 to play. Bibby scored nine points during the run.

Jason Terry scored 11 points and Eugene Edgerson had 10 rebounds for the Wildcats, who shot 57 percent in the second half after shooting 39 percent for the game against Oregon State.

Arizona also tied their season low with six turnovers after committing 18 against Oregon State.

"Tonight we were just a different team," Arizona's A.J. Bramlett said. "Everybody has down games, and we had a couple of them in a row. Now it seems like we're getting back on track."

Terik Brown led five Oregon players in double figures with 15 points. A.D. Smith added 14 points for the Ducks (12-12, 7-8), while Madden and Curry, playing in their last home game, had 12 and 11 points, respectively. Yasir Rosemond added 11 points on three 3-pointers.

The Wildcats have won 14 of their last 15 games in Eugene, with the only loss coming last year.

Arizona's 17-game winning streak also ties for the second-longest in school history. The team won 19 straight in 1992-93, and also started the Pac-10 season 14-0. Arizona had a 17-game streak in 1928-29.

Oregon threatened the Wildcats twice in the first half, but couldn't control Arizona's backcourt of Bibby and Simon.

The Ducks missed their first seven shots but took an 8-7 lead on consecutive 3-pointers by Smith and Mike McShane. The Wildcats then went on an 8-0 run, on two 3-pointers and a driving layup by Bibby.

The Ducks crept within 16-14 on a 3-pointer by Rosemond, but Arizona responded with a 10-2 run, capped by Bennett Davison's putback with 8:15 left in the half.

Simon gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the half, 38-27, on a layup with 35 seconds left.

"Physically, they kind of knocked us around a little bit, and we regained our composure physically in the second half," said Ducks coach Ernie Kent whose team had won five of six entering the game. "But then the mental part of the game got away from us."

After Arizona's big second-half run, Oregon fought back again, cutting the lead to 62-54 on two straight 3-pointers by Rosemond with 5:26 to play. But Simon converted a three-point play and Bibby turned a steal by Bramlett into another easy layup to give the Wildcats a 67-54 lead with 4:44 left.

No. 3 ARIZONA 81, OREGON 66

ARIZONA (24-3)

Davison 3-4 0-0 6, Dickerson 3-13 2-2 8, Bramlett 3-6 1-2 7, Bibby 10-21 1-2 25, Simon 7-12 4-6 20, Harris 0-0 0-0 0, Tebbs 0-1 0-0 0, Wessel 0-0 0-0 0, Terry 2-6 5-6 11, Edgerson 2-3 0-1 4. Totals 30-66 13-19 81.

OREGON (12-12)

Madden 6-10 0-2 12, Curry 5-11 1-1 11, Hartenstein 0-3 0-0 0, Brown 4-15 4-5 15, McShane 1-3 0-0 3, Smith 3-5 7-8 14, Rosemond 4-9 0-0 11, Quinine 0-2 0-0 0, Christensen 0-0 0-0 0, Nelson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-58 12-16 66.

Halftime-Arizona 38, Oregon 29. 3-Point goals-Arizona 8-20 (Bibby 4-8, Simon 2-5, Terry 2-5, Dickerson 0-2), Oregon 8-26 (Rosemond 3-7, Brown 3-11, McShane 1-2, Smith 1-2, Curry 0-1, Madden 0-3). Fouled out-McShane. Rebounds-Arizona 35 (Edgerson 10), Oregon 38 (Hartenstein 8). Assists-Arizona 14 (Simon 5), Oregon 13 (Madden, Curry, Brown, McShane, Rosemond 2). Total fouls-Arizona 18, Oregon 23.

A-9,087.