KEVIN KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat

SALT LAKE CITY - Jason Gardner doesn't want to call it a slump.

But for the second straight game the UA senior point guard has had a tough time finding the bottom of the net.

However, this time there was one difference - Arizona won.

"I'm not so much worried about the shots as long as we win the ballgames," Gardner said. "I'm still having fun and I know the shot is going to fall.

It wouldn't have mattered on Thursday afternoon if Gardner had missed 30 shots. Either way, the Wildcats were never in very much danger when facing the 16th seeded Catamounts.

Gardner finished the game shooting 2 of 9, making one basket in each half. However, the second shot, a 19-footer from the top of the key late in the game might have been the most important shot of the entire game.

It put the Wildcats up by 30 but put Gardner's confidence back where it needs to be if UA is going to continue its title run.

"I left him in there until he hit a shot and he'll go back (and watch the tape) and see that he just let his wrist pop," UA head coach Lute Olson said. " He just released and let it go."

Over the last two games Gardner, the team's all-time leader in 3-pointers, is 0 of 17 from behind the arc, the worst stretch in his storied collegiate career. But that shot from the top of the key, one that might look meaningless in the box score, could have been just what he needed to get his shot back.

"It did feel nice to hit that shot," said Gardner, who also contributed with seven rebounds and six assists.

Olson said Gardner has been aiming the ball instead of just letting it go. That usually happens when a player is thinking about his shot too much.

"I'm not really trying to force anything," Gardner said.

Of the nine shots he took Thursday, all were what Olson would consider good shots. He was open on all of them, but they didn't fall.

"I don't think Jason is in a slump," freshman Hassan Adams said. "The balls were just going in and out for him."

It was easy to see that Gardner is not worried about not hitting his jump shots. In the locker room after the game he answered each question thrown at him about his struggles from the floor with a smile, knowing things can only get better.

"Jason Gardner is a winner," senior Luke Walton said. "I have never been around a bigger winner in my life than Jason Gardner. He's struggling from the field but if the game was close he would be hitting big 3's. Once Jason gets going he will be on fire from the line."

Vermont head coach Tom Brennan said the thing that makes Arizona special is that it doesn't rely on one player. He went on to say that if one player struggles their will be others than can fill that void.

That theory worked against the Catamounts, but once teams like Kansas and Duke start showing up on the schedule, UA will need Gardner to break the slump.