Wild About '88: Chapter 22: No. 1 Arizona survives scare from UCLA.
This season marks the 35th anniversary of one of Tucson’s most beloved teams of all time, the 1987-88 Arizona Wildcats that finished 35-3 and went to the program’s first Final Four. We will celebrate that team by recapping each game during that unforgettable season by referencing newspaper archives and interviews conducted during the making of the upcoming documentary film ‘Wild About ‘88: The Rise of Arizona Basketball.’ (Some interview quotes in this series have been edited for clarity.)
January 24, 1988, vs. UCLA.
The best basketball rivalry in the West started in the mid-1980s. Blue Blood UCLA had the name and Arizona had Lute Olson.
Part of the D.N.A. of what Arizona Basketball has become today is in large part to the UCLA Bruins and Olson’s close friend, John Wooden.
“As a high school and JC coach in Southern California, I don’t think I ever missed a clinic where he spoke or where I had an opportunity to go and listen to him and try to pick up ideas from him," Olson said of Wooden.1
Olson’s Wildcats won the Pac-10 title at Pauley Pavilion in 1986 with Wooden in attendance. UCLA returned the favor the following year by winning the conference, while Steve Kerr was out rehabbing his knee.
The 1987-88 Bruins were struggling when they came to McKale to take on the No. 1 Wildcats. UCLA didn’t have Wooden behind the bench but they still carried the mystique of being basketball royalty.
Arizona came out on fire, scoring on 17 of its first 21 possessions. 11 minutes into the game the Wildcats led by 15.
Anthony Cook scored 15 of Arizona’s first 31 points.
“I thought we came out like we we’re going to completely blow them out of here, but it seemed like it was a game of spurts.” Olson said.2
With 5:48 left, Arizona trailed 66-64. It was only the third game all season Arizona trailed in the second half.
“This is a tough place to play. The fans are the sixth man. You can bet that. But this place was quiet, very quiet. We just couldn’t hold them when we wanted to,” UCLA guard Pooh Richardson said.3
Then Arizona took over. The Wildcats scored on their last ten possessions and made seven of their last eight free throws to ice the game.
Kerr’s three-pointer with 1:26 left gave Arizona a comfortable 79-70 lead.
“That’s what you expect from Steve Kerr. He knows it’s his last year of basketball, so he’s giving everything he has,” UCLA head coach Walt Hazzard said.4
Interesting take, but who would have known Kerr would become a world-renowned basketball icon?
Kerr would finish with 13 points and six assists in 40 minutes.
“I think this was a good game for us,” Kerr said. “It’s nice to blow out teams, but after a while, we need to be challenged. This was definitely a challenge.”5
Sean Elliott, still getting over a virus, led the Wildcats with 27 points in 40 minutes.
“I don’t like close games. I like it when we’re up by 30 or 40 points,” Elliott said. “Duke played us tough, too, and that helped us tonight.”6
No. 1 Arizona would win 86-74 and moved to 18-1 and 8-0 in the Pac-10.
Next Up: January 28 vs. Arizona State.
Blog content and original interview quotations © Waterfoot Films 2023.
Jay Gonzales, “One of Wooden’s devoted followers was Arizona’s Olson,” The Arizona Daily Star, January 24 1988, Page Ten—Section D; Jay Gonzales, “Arizona throws off UCLA challenge: Cats ‘get pushed’ but win, 86-74,” The Arizona Daily Star, January 25 1988, Page One and Three—Section B; Jack Magruder, “Bruins concede Pac-10 to Wildcats,” The Arizona Daily Star, January 25 1988, Page One—Section B; Jack Rickard, “Determined Bruins scare Cats: Sweating nice tonic for UA,” The Tucson Citizen, January 25 1988, Page One—Section B; Dana Cooper, Memories ‘88.
Jay Gonzales, “One of Wooden’s devoted followers was Arizona’s Olson,” The Arizona Daily Star, January 24 1988, Page Ten—Section D.
Jay Gonzales, “Arizona throws off UCLA challenge: Cats ‘get pushed’ but win, 86-74,” The Arizona Daily Star, January 25 1988, Page One—Section B.
Jack Magruder, “Bruins concede Pac-10 to Wildcats,” The Arizona Daily Star, January 25 1988, Page One—Section B.
Jack Magruder, “Bruins concede Pac-10 to Wildcats,” The Arizona Daily Star, January 25 1988, Page One—Section B.
Jay Gonzales, “Arizona throws off UCLA challenge: Cats ‘get pushed’ but win, 86-74,” The Arizona Daily Star, January 25 1988, Page Three—Section B
Jack Rickard, “Determined Bruins scare Cats: Sweating nice tonic for UA,” The Tucson Citizen, January 25 1988, Page One—Section B.