LUBBOCK, Texas - The Arizona Wildcats didn't pass the ball inside much early in Saturday's game but Kaleb Tarczewski found it anyhow.
The freshman 7-footer from New Hampshire pulled down nine rebounds in the first half and 13 for the game.
"We knew we'd had to come out and crash the glass, make sure that (they) didn't get any offensive rebounds," Tarczewski said. "That's where they're really good at scoring. So just coming out and making sure all four of our big men rebounded was important and that's what I tried to do."
Tarczewski said it wasn't a problem to rebound when his teammates were shooting as well as they were elsewhere on the court - UA was 6 of 13 from three-point range in the first half - but UA coach Sean Miller would prefer things to be a bit more balanced.
"He's very unselfish. He really is," Miller said. "I think he would love to get the ball more and as his coach, I promise you, he'll be getting more as we keep moving down (the schedule)."
Respect for Majerus
Rick Majerus, who died Saturday, was known for his sense of humor.
But Miller, who coached against Majerus when he was at Xavier and Majerus was at St. Louis, said there were very few coaches more prepared and detail oriented than Majerus was.
"With that, you could also sense that basketball, the love of the game was really a part of his life," Miller said. "We certainly lost a member of the coaching fraternity that all of us respect."
Traveling lobbyist
Because he attended the inauguration of UA president Ann Weaver Hart, athletic director Greg Byrne wasn't able to hop on the Wildcats' easy charter flight to Lubbock on Friday afternoon.
That meant he had to fly Southwest Airlines through Las Vegas to reach Texas Tech, all while hitting up bowl officials on his cellphone.
There are still four bowl possibilities for the Wildcats. That includes the Dec. 15 New Mexico Bowl, which would be played on the same day UA has a home basketball game against Florida.
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