Sean Miller had his share of excuses to choose from, and he touched on a few.
In Arizona’s 84-80 loss to Gonzaga on Saturday night, the Wildcats missed 21 of their first 26 3-pointers. Point guard Nico Mannion, hounded by Gonzaga’s Ryan Woolridge and targeted quickly off screens by everybody else, was just 3 for 20 overall even though Miller says he’s over his back issues.
Then there’s the experience factor. While Gonzaga lost four starters from its Elite Eight team last season, six of the nine guys Arizona played weren’t around at all last season.
“We have a lot of new things,” Miller said, “a lot of new people.