Video: Derrick Williams' Game-Saving Block To Seal Arizona Wildcats' Win

Derrick Williams Monster Block Saves Arizona (via ESPN)

On a night when most basketball fans were fixated on the NBA Dunk Contest, Derrick Williams' emphatic game-saving block on Darnell Gant was probably the closest thing you could imagine to a Blake Griffin dunk.

There just isn't a whole lot else to be said about this play other than the fact that it had the power to leave Washington Huskies fans in a state of speechless dejection.

But for Arizona Wildcats fans it was the punctuation mark on a performance defined primarily by their ability to outwork the Huskies.

Arizona swats Huskies out of McKale - Arizona Desert Swarm
Forty minutes or not, ESPN might as well have cut to the final minute.

Yet, it was only an instant that defined No. 12 Arizona's 87-86 nationally-televised victory over the Washington Huskies Saturday. Forward Derrick Williams sent a floating inside shot from UW's Darnell Gant into the McKale Center's whited-out crowd, only 0.2 near-worthless seconds remaining for the Huskies to steal a victory.

You can't be happy about that as a Huskies fan, but Williams had one of the top plays of the day in college basketball. And for those fans whose perspective of the college basketball is colored by east coast bias, Williams made himself known.

Tallying Saturday's winners and losers - College Basketball Nation Blog - ESPN
But the real winner here was Arizona forward Derrick Williams, who made the most of a rare nationally televised, primetime appearance with a monstrous performance. (Lorenzo Romar's words, not mine.) Williams was his typically brilliant self (26 points, 11 rebounds), but he saved the best -- a ferocious last-second walk-off block -- for last. If he wasn't already, Williams became a very rich man Saturday. One lucky NBA general manager will soon see to that.

UW Basketball Final: Huskies Fall 87-86 At Arizona Despite Excellent Second Half

Washington Huskies forward Matthew Bryan-Amaning had an outstanding second half.

After being rattled by the Arizona Wildcats’ double-teaming defense in the first half, he came back with a renewed vigor and played much more confidently on the block to score 18 points in the second half. He finished with 24 points, nine rebounds, and six blocks.

And yet getting whistled for a travel after shuffling his feet on the block with three seconds left in the game is probably the play that will stand out most about his performance in their 87-86 loss.

Of course, the outcome of a game is never about one play and spotting the Wildcats 10 points to start the game still looms large in this result.

However after digging themselves out of that early hole, the Washington Huskies’ second half performance at Arizona was actually outstanding. They shot 55.3 percent from the field, only committed four turnovers while forcing Arizona into 12, and their rebounding couldn’t have been much worse than it was in the first half.

The problem for UW is that Arizona remained aggressive, going to the basket to overcome their sloppiness. And offensive rebounds that led to second-chance scoring opportunities throughout the game were a significant reason why the Huskies lost.

Leading the way for Arizona, of course, was Derrick Williams who had an unreal game-saving block on Darnell Gant in the paint with under a second left to seal the win in spectacular fashion. Williams finished with yet another double-double with 26 points, 11 rebounds, including tying for a game-him with four offensive rebounds.

Isaiah Thomas was also a key figure in the game, finishing one assist short of a double-double with 12 points and nine assists and helping the Huskies find that offensive rhythm in the second half.

UW Basketball Halftime Score: Huskies Down 49-40 At Arizona

The difference in this game after one half of play was essentially the Washington Huskies just spotting the Arizona Wildcats a 16-6 lead early.

The Wildcats simply came out looking more focused and energetic right away and fed off the energy of their “White Out” on national television.

Meanwhile, the Huskies looked totally overwhelmed by the atmosphere.

So although Arizona’s three point shooting definitely made a difference, their energy in the paint might have been the most significant difference in this first half.

And here the Wildcats’ scrappy play hurt the Huskies the most was on the boards – Arizona relentlessly attacked the offensive boards without much resistance from UW and won the offensive rebounding battle 8 to 1. The Wildcats seemed to get the ball off the rim before the Huskies were even off the ground.

That, perhaps moreso than anything else, needs to change if the Huskies intend to win.

UW Basketball: Aziz N'Diaye Late To Team Bus, Darnell Gant Starts In His PLace

Nothing major, but Washington Huskies center Aziz N’Diaye was late to the team bus and did not start.

Darnell Gant moved into the starting lineup in his place, but his presence was missed immediately, at least symbolically – Arizona scored a wide-open layup on a backdoor on their first possession.

But Arizona getting out to a quick 16-6 lead with about 16 minutes left had far more to do with them coming out with much more energy than the Huskies rather than simply missing N’Diaye.

UW Basketball: How Will The Huskies Respond To Losing Suggs?

With Scott Suggs out of the starting lineup, the Washington Huskies will start Venoy Overton at guard.

Patrick Finley of the Arizona Daily Star describes the impact.

Washington: Experienced Overton steps into lineup
Romar's rotation change won't be drastic. He said he'll be less likely to "gamble" on a foul-plagued player or play someone extended without a break.

Ross and Wilcox - who Romar said, under different circumstances, could have started - will share the extra minutes. Suggs will miss at least next week's games.

UW at Arizona: Huskies Try To Move Closer To First In The Pac-10

With the Washington Huskies two games behind the first-place Arizona Wildcats in the Pac-10, they can't take first place in today's 3 p.m. game in Tuscon.

Yet perhaps it goes without saying that today's game might be the most significant of the season with three conference games to go after this one - with a win, the Huskies can move within one game of Wildcats and remain within striking distance.

And in addition to the challenge that playing on the road against a strong team presents, Arizona has only gotten better since they lost 85-68 to UW at Hec Ed on January 20.

Wazzu vanquished, Cats win 7th in a row 79-70 - Arizona Desert Swarm
...young teams can still grow up quite a bit throughout the season. I suspect that is what we're seeing with our Wildcats. The turnovers are coming down, the defensive consistency is starting to manifest itself as the season goes along. We're also seeing that the Cats are more than willing to share the load and the spotlight. It isn't that Derrick Williams isn't out best player, he is. The development is that any of the other players can step up at any time and be a viable scoring threat. The biggest question is who will it be.

However the question for Arizona will be about their point guard play, more importantly how they handle Washington's pressure, and most importantly how intense and consistent the Huskies' pressure is.

In that first meeting, UW used outstanding defense on the perimeter to frustrate limit the guards' assist opportunities and on Derrick Williams to "limit" him to 22 points that came mostly on garbage points. Williams is good enough that they likely won't be able to neutralize him in the same way, but it is likely that UW's defense will be a key once again.