Nick Johnson clutch in similar ways as former Arizona Wildcats conference players of the year

WHAT IS PRODUCTIVITY RATING?:
PP: Productivity Points (Points, assists, rebounds, steals, blocked shots, FGs made, FTs made added together and then subtracted by missed FGs, missed FTs, personal fouls and turnovers)
MIN: Minutes played overall
PR: Productivity rating per minute played (Productivity points divided by minutes played)

ARIZONA 79, UCLA 75
PRODUCTIVITY RATING
* — STARTERS

Only one of five reporters among its “panel of experts” mentioned Miller in passing as a national coach of the year candidate Wednesday. Iowa State’s Fred Hoiberg was a clear favorite, followed by Kansas State’s Bruce Weber and San Diego State’s Steve Fisher.

Does it really matter in the grand scheme of the season? Absolutely not. The only prize for Arizona that matters now, with the Wildcats vying for their fifth consecutive week at No. 1, is to cut down the nets on April 7 in Dallas. Johnson, Kaleb Tarczewski, Aaron Gordon, Brandon Ashley, T.J. McConnell, Gabe York and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson have put Arizona in that position.

Arizona is carving up UCLA's zone. Wildcats shooting over 50% from the field. 9 points on 3 3's for Gabe York.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) January 10, 2014

From players No. 1 to No. 7 this is as cohesive of a unit as Arizona’s 1996-97 championship team that defied the odds by winning the title with nine losses that season.

The reason why Arizona prevailed against UCLA was not only because of Johnson. It was the valuable shooting performance of York off the bench. He answered Steve Alford’s zone defense with three critical three-pointers. If York does not connect, the complexion of the game changes and UCLA psychologically gets the edge by continuing to dare the Wildcats to shoot from outside.

York and Johnson combined to shoot 6 of 13 from three-point range. Everybody else: 0 for 5. Fittingly, York nailed the game-sealing free throws with 12 seconds remaining.

Tarczewski was also pivotal inside with Gordon in foul trouble and Ashley struggling. Tarczewski connected on all six of his field goal attempts — the hiring of Joseph Blair as the graduate assistant is obviously paying dividends — to finish with a career-high 16 points. He also grabbed eight rebounds.

Overlooked part of Kaleb Tarczewski's improvement: He's 40 of 50 from FT line this season.

— Anthony Gimino (@AGWildcatReport) January 10, 2014

Johnson certainly merits Pac-12 Player of the Year consideration especially with how he has played in Arizona’s biggest games this season, including Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. He entered the realm of Elliott and Chris Mills with strong performances in meaningful games against the Bruins with his 22 points.

When Arizona was challenged by Washington last Saturday at McKale, Johnson responded with 24 points. He scored 23 in Arizona’s significant win over a dangerous San Diego State team on the road in November. In the victory at Michigan last month, Johnson made six free throws over the final 25 seconds to help the Wildcats rally from an 11-point deficit in the second half.

If the season continues to unfold this way, Johnson should become Arizona’s seventh Pac-12 Player of the Year following Elliott, Mills, Damon Stoudamire, Mike Bibby, Terry and Derrick Williams.

TOP FIVE ARIZONA REBOUNDING TEAMS

Margin	Team	Avg	Opp	Games
19.3	1950-51	59.5	40.2	30
11.3	2013-14	39.9	28.6	16
9.7	1976-77	46.7	37.0	27
8.3	1975-76	47.2	38.9	33
8.1	1998-99	41.7	33.6	29

Somehow, the best player on the nation's No. 1 team is undervalued. Nick Johnson proved it again Thursday at UCLA. http://t.co/BUlD95hTTA

— Jeff Eisenberg (@JeffEisenberg) January 10, 2014

PAC-12 STANDINGS