Updated Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 03:59 PM
TUCSON, Ariz. — Considering the dramatic finishes in the past two games between Washington and Arizona, you understand why ESPN dispatched its traveling road show to cover the sequel.
If history is an indicator, Bobby Knight, Jay Bilas and the "College GameDay" crew picked a good one.
"It probably will be as good as any game around the country in terms of the atmosphere," Washington coach Lorenzo Romar promised.
So much is riding on Saturday's 4 p.m. game.
With a win, Washington (13-7, 6-2 Pac-12) can stay on top of the conference. The Huskies are currently tied with Oregon, California and Colorado at 6-2. Arizona (14-7, 5-3) is hoping to keep pace with the league leaders.
The Pac-12 is also hoping to bolster its sagging reputation in front of a national audience that likely includes NCAA tournament selection committee members.
"It's helpful for the country to be able to see us, especially if you're trying to make a case for the NCAA tournament," Romar said.
Arizona began promoting the game months ago when the schedule was announced and ESPN climbed on board. The Wildcats expect to sell out 14,545-seat McKale Center, and they're asking fans to wear white.
The Huskies were on hand last year when the school held its only other white-out.
"There was so much electricity in this building before the game even started," Romar said. "It was like a heavyweight prize fight, and they came out throwing every blow imaginable and we were on the ropes. We withstood the flow early and gradually came back.
"I thought it was a great, great college basketball game."
Former Arizona star Derrick Williams blocked a potential game-winning shot from Darnell Gant as time expired to preserve an 87-86 Wildcats win.
Despite the loss, Washington gained a lot of confidence.
"To come here in that environment and have a chance to win that game at the end really showed our guys we can play in the NCAA tournament against anyone," Romar said. "Whatever we face now, we can handle this. I thought that game kind of helped us see that."
After splitting the regular-season series, the teams met in the Pac-10 tournament title game.
The rubber match was decided on the last second in overtime when ex-Washington standout Isaiah Thomas drained a long jumper at the buzzer.
"That was a big one that he made," Arizona coach Sean Miller said.
Both coaches said they're curious to see how their teams handle the environment.
The last time the Wildcats played in a nationally televised game, they lost 59-57 at home to Oregon.
Admittedly, the Huskies were intimidated in their 86-80 defeat to Duke at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 10. They fell behind by 19 points in the first half.
While everyone else froze, freshman guard Tony Wroten Jr. came off the bench and scored a game-high 23 points on 8-for-12 shooting.
Afterward, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said: "He's a big-time talent."
Wroten expects Saturday to be much more intense than playing the Blue Devils.
"It will be way better, way crazier than the Duke game because we were like 50-50 crowd wise," he said. "This is going to be like 90-10 — if 10. It's going be crazy loud. It's going to be ridiculous.
"I just can't wait. I'm so excited for this game."
Sitting in a courtside seat at the McKale Center after Friday's practice, Wroten rubbed his forearms and said he had goose bumps talking about the game.
"I feel like if you're a college basketball player, you've got to live for this," he said. "You've got to be ready. You know it's going to be crazy. They're going to go on runs. You just can't fold. ... Try to block the crowd out. It's going to be hard."
It takes a special player to remain calm and excel in hostile conditions. Like Thomas, Wroten has carried Washington on the road at times.
The freshman guard did it Thursday when he tallied 22 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists in a 60-54 win at Arizona State.
"A real player comes and looks at his place and says, 'Yeah, this is just how I like it here,' " Romar said. " 'This is about as good as it gets. Let's go play.' And you feel like, 'I personally can control the outcome of the game.' "
Note
• Sophomore guard C.J. Wilcox, who missed three games due to a hip injury, will continue to play limited minutes. He returned Thursday and logged 10 minutes.
UW @ Arizona, 4 p.m., ESPN
