ARIZONA PULLS UTE-TURN; NO RETURN TRIP AS UTAH STUNS '97 CHAMPION : UTAH 76, ARIZONA 51.

Byline: Scott Wolf Daily News Staff Writer

There were no tears of disappointment, feelings of doubt or second-guessers pouncing on a coach's decision.

Those emotions are only aroused by drama and suspense, and defending national-champion Arizona's unceremonious exit from the NCAA Tournament was devoid of either.

The madness of March was never more evident than at the Pond on Saturday, as third-seeded Utah stunned the top-seeded Wildcats 76-51 before 17,851 in the West Regional championship game.

It was not just an embarrassment, it was a previously unseen event for Arizona aficionados.

To put the loss in perspective, it was not only Arizona's worst NCAA Tournament loss in the Lute Olson era, it was the single worst-loss Olson has experienced since arriving as head coach in 1982.

``They beat us every way you could get beat,'' Olson said matter-of-factly.

Or, as Utah's deceptively savvy point guard Andre Miller said: ``We were the underdogs and we were barking today.''

Utah will face North Carolina in the Final Four on Saturday in San Antonio.

Few foresaw the Utes representing the West, mainly because nobody believed Arizona could be bounced so easily from the tournament with its three-pronged attack of Mike Bibby, Miles Simon and Michael Dickerson on the perimeter.

But no one believed Arizona would shoot 28 percent from the field (17 for 60), or 18 percent from 3-point range (4 for 22).

Arizona's big three looked more like the Three Stooges. Bibby, Simon and Dickerson combined to make six of 36 shots, including 0 of 13 on 3-pointers. Bibby, who hit five of six 3-pointers against Maryland, went 0 for 7.

``I didn't have my intensity level up. I don't know what was wrong,'' Bibby said. ``Shots weren't falling. I was a little frustrated.''

Utah coach Rick Majerus devised a triangle-and-two defense that concentrated on stopping Bibby and Simon. He looked like a genius, afterward, although his players had little faith it would work.

``I don't know why we came out with that game plan,'' said Miller, who was the regional's most outstanding player with a triple-double against Arizona (18 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists). ``I was confused. I thought Miles Simon was going to kill us and make drives.''

Simon never was never given enough space to drive the lane, which was clogged up by Utah's 6-11 Michael Doleac and 6-10 Hanno Mottola. But the key was that Dickerson failed to exploit the zone portion of the defense. Dickerson made just two of 12 shots, and will no doubt be reminded in Tucson that he also went 2 for 18 in last year's Final Four games.

``I had my chances, but I didn't hit them,'' Dickerson said. ``I would never count on all of us not going out and hitting our shots.''

Whether it was Utah's admirable defense, or Arizona's poor shooting, it added up to one spectacular day for the Utes (29-3). Miller seemed to be everywhere, racking up 13 defensive rebounds despite standing just 6-2.

Miller's ability to break Arizona's full-court press eliminated the Wildcats' chance for a comeback. Briefly, it appeared Arizona would mount a rally similar to the one it staged at the Pond in a 69-61 victory against the Utes in 1996, but that never materialized.

``We never did get one of those runs,'' Arizona center A.J. Bramlett said. ``They just played a wonderful game.''

Arizona was trailing 33-25 with 17:33 left, and still positioned to make things interesting, but the Utes failed to crack. Utah scored five of the next six field goals - all layups. By the time Alex Jensen scored his layup, Utah had extended its lead to 45-27, and most of the fans in the Pond seemed shell-shocked.

``Like I told our guys before the game, this team will be as sound a team as they have faced all year long. They're huge and they beat you to do death inside,'' Olson said.

The unexpected size of the lead forced Arizona to panic, and try even harder to find its elusive outside touch. But almost everything Simon, Bibby and Dickerson tried clanged off the rim.

A team hadn't shot this poorly at the Pond since the Clippers last game here.

``Right from the start, we didn't hit our outside shots,'' Simon said.

There was a quiet air in the Arizona locker room as the Wildcats tried to understand how they could lose so resoundingly.

Asked to sum up his feelings of the game, Bibby said: ``We lost the last game and didn't go to the Final Four. That's how I look at it.''

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color) Utah's Drew Hansen celebrates with teammate Michael Doleac (51) near a disappointed Jason Terry of Arizona.

Todd Warshaw / Allsport

(2) Utah's Hanno Mottola (13) grabs a rebound over Arizona's Michael Dickerson (23) and Donnell Harris.

Matthew J. Lee / Long Beach Press-Telegram