WE'VE GOT A 'CAT FIGHT : ARIZONA'S WILDCATS: PAC-10 5TH GETS TO FINAL ARIZONA 66, N. CAROLINA 58.

Byline: Jon Wilner Daily News Staff Writer

A few years ago, the Pacific-10 Conference struggled to get three teams into the NCAA Tournament. Now its fifth-place team is playing for the national title.

With a rejected Tar Heels wannabe controlling the first half and a precocious freshman the second, Arizona continued its improbable March charge with a 66-58 victory over North Carolina on Saturday, before 47,028 in the RCA Dome.

The Wildcats, a No. 4 seed in the Southeast Regional, play for their first NCAA title Monday against Kentucky.

The hero was Wildcats freshman Mike Bibby, estranged son of USC coach and former UCLA great Henry. Bibby the younger regrouped from a poor first half with 17 points in the second, including a 3-point barrage that extended Arizona's lead to 61-46 with five minutes remaining.

``I hope no one tells him he's a freshman,'' Wildcats coach Lute Olson said.

Bibby finished with 20 points - two shy of his total in Arizona's season-opening victory over North Carolina in the Tipoff Classic. In each win, the Wildcats wrested control with their quickness and second-half surges: 21-8 in November; 20-8 on Saturday.

The victory was especially sweet for Olson, who was winless in three previous Final Four appearances, and for Wildcats junior guard Miles Simon, a Santa Ana Mater Dei product and longtime UCLA nemesis.

Simon grew up a rabid Tar Heels fan, dreamed of wearing the blue and white. But UNC coach Dean Smith, overloaded at shooting guard at the time, sent Simon a rejection letter that still hangs in his bedroom.

Academically ineligible for the fall semester, Simon did not play in the Tipoff Classic. But he exacted revenge Saturday, leading the Wildcats back from a 15-4 deficit with 15 points in the first half. He finished with a game-high 24.

``(Simon) did a really great job of holding us in there until some of the other guys started hitting shots,'' Olson said.

Simon, who denied any vengeance - ``Helping my teammates to the championship . . . was the only thing I was concentrating on,'' he said - also made the 3-pointer that started Arizona's surge.

It came with 7:45 left and the Wildcats leading 47-42. A possession later, Bibby joined in. Then Simon hit a jumper and Bibby struck from 3-point range once, twice, three times - the last of which repelled the Tar Heels' final rally with 2:24 left.

``I guess I was nervous for a bit (in the first half),'' Bibby said. ``But once we got in the flow of the game, I knew it would fall if I kept shooting.''

Ecstatic after defeating Kansas last week, the Wildcats kept their UNC celebration to a minimum - as if they expected to be playing on Monday all along. Credit the Pac-10 for that. To a man, they claim no tournament circumstance has been as difficult as their road trip to Cal and Stanford three weeks ago. (They lost both games in the final seconds.)

Another critical factor was last week's victory over Kansas - not only for the confidence it instilled but for strategic familiarity, as well.

Kansas coach Roy Williams is a former Tar Heels assistant, and, aside from a few wrinkles, he uses a motion offense similar to UNC's. For Arizona, the key in both games was containing All-American power forwards Raef LaFrentz (Kansas) and Antawn Jamison (UNC).

The Wildcats did it by gearing their defense to stop a harrowing low-post screen designed to free LaFrentz and Jamison as they move across the foul lane.

Instead of playing in front of the power forwards - which most teams do and often results in layups - Arizona's big men played behind LaFrentz and Jamison, which denied potential layups. They popped into the passing lanes only when an entry pass became inevitable, and at that point several teammates collapsed to form double- and triple-teams.

The result: LaFrentz scored 14 points and Jamison 18, and neither dominated as he did throughout the season.

The defense's weakness was its perimeter coverage, since so much manpower was concentrated underneath. But UNC could not take advantage of the open shots. Three-point specialist Shammond Williams was 1 of 13 from the field and the Tar Heels made 4 of 21 3-pointers.

Note: Arizona sixth man Jason Terry suffered dehydration and was taken to Indianapolis Methodist Hospital after the game for intravenous fluids. He was released Saturday night and is expected to play Monday.

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--color) Arizona's Miles Simon, left, and A.J. Bramlett celebrate defeating North Carolina in the semifinals. Simon once wanted to be a Tar Heel.

(2) North Carolina's Serge Zwikker fouls Arizona's Miles Simon as he drives to the basket in the first half.

Associated Press