PORTLAND, Ore. — Without the money to make it to Los Angeles on his own dime, T.J. McConnell joined a couple of University of Arizona managers inside their McKale Center locker room to watch the Wildcats’ 2013 Sweet 16 game against Ohio State. Unable to play or travel with the team under NCAA rules, as a redshirt from Duquesne that season, UA’s intense point guard could twist and turn with every movement of that run-filled game. But he couldn’t touch the ball. It was 500 miles away. And McConnell could only watch as the Buckeyes’ LaQuinton Ross had it beyond the three-point line with two seconds left, nailing an open game-winner when UA failed to correctly switch off a screen. Game over. Season over. McConnell left quickly. “It sucked,” he said. “I just turned the TV off. Went home. Was quiet for the rest of the day.” The memory of that 73-70 UA loss, which the Wildcats will have a chance to avenge today in their second NCAA tournament game at the Moda Center, wasn’t any better for Wildcat Gabe York, who was in uniform that day at Los Angeles’ Staples Center. A Southern California native, York couldn’t touch the ball, either…
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