Northern Arizona's Josh Wilson, right, struggles to control the ball against the defense of Arizona's Jerryd Bayless. Arizona won, 76-69, Tuesday in Tucson, Ariz.

TUCSON, ARIZ. ? No. 17 Arizona lacked an inside presence and toughness. The Wildcats were also missing Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson.

It all added up to a shaky 76-69 victory over Northern Arizona on Tuesday night.

“It is hard not having coach (Olson) on the bench, but we have been preparing normally without him,” Arizona’s Jawann McClellan said. “Coach can’t teach toughness. He can’t give you toughness and give you heart. We have to go out there and do that ourselves. I don’t care who is coaching the team. We need to play that way.”

Olson, who has been on a personal leave of absence since Nov. 4, was replaced by assistant Kevin O’Neill in the Wildcats’ season opener.

Olson had missed only seven previous games during his 25-years as Wildcats coach. Six came after the death of his wife Bobbi during the 2000-2001 season and one was against LaSalle due to a back injury in 1994. Arizona is 5-3 without him.

With O’Neill in charge, Arizona started two freshmen and a pair of sophomores, who struggled to put Northern Arizona away until the final seconds.

Although the victory wasn’t pretty, O’Neill wasn’t complaining.

“I am from the school where a win is a win,” he said. “It beats the alternative. (But) they physically dominated our inside players in the second half.”

Chase Budinger scored 25 points and freshman guard Jerryd Bayless added 18 for the Wildcats (1-0). McClellan, the lone senior in the starting lineup, scored 15, including a pair of free throws to seal the victory with 11 seconds left.

Nate Geiser and Kyle Landy each scored 17 points for NAU (1-1).

No. 2 UCLA 76, Cal State-San Bernardino 41

Los Angeles – Kevin Love scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half, just missing a double-double, and UCLA rolled past Division II Cal State-San Bernardino in the second round of the CBE Classic.

As winners of the Los Angeles regional, the Bruins (3-0) advanced to play Maryland (2-0) in the semifinals Nov. 19 in Kansas City.

No. 9 Washington State 86, Boise State 74

Boise, Idaho – Derek Low scored 26 points, and Kyle Weaver had 19 to lead Washington State over Boise State. The Cougar tandem combined to shoot 10-of-12 in the first 81â2 minutes of the second half, when Washington State (2-0) quickly erased a six-point halftime deficit. The Cougars outscored the Broncos 33-10 during that stretch and coasted the rest of the way.

No. 12 Michigan State 86, Chicago State 53

East Lansing, Mich. – Raymar Morgan had a career-high 25 points and 15 rebounds in a first-round game of the CBE Classic. All-American Drew Neitzel added 12 points for Michigan State.

David Holston scored 18 points and had four 3-pointers for Chicago State, which led 18-17 before the Spartans took control with a 28-8 surge to finish the half.

No. 14 Gonzaga 80, Idaho 43

Spokane, Wash. – Freshman Austin Daye scored 18 points, Jeremy Pargo added 14 points, and Matt Bouldin 12 to help No. 14 Gonzaga (2-0) overcome 18 turnovers in a sloppy game.

Idaho (1-1) used defensive pressure to stay close in the first half, but it shot just 30 percent and had 10 shots blocked. Idaho also committed 29 fouls.