Preview: Arizona Basketball takes on Xavier in Sweet 16, Part Two

As the Arizona Basketball team gets ready to take on Xavier in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament, we bring you our breakdown of the upcoming game.

Now into the second week of the NCAA Tournament, things intensify with the start of the Sweet 16. The Arizona Basketball team will once again have to face Sean Miller’s former team if they hope to advance.

Irony can sometimes be a commonality in college basketball this time of year, and once again the Wildcats are facing it. Two years removed from having to face Miller’s former coached team in the Sweet 16, Arizona once again will meet this familiar foe.

This game should likely be as entertaining as the first match-up albeit the number of new faces on each respective team. Arizona won the first meeting in 2015, by the score of 68-60.

Xavier (23-13) enters Thursday match-up the underdog, but don’t tell them that, after the Musketeers upset No. 6-seeded Maryland, and No. 3-seeded Florida State.

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The Musketeers, much like North Dakota, run a three-guard line-up. They do have some decent size, but their success has come from running a line-up of; Quentin Goodin, J.P. Macura, Malcolm Bernard, Trevon Bluiett and Rashid Gaston.

While they may not be one of the bigger teams the Wildcats will face, however, they use their size quite efficiently. As a team they rebound extremely well, averaging nearly 38 rebounds per game.

Additionally, they defend tenaciously, and when they are hitting from three like they have been the past two games, they can be a scary-good team.

Disregard their record. This is a team that had some inconsistencies to start the year, mainly in part because of the substantial injuries they sustained to players like Bluiett and Edmond Sumner (who is now out for the year).

This is still the same Xavier team that beat tournament teams like Butler, Providence, Seton Hall and Creighton among others.

Standing at 6-feet-6-inches and weighing 198 pounds, Bluiett may be too big for Kadeem Allen (Arizona’s presumed best defensive player) to handle, and because Bluiett plays the four (power forward), he may also be too quick and versatile for Lauri Markkanen to defend as a true freshman. That may leave freshman Rawle Alkins, which certainly wouldn’t be an easy task for him.

Adversely, should Xavier use their primary, man-to-man defense that may leave the Wildcats with the overall size advantage, specifically down low. Similar to Arizona, Xavier runs a bit of pack line defense, really “packing” in the paint, making it difficult to get points near the bucket. With that, the Wildcats should get open looks from three, but they need to hit their shots.

Additionally, as we had said prior, Xavier is an excellent rebounding team, so making those first shot attempts will be necessary for Arizona to take control in this game.

Key to an Arizona Win:

Hit the open shots & attack the hoop – Not always the easiest thing to control, especially as bad shooting games sometimes happen, but Arizona needs to hit their open shots as we were saying. The Wildcats should get decent looks from three, and that could spell doom for the Musketeers if Arizona is hitting with any consistency.

Should Xavier go to a zone defense, the Wildcats will again have to find ways to break it, attack the hoop, and work to get the opposing team in foul trouble a la the St. Mary’s game. Xavier is not a particularly deep team, so should they get into trouble with fouls, it will be tough for them to overcome that. 

Rebound – Xavier will be one of the better rebounding teams Arizona faces. While Xavier doesn’t have the size the Wildcats have, they have done a tremendous job in fighting for rebounds, especially giving their offense a number of second-chance point opportunities.

Arizona will have to crash the glass hard in this one. We need a huge effort by everyone on the boards, and should the Cats win the advantage there, that only helps their chances in winning this one.

Let’s Get Physical – The tough teams win in March! It’s win or go home, and everything needs to be left on the table every night you’re on the court. Freshman sensation Rawle Alkins showed his resilience last Saturday in the Cats’ win versus St. Mary’s, battling a finger injury, perhaps sparking Arizona’s comeback and eventual win.

Related Story: Arizona Basketball: Rawle Alkins never Gives up in a game, on a Play or on his team

Listen to Rawle’s reaction regarding the finger, and how he was going to continue to battle:

The teams only get better, and the games only get harder from here on out. If Arizona wants to keep dancing, they’re going to need to keep battling. How much do you want it? No team is going to give it you; you are going to have to take it.

If Arizona can out-tough a gritty Xavier team, that should bode well for the Cats moving forward.

Game Information:

Game Date: Thursday, March 23rd

Tip: Roughly 7:09 PM (Tucson Time)

Television/ Radio: TBS & TuneIn Radio/ IMG

Location: SAP Center (San Jose, CA)

Capacity: 17,496

ESPN Spread: -8 Arizona

Must Read: More on Arizona Basketball

We’re excited about the Wildcats next game, and feel this will be a good match-up between two well-coached teams. Hopefully, Arizona can continue the magic, and play through the weekend! Bear Down, Arizona!

Updated Tournament Odds according to SportsBettingDime.com

Arizona’s Odds of winning the 2017 National Championship: 19/2

Arizona’s Odds of Reaching the Final Four: 7/4