Arizona Basketball: Time for the Cats to spoil Sunday for USC
By Ryan Reyes
Arizona basketball is second in the Pac-12 conference and could make a run for first overall. Will Arizona duel it out in another quadruple overtime against USC?
The Wildcats (20-5) defeated the UCLA Bruins(13-11) Friday night at McKale Center 81-75. Stanley Johnson, Rondae Hollis-
Jefferson, and T.J. McConnell were in attendance due to 2016 NBA All-Star Game in Toronto. Now Arizona faces the USC Trojans (18-6) who just fell to a deflated Arizona State Sun Devil team Friday night 74-67.
Defeating the Trojans would give Arizona more breathing room and a chance to take first place in the conference of champions. USC, third in the Pac-12, would love to makeup for their poor effort in Tempe with a win in Tucson. Will USC be angry coming into Tucson? That or deflated, either way, they haven’t played in too many full and loud Pac-12 arena’s.
Allonzo Trier returned to the starting lineup against UCLA for the Wildcats for the first time after breaking his hand six weeks ago against the Trojans. His efforts against UCLA sparked a run to overtake the Bruins for the win.
“How much do you give him to protect and how much is he comfortable with what you’re giving him,” said Sean Miller, “He only played 16 minutes against Washington, so tonight was the first night that he played a lot of minutes. But he’ll be more comfortable as time goes on. Every day that goes by his hand heals more and obviously; he’s in a safe place or we wouldn’t have cleared him.”
Trier will play a vital role not only in scoring but playing gritty defense against the Trojans guards, Jordan McLaughlin, and Katin Reinhardt, who are leading the team in scoring with an average 12.8 points per game each.
Arizona Wildcats
The last time the two teams played, the Wildcats forced the Trojans to quadruple overtime Saturday, January 9th but fell short 103-101. Let’s hope it won’t take four OT’s to decide a victor on Sunday. If the Cats can bring their ‘A-Game’ or play with the same intensity they did against UCLA in the second quarter, the team could come out of the weekend in the top spot in the Pac-12.
Oregon was upset by Stanford today (your eyesight is fine, were you blinking?) so that puts the Ducks at 9-4 in-conference and 20-6 overall. Arizona sits at 8-4 in-conference, 20-5 overall. Arizona needs to win this game.
Prediction: USC will play the Wildcats tough, but Arizona will be too much to handle at home. 89-74
Here’s more information on where you can catch the game on Saturday:
Date: Sunday, February 14th
Time: 6:00 p.m. MST, 5:00 p.m. PST
Location: Tucson, Arizona at McKale Center (14,545)
Line: Arizona -9
Television: FOX
Radio: Arizona IMG Sports Network Arizona Wildcats (Try TuneIn Radio), KTKT, KCUB 1290 AM The Source, K-Hit 107.9, Fox Sports 910 Phoenix, KHYT 107.5 FM
Team Records:
- Arizona 20-5: Defeated UCLA. Lost five games to No. 8 Providence, UCLA, USC, CAL, and Oregon. Currently 2nd in the Pac-12.
- USC 18-7: Lost to ASU Friday night. Currently 3rd in the Pac-12.
Last Meeting: Saturday, January 9th at Galen Center, Arizona 101 USC 103 Quadruple Overtime
Tickets: Here
Arizona Possible Starting Lineup:
SG Gabe York