Arizona Basketball: Wildcats vs Anteaters in the Desert
By Mark Barrera
Sean Miller and his Wildcats return to Tucson after a rough trip to Los Angeles. UC Irvine is looking to capitalize off of a bruised and battered Arizona team Tuesday night.
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The Arizona Wildcats returned to Tucson after a physical 69-62 loss Saturday. Gonzaga dominated 30 minutes of the game and held off a feisty Arizona team in the crucial minutes down the stretch.
Battered and bruised already to start the season, the thin-depthed Wildcats battled nagging injuries and overall soreness, as they took on a deep, and talented Gonzaga basketball team. With only two days rest, a short-handed Arizona team fought courageously, but ultimately fell short.
The UC Irvine Anteaters come into Tucson hoping to take advantage of a still depleted team. UC Irvine will be plenty rested, considering their last game was November 30th, a 58-55 victory over Santa Clara.
Arizona should be able to handle UC Irvine and walk away with a solid win, however, Sean Miller, in his Monday morning press conference, stated the Anteaters are a better team now than they were early on.
Arizona really should have an easy game tomorrow night, even though UC Irvine played Santa Clara tight. In case you have forgotten, this is the same Santa Clara team that hung with Arizona just weeks ago, with the Wildcats narrowly escaping with a 69-61 victory.
Miller’s depleted squad is still a mess, with only seven available scholarship players. Coach Miller let the media know Parker Jackson-Cartwright will likely be out for eight weeks, still nursing the high ankle sprain. And “no”, Allonzo Trier is still not cleared to play. However, he is now cleared to travel with the team moving forward, so yay?
When asked if having Trier travel is a good sign, Miller said, “No. The only good sign is when he walks out there and plays.”
UC Irvine may not be Gonzaga, but they shouldn’t be overlooked. If Arizona wants to make sure they don’t have a let down, they will need to focus on the following: turnovers, free throws and fouls.
Arizona came out sluggish Saturday. They committed four turnovers early, and a total of nine times in the first half. It was a big reason Gonzaga jumped on the ‘Cats early and often. PJC’s presence was clearly missed, especially in this area of the game.
As we learned, the team will be without PJC for at least eight weeks. In the meantime, the team needs to settle down and take care of the ball.
On Saturday, Arizona too often rushed or panicked on offense. Kadeem Allen was stuck dribbling while hoping someone would move and set a pick. Passes weren’t crisp and were often lazy, with no awareness of who was around.
What is sometimes forgotten is how offensive fouls are turnovers as well. We have seen Arizona be called for their fair share of offensive fouls, deserving or not.
The NCAA continues to make defense a difficult task, but the players and coaches have to adapt. Chance Comanche was called for an offensive foul a couple of times Saturday. These fouls hurt the team and are just as bad as simply passing to the wrong team. The Wildcats are averaging 11 turnovers a game. Depleted or not, you can’t expect great success at that rate.
Realistically, you could say free throws cost Arizona the game. The team lost by seven points, but were at the charity strip 26 times, converting on 17 of them. In a game where points were hard to come by, Arizona missed crucial free throws. They did exactly what a short rotation team needs to do, just didn’t convert enough.
This team may not have the overall strength they’ve had in the past, but they’re still a big team. Rawle Alkins, Kobi Simmons, Kadeem and Lauri Markannen must attack the rim and draw fouls. The more they are at the free throw line the better. If this is another close game, free throws will be the deciding factor.
We’ve said it 100 times, but this team is only seven scholarship players deep for the time being. Fouls are going to be standard for “keys to the game.” Against Gonzaga, Kadeem fouled out, Dusan had four, while Rawle and Keanu Pinder had three each. They have to be aware of their foul situations, especially Kadeem and Lauri.
Dusan Ristic’s fouls were mainly due to being over powered against Gonzaga. UC Irvine does not have a beast in the middle like Karnowski, however, they do have a 7’2″ big man, Ioannis Dimakopoulos, who has been efficient for someone his size. He’s averaging 11.4 ppg, shooting 50% from the field and 47% from three.
Dusan and Chance should have a much easier time going up against Ioannis. Hopefully, Dusan will have his confidence back, but if he continues to be weak on the defensive end, I could see Chance or Keanu taking minutes from him.
Chance showed a lot of confidence and stood up to the challenge Saturday. I for one hope to see him continue to attack the rim. He will certainly have his chance Tuesday night.
https://twitter.com/Iam_RawleAlkins/status/805284825196154880
Just as we saw against Texas Southern, I expect a dominating performance from this team. The players know they need to step up their game. They fought back and never quit, even though fans (including myself) were second guessing the effort. For UC Irvine, unfortunately you’re in Arizona’s sight. BEAR DOWN!
Next: Arizona Basketball: Wildcats Would Benefit From a Gumby Revival
Game Information:
- Game Time: Tuesday, December 6th at 8:00 p.m. PST
- Location: McKale Center – Tucson, AZ
- TV: Pac-12 Network
- Radio: Arizona IMG Radio Network
- Players to Watch:
- Rawle Alkins: He has really upped his game on both ends of the floor. Rawle has consistently attacked the basket, rebounded and been one of the toughest defenders. I expect another 13+ point night with 5+ rebounds.
- Kobi Simmons: Coming off of Kobi’s worst game of the year, this is a perfect time for him to get back on track. Had we seen the Kobi we all know against Gonzaga, it’s a different outcome. He’s at his best when he attacks the center of the floor. There won’t be a player on UC Irvine’s team who can guard him and he needs to prove it.
- Lauri Markannen: The Gonzaga game was his worst performance of the year. He still managed to put up relatively good numbers, but he was completely taken out of that game. He’s still learning and growing, as most of this team are. I expect to see a more controlled and efficient Lauri Tuesday night.