Arizona Basketball: Miller Wants Team to Play Harder against UCLA

Sean Miller wants to see the team play harder throughout the entirety of the game. Will this spark their efforts in their critical matchup against UCLA?

During Thursday night’s 73-66 win against USC, the team seemed to be lacking a sense of urgency and effort according to Miller. After being up by as many as 23 points in the second half, they allowed the Trojans to come back and make the game a single possession contest.

That stemmed frustration and disappointment was then captured in Coach Sean Miller’s postgame interview with the Pac-12 Network.

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“We’ve kinda been that first-half team defensively. I think tonight we played for about 26 minutes…our ability to endure, our ability to play for 40 minutes, to give everything you have for Arizona all the way to the finish line is non-existent.” Miller continued, “I wish I had an answer. I don’t, and I think some of it might be depth, some of it is certainly playing a youthful group…but this isn’t the first time a team went on a 30-11 run.

Miller does seem to have a plan for what happens, if these 2^nd half behavior continues. “What I’m going to start doing is sitting a couple of guys and then everybody’s going to know that the reason they’re sitting is he’s not giving effort, he’s not playing hard enough…one thing you can control as a team is your effort level. We gave up on our effort level too many times in the second half.”

Members of the team are already getting the message. Freshman Center Lauri Markkenen explained, “In the locker room, we talked about how we had to be more tough. Finish the game. I think we relaxed a little bit. Every conference game is tough, and there’s nothing different tonight. Have to give 100 percent effort every night.”

That 100% effort will be critical going up against #3 ranked UCLA (19-1, 6-1) on Saturday afternoon. We’ll get to see if the entire team, including Allonzo Trier, will be able to respond to Miller’s pressure, and ability to play with relentless effort for the entire game.

Allonzo Trier was finally cleared to play, and news broke that evening that he would be able to play, effective immediately.

The Bruins are an extremely talented offensive team, and the true freshman Lonzo Ball has been getting plenty praise for UCLA’s hot start. Averaging over 14 points and eight assists per game, he certainly helps pace the Bruins to their 93 points per game average.

Arizona will certainly have their hands full in this one, and as Miller says, the defensive intensity and effort has to be there on Saturday.

Keys to the Game:

Effort- Obviously not much of a shock here, but as Miller alluded to in his post game conference following the USC game, Arizona is going to need to bring it on Saturday.

UCLA is a talented offensive team, and Arizona definitely has the talent to slow down their offense but they’re going to need to do it for 40 minutes, and not just a first half.

The last two second halves have been a bit lackluster for the Wildcats, but if Arizona can give it their best all game long tomorrow, they have a good chance at winning this one.

Attack the Basket- As good as UCLA is offensively, defensively there isn’t much left to be desired. The Bruins are giving up nearly 76 points per game, which ranks them 263rd overall.

Arizona is a dangerous team, when they are able to attack the basket. Give the ball to your bigs, and really challenge the Bruins down low, and see if you can get Thomas Welsh in foul trouble, considering he has fouled out twice this year.

The Bruins have some depth concerns, and if Arizona can get some of them in foul trouble, that definitely helps out in this one.

Free the Zo- As we’ve all joyously found out on Friday evening, the ongoing saga of Allonzo Trier’s potential return is finally over, after he’s been officially cleared to play.

We know he’s going to be itching to come back and show what everyone has been missing, but I’m sure Miller may hold the reigns back a little in this one.

Free Zo, and let him do what he does best. He worked his butt off over the summer, and came back for a reason. Let him go, and Arizona arguably has their most dangerous weapon against the highly ranked Bruins.

Game Information:

Date: Saturday, January 21st

Time: 2:00pm MST, 1:00pm PST

Location: Los Angeles, CA- Pauley Pavilion (12,819)

Line: Arizona +6

Television: CBS

Radio: Arizona IMG Sports Network Arizona Wildcats (Try TuneIn Radio)

Team Records:

• Arizona Wildcats (17-2, 6-0):  lost to No. 13 Butler and No. 7 Gonzaga on neutral courts, and currently, the Wildcats possess an eleven-game winning streak.
• UCLA Bruins (19-1, 6-1): Winners of six straight, the Bruins’ only loss was to No. 11 Oregon on a last second shot by Dillon Brooks. Bruins have beaten Texas A&M and No. 5 Kentucky.

Series Record: UCLA leads 55-40 all-time, with the Wildcats winning the last match-up between these two teams by 81-75 final.

Next: Allonzo Trier is back, Arizona Basketball Confirms

Zona Zealots is really excited for this one, and this should be an epic match-up. We’re glad Zo is finally back and can’t wait to finally see him play! Bear Down, Arizona, Beat the Bruins!