Arizona Basketball: Wildcats head out on the road to take on the Utes

The Arizona Wildcats look to add to their eight game winning streak as they face the Utah Utes on the road. This will be their first Pac-12 road game of the season.

Back on the road again! The Arizona Basketball team head back on the road, this time to take on the Utah Utes, who currently are atop the Pac-12 conference at 2-0, tied with the UCLA Bruins. This will be a true road game and a key one in deciding the overall winner of the conference. The Wildcats will have their work cut out for them in this one as the Utes are playing with lots of confidence and will have the home court advantage.

When on the road opponents step up their game when they see those Wildcats jersey on the other side of the court. Fans from opposing teams get that much louder, creating a hostile playing environment. The Ute fans are preparing for some serious FBI probe heckiling. IT was bound to happpen.

The Wildcats have had three road games this season and have handled themselves well, as was the case when they played in The Pit:

During the weekly press conference, Coach Miller shared his thoughts on the Utes, “Larry Krystkowiak does a great job with his program, coaching. his team. We know that’s a really great home court in Salt Lake City, so we are going have to be ready to go.”

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The Utes are coming off two big road wins to start conference play. They won in Eugene over the Oregon Ducks 66-56, the first time they have done that since 1951! In Corvallis, they beat the Oregon State Beavers 66-64 in a close fought battle. These two back to back road wins will boost their confidence as they head into Thursday night’s game.

They also have two seniors, point guard Justin Bibbins and forward David Collete, that provide the Utes that 1-2 punch in quickness and scoring. Bibbins has averaged 13.1 points per game, 4.5 assists per game and 3.3 rebounds game. While Collete has averaged 13.2 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game.

As a team, the Utes have five players averaging in double figures and have allowed only 66.7 points per game.  From three-point range, they shoot 36% with Bibbins and Sedrick Barefield leading the team in three points field goal attempts. Against Arizona State, the Wildcats shot 40% from three, including this one by Allonzo Trier:

Overall the Utes are 10-3 and 2-0 in Pac-12 play. The head to head matchup between the two teams in 31-29 in favor of the Wildcats. Last time they traveled to Salt Lake City, they were ranked No. 8 in the country and lost 64-70 against. The past is the past, and the Wildcats will look to prevail this time on the road!

Keys to winning the game for the Wildcats

• The Wildcats will need to sustain control of first five minutes of the game as the Utes will surely come out the gates with lots of confidence and energy.  Keeping the crowd out of it much as possible earlier will be key too.
• Due to the solid lock down defense the Utes play, it will be important for the Wildcats to play with lots of patience and not force anything. And remember, when you need a basket there is always DeAndre Ayton down low. All you have to do is throw the ball to him and he will do the rest.
• Coming off a solid bench performance against the Arizona State, led by Dylan Smith who scored nine points, was 3-5 from three-point range in 12 minutes of play, Coach Miller will looks for that extra spark from his bench. When Smith was asked during the weekly press conference about how he feels coming off the bench, he had this to say, “Honest I just go out and play. What happens, happens, I try not to put to much pressure on my self and have fun.”
• The Wildcats have the slight edge in points per game at 83.5 versus the Utes 75.7 points per game. They will need to use this to their advantage as it may come down to scoring those few extra field goals, three pointers or free throws to decide the game.
• Limit Bibbins and Collete as much as possible on the offensive, force other Utes to provide the scoring. Maybe throw in some zone defense to mix things up, just saying!
• Feed the beast! Find ways to get Ayton involved down low. Also, good starts by Trier, Rawle Alkins, Dusan Ristic and Parker Jackson-Cartwright will help set the tone for the Wildcats.

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Overall, the Wildcats will be truly tested on a big stage this Thursday night on ESPN at 7pm MST/6 PST. Yes, that’s right Wildcat fans, a nationally televised game at reasonable time. Time for our Cats to show the rest of country why they deserve a higher ranking and one of the best teams out West!