Arizona Basketball: Wildcats kick off the regular season with a win at home

The Arizona Wildcats regular season officially got underway and were victorious over the Houston Baptist Huskies 90-60.

One down, many more to go! May have not been the prettiest game to start out with, but the Arizona Wildcats found a way to get the offensive going to pull away from the Houston Baptist Huskies 90-60.  Brandon Randolph lead all scorers with 25 points as the Wildcats will look to continue to build the momentum against Cal Poly at home. this Sunday at 3pm MST on the Pac-12 Network.

Overall, their were good things to take away from this win and there were some things Coach Sean Miller will be addressing in practice. Yes, this team has practiced a lot prior to the start of the season, have played two exhibition games and now one regular season game, but it’s apparent they are still getting used to playing with one another and figuring out everyone’s role on the team. Wildcats fan no need to panic at all, still so much basketball to be played, it’s only November.

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The Wildcats started out the gate quickly, take a 7-0 lead three minutes into the game. As the half went on though, they started to turn the ball over a lot, miss a lot shots from inside and out. They finished the half shooting 9-24 from the field and had 11 turnovers. On the positive side, Randolph led the team going into half with 10 points and Brandon Williams had 7..

Their opponent though wasn’t doing that much better in the first half as the closest they got was within six points. They were shooting 8-34 from the first half. The Huskies did play without standout center Josh Ibarra, who was injured the majority of last season and is still on the injured list.

Check out this nice feed by Justin Coleman to Chase Jeter in the beginning of the first half:

In the second half, the Wildcats shot the ball much better and only turned it over 2 times! Their defense stepped up a notch too and extended pressure out on the perimeter, making it hard for the Huskies to create any offense.

As the second half went on, the Wildcats started to look more relaxed on the offensive end and seemed to be more in the rhythm. This being the first actual game of the season, I’m sure the nerves were there in the first half. The Huskies didn’t do themselves any favors either as they continued to missed a lot of free throws and really couldn’t get anything going on offensive.

Key takeaways of the game:

• Randolph’s off-season work has paid off as he is becoming the Wildcat’s go to on offensive, finishing with 25 points, 8-12 FG, 2-5 3PT, 7-8 FT and four rebounds
• Even though the layups and threes weren’t falling for Williams, he continued to attack the rim and wasn’t afraid to keep putting up the shot. It’s apparent that Coach Miller has given this highly talented freshman the greenlight
• Chase Jeter had a solid game with his first double double as a Wildcat with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
• Ira Lee sat out this one and it showed as the Wildcats at times had hard time grabbing rebounds. They did out rebound their opponent 50-39, but when they start to face taller and stronger opponents, size and boxing out will be key for this team.
• Alex Barcello got some decent minutes and showed why he will be one of the X-factors for the team this season. He finished with seven points, three rebounds in 15 minutes of play.
• Justin Coleman had some early turnovers, but was able to clean things up as he had eight points, three rebounds and two assists. A couple times he found ways to create his own offense, which will be a huge bonus for the Wildcats this season.
• Dylan Smith didn’t shoot the ball that well, but was very active on the glass with nine rebounds
• Devonaire Doutrive sat out most of the game until about the seven minute mark of the second half and contributed with five points. Will be interesting to see what happens as Miller is currently using a nine man rotation without him and adding Doutrive would give the Wildcats that added depth on the bench.

Highlights of the Wildcats fin over the Huskies:

At Zona Zealots, we would like to congratulate the Arizona Wildcats on their first win of the season. We look forward to many more as this season will have many things to be excited about. Get up and Bear Down!