Arizona Basketball: Wildcats take on the Colorado Buffaloes in Pac-12 opener

The Arizona Basketball team opens up Pac-12 conference play against the visiting Colorado Buffaloes.

It’s a brand new season. It’s that time of the year when the Pac-12 conference play gets under away for the Arizona Basketball team as they prepare to take on the Colorado Buffaloes.

Both teams head into Thursday’s matchup with respectful overall records. The Wildcats overall record is 9-4 and the Buffaloes are at 9-3. With a lot of unpredictability this conference season, each team will be looking to start on the positive side with a win.

Prior to the start of the season, both teams were picked to finish in the middle of the Pac-12 (Wildcats at No.4 and the Buffaloes at No.7), while the Oregon Ducks were picked to win the conference.

Fast forward to New Year’s Day. things have not gone according to plan. Recently the Arizona State Sun Devils lost a close one at home to Princeton and UCLA lost to Belmont and Liberty then they fired head coach Steve Alford. Also, the Oregon Ducks have had their struggles in winning games and the Wildcats have had some non-conference games they’d like to forget.

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The great thing about the start of conference play is everyone starts with a clean slate. All teams have a second chance to prove their worth and earn a chance to play during the post season.

There really isn’t one team that stands out above the rest, which is going to make for one exciting next couple of months. As a college basketball fan, this is the team of the year when you find out fast who the good teams and not so good teams are.

The Wildcats have a chip on their shoulder because no one expects them to win. That gives them that extra edge they need and makes them a dangerous team these next couple of months. They will need to take that mentality and approach into the opener against the Buffaloes.

Both teams matchup fairly similar in all categories. The Buffaloes are averaging 79.7 points per game, and 39.2 rebounds per game and 13 assists per game, where the Wildcats are averaging 74 points per game, 35.5 rebounds per game and 12.2 assists per game. As has been the case all season long, the Wildcats will need to prevent second chance points and limit turnovers

The leader for the Buffaloes, McKinley Wright IV averages 13.8 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game and 5.7 points per game. He is very quick around the court and always looking to get his teammates involved, but at the same time can create his own shot and can even grab rebounds. Wildcats will need to play lockdown defense to prevent him from having an impact on the game and box him out as well.

They also have Lucas Siewart and Tyler Bey, two of their bigs, who can get going as well. The Wildcats big man, Chase Jeter, Ryan Luther and Ira Lee will need to pay attention to these guys to shutdown easy buckets around the rim. As always, rebounding will play a huge part in this game as both teams are evenly matched up. Plus, it wouldn’t surprise me to see them thrown in zone defense against the Wildcats. That being the case, will be key for the Wildcats to have good ball movement and knock down their threes.

For the Wildcats, they enter the Pac-12 opener with sophomore Brandon Randolph leading the way leading the team with 16.6 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game. Chase Jeter, Brandon Williams and Justin Coleman round out the top four in scoring for this team. This play by Randolph shows he can have an impact on both ends of the floor and why is he one of the leaders on this team:

The Buffaloes do have a slight edge with experience as they only have a few freshman on their team and have a deep bench. They will though, as most teams do, be at a disadvantage as winning inside McKale Center, especially during conference play, will be a challenge. Coming off a 70-68 win against UC Davis, thanks to a three-point splash by captain Justin Coleman, the Wildcats will look to continue to splash their shots to a Pac-12 opening win!

Watch Coach Sean Miller’s press conference as he provides updates to his team’s progress this season and previews the Colorado matchup:

At Zona Zealots, we can’t wait for Pac-12 play to begin. So many critics feel this team doesn’t have a chance to make a deep run come March. Time to prove all those doubters wrong. Bear Down, Arizona! Tune into FS1 at 7pm MST to catch all the action.