Arizona Basketball: Wildcats remain unbeaten, 2019 Wooden Legacy Champs

Arizona Basketball remains undefeated at 9-0 and are the 2019 Wooden Legacy Champs!

Pepperdine, Penn, and Wake Forest. Those are the three teams Arizona Basketball defeated to leave Anaheim the 2019 Wooden Legacy Champions. The Wildcats have now improved their record to 9-0 and face No.19 Baylor on the road.

It wasn’t easy, but they found a way to get the job done. They learned a lot about themselves these last three games. There were good things and things this team can improve upon. At the end of the day though they are still undefeated, and one of the top teams in the Pac-12. In addition, Nico Mannion would be named tournament MVP, with Chase Jeter and Dylan Smith being named to the All-Tournament team alongside Mannion.

The leaders of this team showed up and so did the supporting cast. That’s what good teams do, everyone gets involved. Each game a different individual stepped up and delivered. The first night was Nico Mannion with 16 points and the game-winner (and he wasn’t even the top scorer, Josh Green was with 24 points).

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The second night it was Mannion who put on a show with 24 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds and no turnovers. In the final of the Wooden Legacy it was seniors Chase Jeter and Dylan Smith who showed the youngsters how it’s done. Jeter had 17 points and 9 rebounds, while Smith led the Wildcats with 20 points (career high) and going 4-6 from three-point land.

Early on in the final, the Demon Deacons were the ones who wanted it more. After the Wildcats put a five-point lead early on, their opponent came storming back and took a seven-point lead. Turnovers and shots not falling in led to the Wildcats trailing in the first half.

It wouldn’t be a Wildcat game though without one of those magical “runs.” They went on a 19-3 run to take command of the first half and maintain a six-point lead after 20 minutes. Part of that run included Max Hazzard knocking down back to back threes! Mannion, Green, and Nnaji couldn’t get going, but others stepped up in their place with Smith dropping 13 points.

As a team, they shot well at 47% from the field and 42% from three. They outrebounded their opponent but were not getting enough bench production. Prior to the game, it was announced that Stone Gettings was out due to concussion protocol and may miss the Baylor game (still to be determined). His absence was felt throughout the game.

The second half the Wildcats defense stepped up, forcing the Demon Deacons to shoot just 31% from the field and 25% from three. Mannion, Green offense improved in the second half, but tonight belonged to Smith and Jeter who provided the scoring attack.

Nnaji and Lee, combined for 12 points and 13 rebounds and each fouled out late in the game. With no Gettings, Sean Miller decided to go small to finish out the game. I was surprised though Christian Koloko didn’t get more minutes in a game like this. We have to trust Miller in his reasoning behind that.

Over the course of three games, the Wildcats won by a total of 19 points. From the beginning to the end, this team showed a lot of fight. There were times when they weren’t playing their best, but that didn’t stop this team from getting through it and getting the W.

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Now the season gets interesting. Up next is one of the big challenges this non-conference season for Arizona Basketball, No.19 Baylor on the road. At Zona Zealots, we would like to congratulate this team on becoming the 2019 Wooden Legacy Champs! As always, Bear Down, Arizona!