Undefeated at 9-0 and Wooden Legacy Champs, Arizona Basketball faces one of its biggest tests this season against No.18 Baylor on the road.
Things are about to get real tough. After going undefeated in the first month of the 2019-20 college basketball season, Arizona Basketball will learn a lot about themselves as they travel on the road to face No.18 Baylor. Then one week later they face one of the top teams in the country, No.9 Gonzaga. This is the best part of the season!
According to ESPN, the Wildcats are only a 27.5% favorite to win. That percentage may be even lower with the latest news as the freshman duo of Nico Mannion and Josh Green may not be playing. Mannion has been dealing with some lower back issues and Green has been dealing with strep throat. Neither has practiced this week and head coach Sean Miller says he’ll know in the next couple of days whether they will be playing or not.
The other player for the Wildcats that will be out indefinitely is Cornell transfer Stone Gettings who has a facial fracture. Initially, it was a concussion against Penn but x-rays now indicate further damage. If and when he comes back this season, he’ll be wearing a mask. With the absence of Gettings, Ira Lee and Christian Koloko will see more serious minutes.
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The last time these two teams met, Baylor won 58-49 in McKale. One of the main reasons for the defeat was rebounding. The Wildcats were outrebound 51-19. This time around, they have more size and strength inside to prevent from being dominated on the glass again.
Rebounding and limiting turnovers will be key in this one as Baylor’s defense and rebounding makes them one the premier teams in the country. They are currently limiting their opponents to 61.9 points per game, which is 55th best in the country.
Miller indicated during his press conference that “If we’re not ready, they’ll kill us.” He’s right. This is the type of game that if the Wildcats don’t come out 100% focus and compete on both ends of the court early, this game can get out of hand. Depending on whether Mannion and Green can play, it would impact the starting lineup, making it even more important for whoever is starting to be ready to play.
On the season, Baylor is 6-1 with their only loss to the Washington Huskies by 3 on the road and marquee win over a No.17 Villanova. They can go 7 to 8 deep, have a couple of legit shooters and the size and strength down low to compete with anyone in the country.
Their leading scorer is sophomore guard Jared Butler, who is averaging 19.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. MaCio Teague, is second in scoring with 14.9 points per game, 4.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. As a team, they are shooting 45% from the field and almost 40% from three, which is 22nd best in the country. The Wildcats will need to contest as many threes as possible, preventing them from getting into any rhythm and any easy looks.
Besides their shooting abilities, Baylor has a lot of big bodies inside that have helped them on the glass. In total, they have grabbed 271 total rebounds and 175 of those have been on defense. For Arizona, they have 326 total rebounds with 83 on offense and 243 on defense. Everyone for Arizona will need to find a way to crash the glass on both ends of the floor to give them a chance in this one.
Other key factors in this one:
- Nico Mannion and Josh Green presence will give the Wildcats a better chance in this one
- Both Chase Jeter and Dylan Smith need to continue to contribute on offense
- With Stone Gettings out, bench play will be crucial for this team’s success.
- Communication on defense is a must, especially with the shooting abilities of Baylor
- Don’t shy away from what they have done so effectively this season, attack the basket.
- Make free throws. This game may just come down to that.
Game Information:
Date: Saturday, December 7th
Time: 10am MST, 9am PST
Location: Waco, TX
Television: ESPNU
Radio: Arizona IMG Sports Network Arizona Wildcats (Try Tunein Radio)
This team is No.12 in the country for a reason and a has legit chance to get a big time win on the road!
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At Zona Zealots, we are hyped for this one! This is one of those games that we’ve circled as a big game for many reasons. How will this team handle a tough Top 25 opponent on the road? We will all soon find out the answer to that.