Arizona Basketball: Arizona looks to get back on track against Omaha

Arizona Basketball looks to get back to its winning ways as they take on the Omaha Mavericks on Wednesday.

One game at a time. After coming away with a loss in Waco against Baylor, the Arizona Basketball team travels back home to face Omaha Mavericks of the Summit League. This will be the first time meeting between the two schools. On paper, the Wildcats should dominate but they have to remain focused to get the win and then they can look ahead to Saturday’s big game against Gonzaga.

Just what the doctor ordered. The matchup against Omaha will give Arizona a chance to get their confidence back before they face the Bulldogs, Saturday evening. As a team, their opponent shoots 45% from the field and 37% from three. That translates to only 71.5 points per game, which is 194th in the country. Compared to the Wildcats 84.2 points per game, which is currently 9th best in the country.

Their last outing against Baylor they shot extremely poorly, but still had a chance to win it. Sometimes shots just don’t fall, that’s how it goes. It didn’t help either that Nico Mannion and Josh Green weren’t 100%. Against the Mavericks, the Wildcats have the offensive firepower to dominate. The question is can they get their shots falling for 40 minutes.

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The Wildcats also have the size and strength advantage over the Mavericks and are a much deeper team. Senior guard JT Gibson is their leading scorer, averaging 13.9 points, 3.0  rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. One individual the Wildcats will need to contain on the inside is 6 foot 8 forward Matt Pile, who is averaging a double-double for the season with 11.5 points and 10.5 rebounds.

On the season, the Mavericks are 5-6, including a win over Washington State 85-77 on the road. Now the Wildcats are a much better team of course then the Cougars, but to win a game on the road in the college basketball can’t be overlooked.  The Mavericks though did lose to NAU by 8, the same NAU team the Wildcats dominated by 39 points! 

This is the type of game in which everyone should see minutes. Take care of the ball, push the pace, take good shots in rhythm and continue to play the defense they showed in the second half against Baylor are keys to victory.

https://twitter.com/APlayersProgram/status/1203789753121832960?s=20

With Gonzaga on Saturday, it is imperative that the Wildcats take care of business against the Mavericks. They can take that momentum and confidence against the No.6 ranked team in the country, who recently came off a win against the Washington Huskies on the road.

Game Information:
Date: Saturday, December 11th

Time: 6pm MST, 5pm PST

Location: McKale Center

Television: Pac-12 Networks

Radio: Arizona IMG Sports Network Arizona Wildcats (Try Tunein Radio)

At Zona Zealots, we are excited about the week upon us. The Wildcats are currently ranked No.15 in the country and look to move back up the rankings. As always, Bear Down, Arizona!