Arizona Basketball ended 2019 and non-conference play with a disappointing loss to St. John’s 70-67.
This past week Arizona Basketball lost two straight games by a margin of seven points. That hurts. In both games, the Wildcats fought all the way back in the closing minutes, but unable to come away with the win. This team learned a lot about themselves in each and look for redemption in 2020 when Pac-12 play begins.
Right from the beginning, St. John’s was the team that came out with more energy and focus. Full court press, forcing turnovers and relentlessly pushing the pace led to the Red Storm taking command of the game in the first half. They would go on to build a 15 point lead, forcing the Wildcats from having to attempt to come back from behind, once again.
The Wildcats came out and started slow, which in the end would be their demise. Yes, they fought all the way back, even took a one-point lead after Max Hazzard made a three with under a minute to play, but Nico Mannion would eventually miss a running layup with time running out.
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All that effort and energy it took for this team to fight back, but it did not pay off. Poor shooting continued for the Wildcats, as they shot 39% from the field (19-48) and 18% from three (3-16). They were also outrebounded, had more turnovers and just 11 assists. The one stat the Wildcats did excel in was from the free-throw line, in which they shot 81%, which gave them a chance to win in at the end.
The one player for the Wildcats that did show up was Zeke Nnanji. He had 24 points and 11 rebounds (fourth double double of the season), providing his team with the energy and scoring on the inside. Chase Jeter had a poor game with just five points and three rebounds. The other big man for the Wildcats, Ira Lee, only played 6 minutes and didn’t score, but did grab three rebounds.
Besides poor shooting, the upperclassman for the Wildcats didn’t have any impact. There is no excuse for that. As the leaders and players on the team with the most experience that the young players look up to, their lack of effort on both ends of the court was costly.
The freshman trio didn’t have a stellar game, but they did score a total 54 of the Wildcats 67 points. Mannion had 19 points, three assists, and three steals and two turnovers Josh Green had 11 points, six rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Mannion did take some long three-point shots to try and get his team back in it, but they didn’t fall. In the end, he attempted to win the game in the same fashion as he did against Pepperdine, but sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way.
These last two games Mannion has been struggling to shoot the ball, but he is the one true leader on this team and he should be taking shots. Yes, they aren’t falling in, but he is too good of a player not to be taking shots. He did only have three assists, but that was because of the pressure defense the Red Storm was applying.
Sean Miller did attempt to try and mix things up, but it was a little too late. He had his team play zone, which he doesn’t try that often, but it actually worked. Maybe he should be doing that more often, mix things up on defense. His team also seemed to be unprepared for their opponent’s full-court press, which was surprising and disappointing to watch.
This was one loss that was hard for all Arizona Basketball fans to endure. If the Wildcats can play as they did in the last five minutes for the entire game, they put themselves in a much better position to win. This team is a lot better than how they are playing now. They now have some time to get back on track and start the Pac-12 on the positive note against ASU on January 4th. As always, Bear Down, Arizona!