Arizona Basketball: Wildcats look to get back on track in Pac-12 opener

Arizona Basketball looks to get back on track as they open up Pac-12 play this Saturday night against in-state rival, the ASU Sun Devils.

The time has come. Arizona Basketball starts with a clean slate like everyone else as the Pac-12 season gets under away. The Wildcats take on ASU to kick things off. No better way for this conference season to begin then getting a statement win. In December, they got off track, fell in the AP Top 25 rankings and look to get back on track this month.

Whenever these two teams faceoff, whether in Tucson or Tempe, they bring out a lot of emotions. Hopefully, the Wildcats can use that to their advantage and start the game better than they have recently. McKale Center will be a red out, students will be ready, fans will be ready, the question is will the players ready to bring it right from the tip-off? We hope so!

In the most recent press conference, Sean Miller indicated there are certain things his teams need to improve upon, rebounding, less absurd fouling, and better shooting decisions. For the Wildcats not only to be successful against the Sun Devils, but for the entirety of the Pac-12 season. Miller mentioned he does take ownership of those are things he needs to get his team to improve upon, but also his players need to as well. It will be interesting to see how his team responds Saturday. Gotta love Miller’s honesty!

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On the season, ASU is 9-4 overall and haven’t really had any notable wins. They did beat a St. John’s team, 80-67, that did defeat the Wildcats at the end of the non-conference season. Even with three players averaging double figures in scoring, the Sun Devils are only averaging 74.9 points per game. Remy Martin leads with 17.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game, Alonzo Verge Jr 15.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game and Romello White with 11.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.

White will be one player the Wildcats frontcourt will need to pay attention to and limit as much as possible on the glass. Also, on defense, the Wildcats will need to make it hard for him to get easy looks down low. Not just White, but other players like Taeshon Terry and Kimani Lawrence the Wildcats will need to limit second-chance points and rebounds.

The Sun Devils style of play is somewhat similar to the Wildcats, in that they like to push the pace on offense and on defense like to cause havoc to cause turnovers. For the Wildcats to be in the best position to win, they need to take care of the ball for 40 minutes and really feed off the McKale Center energy to give them that edge.

For the Wildcats, they need to get going on offense. That starts with getting the ball inside to their leading scorer, Zeke Nnaji. Everyone else will need to take shots in rhythm, take smart shots and not force any wild attempts from three or in the paint. Defensively, they need to continue to communicate and limit open three-point shots. Lastly, they need to play 40 minutes of Bear Down Basketball!

Last season was a fluke with the Sun Devils sweeping the Wildcats. Not going to happen this year, guarantee that.

Back during the 2017-18 season, the Wildcats swept the Sun Devils. How sweet that was! Overall, they lead the head-to-head series 81-63.

Game Information:
Date: Saturday, January 4th

Time: 7:30pm MST, 6:30pm PST

Location: McKale Center

Television: Pac-12 Networks

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

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At Zona Zealots, we can’t wait for Saturday night as the Wildcats look to send a message to the rest of the Pac-12 and the country – that they are legit and not to be slept on! As always, Bear Down, Arizona!

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