Arizona Basketball: Wildcats have plenty to learn from in loss to the Ducks

Arizona Basketball suffered another tough loss against Oregon in overtime and there are plenty of things they can learn from in a game they should have won.

Another one. In another close game in which they should have won, the Arizona Basketball team, unfortunately, wasn’t able to close this one out and lose to Oregon Ducks again this season by one point in overtime. Many things went wrong in the closing minutes of regulation and in overtime that cost the Wildcats the win. This was one of those games in which there are plenty of things this team can learn from moving forward the rest of the season.

Execution in closing minutes of a game. Once again this game came down to who could execute the best down the stretch and it was the Ducks who would prevail. Up by six points with three minutes to play, the Wildcats straight up just didn’t execute…in regulation and then in overtime.

When it comes to execution, this falls mainly on the coach.  Knowing his team has struggled in the past in a similar situation, Sean Miller should have designed more plays to get Zeke Nnaji the ball inside, he simply didn’t. Passing the ball around, taking an unnecessary three-point shot or a difficult drive to the lane isn’t what should be happening when your team is in a position to win a game.

Arizona Wildcats Basketball

Then in overtime, Miller was substituting Nnaji and Christian Koloko for offense and defense, which was odd. Why is your best offensive player sitting out during overtime? He should have played all 5 minutes. In the end, you put Koloko in a pressure situation to win the game. I’m sorry, that’s on Miller.

Miller needs to really study film on the decisions he makes and start seriously making some changes. He continues to execute like this, this team is going to struggle to go far in March Madness.

Play more aggressively. In the end, instead of attacking the basket, they milked the clock and took poor shots. A few times Stone Gettings broke the full-court press, but instead of taking to the rim, he kicked it back out. Whether that was the decision of the player or coach, that can’t happen again or else this team will have a very hard time winning close games against top teams.

When you’re up by six with three minutes to go, it’s okay to milk some of the clock, but if the opportunity presents itself you have to attack. The crazy thing is during the majority of the games played, this team has no problem in pushing the pace and attacking, whether they were trailing or head. But when it comes to playing the same way in the closing minutes, in a back and forth game, the Wildcats just don’t have the right mentality and almost fold.

This team is too good to play like they do in closing minutes of games. They can’t be afraid to take the shot. Better to get a higher percentage shot playing your style versus shying away from it and taking a poor shot.

Foul shots. Say what you want, but as a team, they missed 11 free throws, which was costly against the Ducks. In both regulation and overtime, they had a chance to win it at the line, but couldn’t knock them down.

After getting knocked hard in the head, Josh Green stepped up to the line and missed both of is. Then in overtime, Koloko missed his as well. Yes, they should have made them, but can’t put all the blame on these two. The Wildcats should have never been put in a situation where they had to make free throws to win the game or send it into double overtime.

As a team, they have shot 73% from the line this season, which isn’t terrible but could be better. In close games, especially between two top teams, it sometimes comes down to who can make their free throws. Sometimes all it takes is more concentration and focus on getting the ball through the net. I’m sure too these players were a little nervous, having to knock free throws down to win the game, but at the college level, they have to be prepared to make them, regardless of the situation.

I’m sure Miller will be emphasizing free throw shooting during this week in practice to prevent this from happening again. We hope the next time the Wildcats are in a position to win the game, they knock down them down!

See what Miller had to say after the game:

At Zona Zealots, we were disappointed to see Arizona Basketball lose in this fashion in a must-win. But it’s just one game and the season isn’t over yet. Up next, they face the LA schools on the road and will require 40 minutes of sustain effort to come away with the sweep. As always, Bear Down, Arizona!