Arizona Basketball struggles continue as they are unable to find a way to close out a win again, in the final minutes, resulting in getting swept and losing their third straight Pac-12 game.
The month of February for Arizona Basketball has been disappointing, to say the least. They’ve won five games, but in the four games they lost, it came down to the Wildcats not being able to close it out in the final minutes. Against both USC and UCLA, that was the case and they now travel back home for the last two games of the regular season against the Washington schools, in games, they have to win.
Poor shooting, turnovers, unable to execute during closing minutes, unable to hold onto the lead, not controlling the boards, Josh Green not playing in both games due to injury and Max Hazzard not play against USC due to personal reasons…sums up this past road trip. Instead of being in a position to win the Pac-12, the Wildcats now face a situation in which they must win the next two home games in order to prevent a much lower seed in the NCAA Tournament.
After getting swept, the Wildcats drop to 19-10 overall and 9-7 in the Pac-12 (which currently puts them in sixth place). They will likely have to play a first-round game in the Pac-12 tournament instead of getting a bye. Even with their losses this season, ESPN Joe Lunardi has Arizona projected No. 6 in the South in his latest bracketology. That’s being nice.
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The way the Wildcats are playing now, they should be looking at more of a No.8 or No.9 season. We’ll see soon enough, depending on how the Wildcats perform against both Washington schools and in the Pac-12 Tournament, how high they actually place. For now, they have to focus on winning as many games as possible from hear on out before March Madness.
Arizona vs USC
Prior to the start of the USC game, it was announced that Green would be out for both games due to a back injury. His absence was felt in both. Green brings that elite level defense, plus the ability to push the ball down the floor, which the Wildcats had a hard time doing.
Against the Trojans, the Wildcats shot poorly (again) from the field, shooting 28% from two and 11% from three. Despite the poor shooting, they kept it close throughout, but too many turnovers and not getting enough consistency on the offensive end led to their defeat. They had a chance in the end but were unable to execute and get the stops and shots to fall to get the win, losing 57-48.
Zeke Nnaji led the Wildcats with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Nico Mannion had 11 points and two assists.
Arizona vs UCLA
Another loss to the UCLA Bruins. First time around, the Wildcats got spanked, this time around they had a chance to avenge their loss but couldn’t, losing 69-64.
This one had it all, including Sean Miller getting ejected and the Pac-12 refs outta control. The Bruins made 29 free throws compared to the Wildcats only 10. Besides the horrible calls, it was the same old formula of the Wildcats finding a way to lose it in the end.
Combination of multiple turnovers at the end, a few missed shots from two and three, missed foul shots and the Bruins finding a way to get the free-throw line cost the Wildcats. They had the lead the majority of the game up until the last two minutes, where they just fell apart.
Jack Murphy did his best as head coach, but even he couldn’t put together a game plan for the Wildcats to come out on top. On the plus side, Mannion had a great overall game finishing with 19 points, six assists, two rebounds and just one turnover in 37 minutes played. Of course, Nnaji did everything he could to keep the Wildcats in this one with 16 points and five rebounds, but it wasn’t enough.
Overall, they shot much better against UCLA, but Arizona Basketball found themselves in another situation in which they had to close out the game and they just couldn’t.
Here was Jack Murphy had to say after the UCLA game:
At Zona Zealots, we can all agree these are tough times indeed. The season isn’t over yet and Arizona Basketball can still find a way to go on a run. As always, Bear Down, Arizona!