Arizona Basketball looks for revenge against depleted Stanford

Following their win over rival Arizona State, Arizona Basketball (12-3, 6-3) returns to action against a depleted Stanford squad (9-5, 5-3).

Arizona Basketball secured the season sweep over rival Arizona State on Monday evening with the 80-67 win, however, it didn’t come easy, nor did it come without a bit of a scare either.

As you may recall, freshman Ben Mathurin went down with an ankle injury late in the first half and never returned. Luckily for us, we have now learned that it was just a ‘Level-1’ sprain, and Mathurin should be back soon. The question now is just when.

Arizona Wildcats

As of now, Ben is questionable for this Thursday evenings game, and there seems to be no timetable for his return. Not exactly impeccable timing, especially when Stanford comes to town, looking for the rare sweep over Arizona.

Coming in, the Cardinal are a talented group and got off to a hot start earlier in the season, but have come crashing back down to reality since then as they have battled injury, illness, and everything else in between.

However, on Thursday evening, Stanford will battle even more adversity as they look for their first win in Tucson since 2008, and will also be down three starters.

Arizona is playing well and should have the confidence here, but as we saw in their 78-75 overtime loss to Stanford earlier in the year, they are going to have to play a much better game.

If the Wildcats are to come away with the victory over the Cardinal, these are the Keys to the Game:

Next Man Up: The Wildcats will be coming into this one without Kerr Kriisa, Jemarl Baker, Daniel Batcho, and now Mathurin (most likely). Those absences are quite significant and will leave Arizona with a depleted bench.

Luckily for us, Stanford is going to be without three starters, so Arizona’s chances of winning are even greater, however, it won’t be easy.

To win, it is going to take a group effort, and to me, it starts with Arizona’s bench. That’s why ‘Next Man Up’ is so important.

Hopefully, come Thursday, the Wildcats have a few players ready to answer when they are called upon and help to deliver the win!

Feed the Post: Azoulas Tubelis has come into his own lately, and he is proving to be a great asset around the bucket. As good as James Akinjo has been, it cannot be a one-man show. He needs to get others involved, and to me, that means feeding the post.

Have your big bruisers like Azoulas and Jordan Brown attack the post, which in turn should free up the outside a bit, assuming Stanford were to collapse down low. Either way, get this element of your game going early and often and punish the Cardinal!

Take Advantage of your opportunities: Arizona can be an opportunistic team when it wants to be, however, they have to capitalize on those opportunities when they are there. That means:

• Hitting Free-Throws
• Capitalizing on second-chance points
• Scoring points off turnovers

Stanford is a well-coached team that doesn’t make too many of these mistakes, so that is what capitalizing on them when they present themselves is important.

Arizona lost to Stanford last time because they couldn’t hit their free throws. If Arizona takes care of business in these areas, then they win!

Game Information:

Date: Thursday, January 28th, 2021

Time: 8:00 PM MST (Arizona Time), 7:00 PM PST

Location: Tucson, AZ – McKale Center (14,545… 0)

Line: -4.5 Arizona

Television: ESPN2

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

Team Records:

• Arizona Wildcats (12-3, 6-3):  Arizona picked up the series sweep over Arizona State, however, the level of competition increases against Stanford. The Wildcats will have a tough challenge come Thursday evening, and will they be ready to compete against a depleted Stanford squad?
• Stanford Cardinal (9-5,5-3): Stanford started the year hot, but has since hit some bumps along the way. Even with a depleted squad, the Cardinal enter in McKale with plenty of momentum following their 73-72 win over UCLA and will look to go 2-0 against Arizona this year.

All-Time Record: 68-27. Since 1949-50, Arizona Basketball has dominated this series having won 20 of the last 21 matchups. The Cardinal came away with the win in Northern California over a month ago and looks to make it 2-0 this year against the Cats.

Hopefully, Arizona can pick up the win and avenge their loss against Stanford from earlier in the season. As always, Bear Down, Arizona!