Arizona Basketball prepares for battle against Utah in Salt Lake

It was a busy week for Arizona Basketball (13-4, 7-4) as the Wildcats played three conference games. They return to action on Thursday against Utah (7-7, 4-6).

It was a busy week for Arizona Basketball last week, as the Wildcats scored conference wins over Arizona State and Cal, however, they were unable to complete the sweep, losing to Stanford on Thursday evening at home.

After bouncing back in their route over the Golden Bears, Arizona will return to action on Thursday evening against Utah, this time a bit healthier, and with Kerr Kriisa now eligible as well.

Arizona Wildcats

Coming in, Utah should be riding high, and rightfully so, as they are coming off a three-point win over Colorado. The Utes trailed by as many as 19 to the Buffaloes in the second half before rallying and pulling off the upset.

Largely led by junior forward and Arizona native Timmy Allen, as well as senior guard Alfonso Plummer, these are the only two Utah players averaging double-figures in points. However, Utah does have some scorers and this is a team that when they’re clicking, they can be a pretty tough matchup.

Offensively, this is a team that has seen their fair of struggles this year, especially earlier in the season when they seemed to struggle with hitting open shots. Lately, they have been picking things up, averaging just over 75 points per game in their last three games.

Defensively, they are a pretty solid group, and overall have some nice length that could pose a challenge, particularly at the wing positions.

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

Feed the Post: Azoulas Tubelis has been playing well 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 for Akinjo and Ben Mathurin to bury the three.

Bring the energy: Against Stanford, the Wildcats looked flat. Blame it on having two rival games in five days if you will, but the energy and focus was not there. Arizona cannot have a repeat performance like that against Utah.

Utah is coming off a big win in which the Utes came from behind by 19 to win. I would imagine that momentum should carry over for the Utes, so Arizona’s got to be ready.

Bring the focus, bring the energy, play hard, and leave Salt Lake with a ‘W’.

Arizona’s bench needs to Step up: Arizona gets Kerr back, and Mathurin is a bit healthier, which are great things for the Wildcats.

Against Cal and ASU, the bench played fantastic but with more players to rotate in against Utah, that should give more of an advantage to the Wildcats. However, this group will need to step up still.

For this group, they need to be ready when called upon and make the most of their opportunities. If Arizona’s bench can even be semi-productive, it doesn’t bode well for Utah.

Game Information:

Date: Thursday, February 4th, 2021

Time: 5:00 PM MST (Arizona Time), 4:00 PM PST

Location: Salt Lake City, UT – Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,000… 0)

Line: -2.0 Arizona

Television: FS1

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

Team Records:

• Arizona Wildcats (13-4, 7-4):  Arizona did get two wins last week, however, they were, unfortunately, unable to pull off the sweep and will look to keep the winning going, starting with Utah.
• Utah Utes (7-7, 4-6): Getting the come from behind win over Colorado just days ago, Utah will look to build off that momentum and pull off the upset over Arizona at home.

All-Time Record: 35-30 Arizona. Since 1949-50, this has been a pretty close affair between the two programs, although the Wildcats have held the advantage of late. With the Utah and Arizona meeting for the first time this season, we will see who comes out on top.

Hopefully, Arizona can come out strong and pick up the win. As always, Bear Down, Arizona!