Bracketology: Rough week drops Arizona Wildcats to a 6-seed

College basketball rankings: Arizona slips to 18th in AP Poll, 16th in coaches

Still not as low as they have been this season

After a road sweep, it should be expected that the Arizona Wildcats would fall quite a bit in the weekly polls.

But they're not as far down as they were at one point in the season. The team is still in the top 20, and almost the top 15 in the coaches poll.

Here's how both of the new rankings shook out this week:

AP Top 25

RANK	TEAM	RECORD	POINTS
1	Kansas (63)	25-4	1,623
2	Michigan State (2)	24-5	1,510
3	Villanova	25-4	1,479
4	Virginia	22-6	1,405
5	Xavier	25-4	1,356
6	Oklahoma	22-6	1,297
7	Miami (FL)	23-5	1,211
8	North Carolina	23-6	1,205
9	Oregon	23-6	1,065
10	West Virginia	22-7	1,056
11	Louisville	22-7	822
12	Indiana	23-6	819
13	Utah	23-7	751
14	Maryland	23-6	733
15	Purdue	22-7	613
16	Iowa	20-8	572
17	Duke	21-8	495
18	Arizona	22-7	450
19	Baylor	21-8	447
20	Texas A&M	22-7	419
21	Iowa State	20-9	413
22	Kentucky	21-8	405
23	Texas	19-10	338
24	SMU	24-4	196
25	California	21-8	178
Others receiving votes: Wisconsin 93, Seton Hall 60, Wichita St 43, Saint Joseph's 29, Notre Dame 14, Texas Tech 12, Cincinnati 4, Vanderbilt 3, Saint Mary's 3, Arkansas-Little Rock 2, Valparaiso 2, Dayton 1, Stephen F. Austin 1
Dropped out: Notre Dame 23.

USA TODAY Coaches Poll

RANK	TEAM	RECORD	POINTS	PREV	HI/LOW
1	Kansas (31)	25-4	799	2	1/7
2	Villanova	25-4	734	1	1/17
3	Michigan St (1)	24-5	733	7	1/13
4	Virginia	22-6	673	3	3/13
5	Xavier	25-4	637	5	4/NR
6	Oklahoma	22-6	623	4	1/8
7	Miami-Florida	23-5	607	11	9/NR
8	North Carolina	23-6	584	6	1/11
9	West Virginia	22-7	518	12	7/23
10	Oregon	23-6	510	13	12/NR
11	Indiana	23-6	434	15	14/NR
12	Maryland	23-6	405	9	2/9
13	Purdue	22-7	330	19	8/24
13	Utah	23-7	330	23	16/NR
15	Iowa	20-8	321	8	4/NR
16	Arizona	22-7	307	10	6/20
17	Baylor	21-8	288	16	13/25
18	Texas A&M	22-7	261	21	5/NR
19	Kentucky	21-8	226	14	1/21
20	Iowa St.	20-9	221	17	2/21
21	Duke	21-8	211	18	3/NR
22	Texas	19-10	187	25	25/NR
23	Wichita St.	23-7	68	28	11/NR
24	St. Mary's	24-4	61	27	25/NR
25	California	21-8	58	32	13/NR
Others receiving votes: Wisconsin 52; Notre Dame 42; Seton Hall 39; Texas Tech 36; Providence 28; St. Joseph's 17; Pittsburgh 17; South Carolina 16; Dayton 14; Valparaiso 6; St. Bonaventure 4; Colorado 2; Arkansas-Little Rock 1.
Dropped out: No. 20 Notre Dame, No. 22 Dayton, No. 24 Providence.

There's also a fourth Pac-12 team in the rankings now as Cal jumps in there after sweeping the L.A. schools this past weekend. Teams keep jumping into the top 25 right before a date with Arizona, and why should the last week of the season be any different?

I think it's pretty clear that there is no great team in college basketball; that it's just a bunch of really good teams. All the movement and uncertainty in the rankings has highlighted that fact this year. It'll be interesting to see which teams get favorable matchups or get hot at the right time when the NCAA Tournament starts in a couple weeks.

Seven AP voters left Arizona off their ballot entirely, while Cormac Gordon of the Staten Island Advance has the Wildcats 10th. No one knows anything.

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/1Qo8YCk
via IFTTT

Arizona basketball: Wildcats' performance a nutshell of their season

We give a brief overview of what is plaguing the Arizona basketball team.

The Arizona Wildcats' thriller against the Utah Utes made me realize this was their season in a nutshell.

They fell behind early due to an offense so stagnant I was afraid I'd catch the Zika virus, a defense so inconsistent they could not stop a simple dribble-drive offense, and a team motor that made the Wright brothers' first airplane look high tech.

And then they roared back to life like an F-15 fighter with one single mission; destroy the targeted area.

Now yes, these are obvious hyperboles, but they get to a bigger point that this team is basically the shrugging emoji:

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You never know what you are going to get and this seems to be Sean Miller's go-to move lately.

Same, Sean. Same. http://pic.twitter.com/rU3G5FFpKq

— Gregor Orbino (@gregorbino) February 27, 2016

I have a running joke with a friend that this team needs to be medicated for being bi-polar.  Even though the ‘Cats seem to make their games close (average loss over last 112 games is under four points), there doesn't seem to be a middle ground.

They either play great or they stink, only making games close due to their sheer talent. This makes their performance in March seem to be either a first round exit or a Final Four.

They are truly that bi-polar.

But what is causing this inconsistency that U of A fans are so unaccustomed to seeing?

It is three-tiered. Offense. Defense. Team Effort.

OFFENSE

In years past, the team had a ‘closer' of sorts who they could turn to with the shot clock running down or the game on the line. Now they don't. We all knew this coming into the season, but seeing it in person is eye-opening.

The play of Gabe York, who is either literally on fire or the coming of the next ice age, seems to dictate the play of the Wildcats. However, one player should not have this much on-the-court influence. especially in a Sean Miller motion-offense that has never revolved around one player.

Additionally, the play of Kadeem Allen, who came in as a JuCo Player of the Year, has been underwhelming. Yes, he has been under the weather lately, but even prior to his weeks-long illness, was not putting up the numbers many expected.

That ineffective guard play has stymied the team from getting into the offense, let alone scoring, creating rushed and difficult shots at the end of the shot clock.

Aside from individual critiques, the entire team underwhelms when it matches up against a zone defense. This again has been evident over the years, but Miller and Co. either have the worst offense in the country or players who frankly cannot adapt to an offense they have practiced time and time again.

Versus Utah, it took the team an entire half to figure out what they wanted to do on offense (and then forgetting what to do the final two and a half minutes in the game), forcing Miller to use up his timeouts to keep the Utes from running Arizona out of the gym.

The Cats' offense was never able to get into a flow; seemingly uncomfortable with the fact they weren't able to run their offense through Ryan Anderson. who saw minimal touches as Utah's zone packed the paint. Furthermore, the game was choppy, being broken up with an assortment of whistles on both sides.

I've come to the realization that Arizona's hopes in March will depend on facing teams who do not play zone and referees who keep the whistles to a minimum, allowing for a free-flowing game that allows U of A's athleticism to be displayed.

DEFENSE

It's never been more evident the Wildcats are without a lockdown stopper than it is now.

At Arizona, fans of the program have been absolutely fortunate to have experienced Nick Johnson, Aaron Gordon, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. Without their tenacity on the defensive side of the ball, the gap is showing, and it is much wider than any of us have feared.

In the paint, the defense is fine, with Kaleb Tarczewski and Ryan Anderson protecting the rim about as well as we could expect. The difference though, is the wing defenders' inability to stop or even slow down opposing guards and slashers as they head to the rim.

It first starts with having a 5'7" player on the court.

This is in no way to put Parker Jackson-Cartwright on blast, but while a (usually) efficient point guard (minus Utah where he had a miserable game), he provides little resistance on defense to bigger and stronger guards. Continuing, Gabe York is also a below average defender, and we all saw that at the end of Saturday's game. The trend goes much further than those two players, as Allen and the other guard/wing defenders were blown by countless times throughout the first half.

It's no wonder Miller has resorted to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  on the sideline.

It might not seem so egregious to be beat off the dribble, but it puts an immense pressure on the defense, creating something of a power-play that usually results in a high percentage shot. Utah got a lot of those on Saturday and Arizona, on the other hand, did not.

In the end, winning ball games comes down to the simple fact of intensity and what I saw in Salt Lake City, was a lackluster attempt at that.

TEAM MOTOR

After 29 regular season games, two exhibition games, a "secret" practice game, and the Red-Blue game, Sean Miller cannot be the one who is needed to motivate the team.

It needs to be the players themselves, realizing that subpar play could leave the team with just four games left on the season (Stanford, California, first round of Pac-12 Tournament, first round of NCAA Tournament).

"[Miller] wants us to understand and realize that we have to go hard. He can't keep telling us," said Kadeem Allen.

We've seen Miller try to light a fire under the team and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But at this point, it is not his job anymore. This team needs to realize that, though they might be talented, they are not the most talented in the country and cannot survive by just simply showing up.

"It's not easy to say this," Miller said in the postgame press conference "but this team at Arizona has a ceiling."

Arizona definitely has the tools and pieces to win games in March if they play with energy and a purpose like we've seen happen so many times in McKale. But that requires 40 minutes of effort (we had a Roundtable discussion on this) and while I thought we'd see it appear, it looks like this team might not have it in them.

Overall, this trip might be indicative of the 2015-2016 college basketball season where road teams are at a considerable disadvantage and parity within conferences has reached a new level. It also might be a sobering realization that this team's aspirations for a deep run in the NCAA tournament were merely a desert mirage which stays on the horizon, frustrating players and fans alike.

Hopefully, though, this latest mountain trip is the late season wakeup call the team needs to address its most pertinent issues and enter the month of March with a renewed focus and an intensity needed to make a run towards the NCAA National Championship that has no favorites.

You can follow Alec on Twitter.

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/1XVZ50e
via IFTTT

Arizona baseball: Three Up, Three Down: The Tony Gwynn Classic

It was a good weekend to be a freshman Arizona hitter

The Arizona Wildcats leave San Diego with a 2-1 record in the Tony Gwynn Classic after three very good and exciting baseball games. After opening the tournament with an 11-10 loss to Tulane, Arizona found itself on the right end of an 11-10 decision against Nebraska on Saturday. Then, to close things out, the Wildcats defeated host San Diego State 7-3 on Sunday.

It was a fun road trip to be a part of, and it was certainly interesting to see what this team is like under the new coaching staff.

Here's the three best performances from the weekend, and the three worst:

Three Up:

1. Alfonso Rivas

Coach Johnson has told me that Rivas might be the best freshman on the team, and after one week, I was skeptical. But Rivas turned things around in a major way this weekend, as he was named to the Tony Gwynn Classic All-Tournament team, the only representative from Arizona. Rivas went 9-for-15 at the plate, including a couple of really clutch hits in the two wins. He also drove in seven runs, scored four, and hit the team's first home run of the year.

2. Cesar Salazar

If Rivas is the best freshman on the team, Salazar is right there in contention for that title. The catcher was 6-for-11 despite not starting Sunday's game due to SDSU throwing a left-hander at the start. He also threw out his first two collegiate baserunners. His two RBI put the game away on Sunday, and he also scored two runs earlier in the weekend. Big weekend for freshman hitters.

3. The Bench Mob

After the opening weekend at Rice, there was some talk from people that were in attendance about the energy coming from Arizona's bench. Let me tell you, it's real, and it had an effect on certain opposing pitchers throughout the weekend. All of the sudden there are water fountains spraying out of the dugout after runs. There are rally towels being waved. The energy is alive and well. And they go hard. Arizona fans should be excited about what they'll get to experience on Wednesday for the first time. Maybe they'll even put on another basketball clinic for everyone.

Three Down

1. Bobby Dalbec

Arizona's do-it-all star is definitely struggling in this first part of the year, but may have found something that worked late on Sunday as he hit a big double down the left field line. Overall, the junior went 2-for-14 at the dish, including a rare platinum sombrero (5 Ks) on Friday. Both of those hits were doubles though, and hard-hit doubles. Maybe he'll get it going soon.

2. Friday and Saturday pitching

Honestly, the only good performance from an Arizona pitcher from beginning to end in the first two games came from Rio Gomez, and he only faced one batter. Everyone else struggled big time at some point during their outing. It's also concerning given that you aren't going to win a lot of 11-10 games on Fridays and Saturdays in the Pac-12. Fortunately, Sunday's pitching performance was stellar from all three guys involved, and gave some hope moving forward.

3. Jared Oliva

One hitter who didn't join the party was Arizona's center fielder. Oliva managed just one hit in eleven at bats, and struck out four times. Not great, but just like Dalbec, I'd expect him to start picking things up sooner than later.

Arizona is back in action on Tuesday, as they'll take on the Arizona Diamondbacks in an exhibition at Salt River Fields. The home opener is Wednesday night against Cal State Fullerton.

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/1ThYNlj
via IFTTT

Scooby Wright and Cayleb Jones measurements at the NFL Combine

Let's find out how well Arizona's two draft hopefuls did at the combine this weekend

The Arizona Wildcats have two participants in the NFL Combine with Cayleb Jones and Scooby Wright. Both are Rich Rodriguez products and this could be the first of many Arizona-filled combines. The two had great performances in some of the biggest tests in their life.

Now we wait for Arizona's Pro Day and then accurate mock drafts will start rolling out. For now, we'll take a look at both of their combine results and see how they stacked up to those in their position.

Cayleb Jones

In 2015, Cayleb Jones hauled in 55 throws for 904 yards, adding five touchdowns. Compare that to his 2014 season, where he caught 73 passes for 1019 yards and nine touchdowns. A small dip in production, but still serviceable considering the down year Arizona faced.

Most draft sites have him ranked as a top 25 receiver in the class, going anywhere from the 4th to 6th round.

He measured in at 6-3 209lbs, with a 32.75-inch arm length and 9.25-inch hand measurement. He posted a strong 40-time, and that seemed to be his biggest question mark heading into the draft. He has the size and athleticism, but whether he could get by corners was what some scouts were wondering.

His bench press was extremely disappointing, putting up only nine reps. Given his size, I would have thought that he would have been a lot stronger. He also posted a fairly strong vertical jump and 3-cone drill. His shuttle times were just below average. I would have thought that Cayleb would have helped himself in the combine, but it seems as if this is kind of a wash.

*parenthesis indicate rank among participants, DNP = Did Not Participate

40-time	Bench press	Vertical jump	Broad jump	3-cone drill	20-yard shuttle	60-yard shuttle
4.65 (7/37)	9 reps (34/36)	33.5 inches (24/41)	DNP	6.99 seconds (13/28)	4.14 seconds (20/28)	11.46 seconds (11/19)

Scooby Wright

Scooby Wright is a big mystery for scouts, with some analysts having him as a top 20 talent, yet thinking he will slide down into the second and third rounds. Sure, he's coming off multiple injuries from this season, leaving him with less than two games worth of film, but he came back strong in the New Mexico Bowl.

Going off sophomore film isn't favorable, but he swept the national award circuit and won Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year as a true sophomore.

He measured in at 6-0 239lbs, down 15 pounds from the New Mexico Bowl. His arm length came in at 30.5 inches and hands at 9.75 inches.

He had one of the worst 40 times among linebackers, but during the combine interviews, he had this to say. "You don’t have 31 tackles (for loss) by being slow." That's true, and the 40 isn't the most important statistic, but prior to the combine Scooby was hoping to be in the 4.60-4.70 range.

Wright did prove to be one of the stronger linebackers of the bunch, ranking 5th, putting up 225lbs 22 times. His vertical and broad jump were below average.

But this shouldn't be a concern. Scooby has never been a speed rusher kind of guy. Watching the combine, he was one the thickest, strongest guys of the group. He's a guy who plays off natural instincts and smarts, overpowering his opponents. If these measurements affect his draft stock, a team will be getting a steal the longer he drops.

Let's face it, Scooby is just here to play football. "Because, honestly, I really don’t like doing this stuff and I love playing football," Wright said in pre-combine interviews.

40-time	Bench press	Vertical jump	Broad jump	3-cone drill	20-yard shuttle	60-yard shuttle
4.90 (27/31)	22 reps (5/28)	31 inches (20/32)	113 inches (25/32)	DNP	4.47 seconds (12/20)	DNP

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/1QGAJ4Q
via IFTTT

Arizona baseball: Wildcats close Tony Gwynn Classic with 7-3 win over San Diego State

A late offensive outburst gave Arizona a 2-1 record for the weekend

SAN DIEGO, CA -- For the first seven innings, the Arizona Wildcats finally found themselves in a low-scoring pitcher's duel. But a five-run eighth off of San Diego State shortstop Alan Trejo changed that. Arizona's late offensive outburst gave them a 7-3 win on Sunday over the Aztecs, and a 2-1 record in the inaugural Tony Gwynn Classic.

It was 2-2 heading into that eighth inning. San Diego State was able to get two runners on with a double and an intentional walk.

In came Rio Gomez to get the second out of the inning. The next batter then grounded one into the hole between short and third, but Louis Boyd was there to make the play, then threw across his body to first to get the third out of the inning.

"That play was probably the play of the game," head coach Jay Johnson said afterwards.

Ryan Aguilar stepped to the plate to lead things off in the bottom half of the inning with the dugout fired up. He dribbled one to SDSU pitcher Mike Diamond, who threw it away trying to get Aguilar at first. The Aztecs played poor defense all weekend, and that errant throw was their second error on the day.

A wild pitch by Diamond would move Aguilar to third, which forced SDSU head coach Mark Martinez to go to Trejo. Five of the next six Arizona hitters would reach base, including this hit by Alfonso Rivas to give the Wildcats the lead for good.

Rivas puts Arizona in front! http://pic.twitter.com/fWc2RnewPk

— AZ Desert Swarm (@azdesertswarm) February 29, 2016

"I was just trying to stay calm," the freshman said about his mindset coming to the plate. "Get a good pitch and put a good swing on it. Staying calm helps me see the pitch really well. Luckily I got a changeup up. He hung it, and I put a good swing on it."

It was Rivas' only hit of the day, but after a huge couple of days on Friday and Saturday, he was the lone Arizona representative on the all-tournament team.

"It's a huge honor," Rivas said of the distinction. "Being a freshman and being on the all-tournament team is unreal."

The Wildcats finally got good pitching throughout the game on Sunday, starting with JC Cloney. The junior college transfer only recorded two outs on Friday against Tulane, but this time, he went six innings, allowing just one earned run.

"I knew after Friday's rough outing, quick outing that I needed to get back on the mound to get over it, and show them it was a fluke and it was just a bad day for me," Cloney said of his opportunity to bounce back so quickly. "We had a meeting last night and (Johnson) said I was starting, and I said 'good, let's do it."

"It was huge," Johnson added. "We're gonna need him to be consistent and I knew he would respond well."

When Cloney did get taken out in the seventh, Kevin Ginkel entered and got four big outs. Rio Gomez followed that up with an impressive five outs to close the game and record the win.

"Our pitching today was spectacular," Johnson said afterwards. "Rio Gomez really filled up the strike zone."

Arizona finishes the Tony Gwynn Classic with a 2-1 record, and an overall record of 4-3 in 2016. The Wildcats will head to Scottsdale to take on the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday in an exhibition at Salt River Fields. Their next collegiate game will be the home opener Wednesday against a Cal State Fullerton team coming off a weekend sweep of Indiana.

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/1XU6ihq
via IFTTT

Arizona softball: Wildcats finish Easton Bama Bash 3-2, unable to take down Alabama

A fairly successful weekend for the ladies as they finally come back home

The Arizona Wildcats fled to Tuscaloosa, Alabama for their third consecutive tournament of the season, heading in ranked 15th in the nation. At the Easton Bama Bash, Arizona took Marshall on twice, No. 4 Alabama twice and No. 14 Tennessee once. The ladies came away from the weekend with a 3-2 record, only failing to defeat the Crimson Tide.

The Wildcats finally come back home this weekend for the Wildcat Invitational, where they'll host BYU, Mount St. Mary's, St. Francis, James Madison and UTEP. The action starts back up on Thursday, March 3rd at 6 pm with BYU. The girls play all weekend long, going through 1 pm on Sunday, March 6th.

Day 1: Marshall and No. 4 Alabama

The Wildcats got it started on Friday going up against Marshall. Freshman Taylor McQuillin got the start in the circle and managed the game, until getting into some trouble in the third inning, giving up a grand slam. Arizona responded in the 4th inning, plating four to tie the game. McQuillin found her groove and was able to retire seven of the next eight after giving up the grand slam.

From there, Arizona took over in the fifth inning with Alexis Dotson and Lauren Young bringing runners home, creating a 7-4 lead. Two unearned runs in the sixth inning for Marshall made it a 7-6 game, with Candrea turning to Danielle O'Toole in the seventh, who successfully closed the game out.

Later in the day, Arizona played No. 4 Alabama, with Danielle O'Toole taking down the first three batters she faced. Catching seemed to be the issue for Arizona, as Robyn Porter allowed a pitch to get by, giving Alabama a 1-0 lead. Not much action until Mandie Perez was able to beat out a pickle to score, followed by Alexis Dotson bringing Katiyana Mauga home to tie the game at two. Arizona was able to add one more run, giving Danielle O'Toole a little insurance, as she battled into the seventh inning, where an error allowed two runs for the Alabama walk-off, 4-3.

Day 2: No. 14 Tennessee and No. 4 Alabama

Mandie Perez hit a lead-off homerun to right center to give Arizona their only run of the day. That's all the Cats needed, as this was a major pitching battle. Danielle O'Toole allowed only four hits and struck out seven, giving the Wildcats another ranked win on the season.

Another date with Alabama came later in the day, with this one being not nearly as close as their first matchup. Arizona started off on the right foot, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. But Alabama responded with two scores of their own. Arizona pitchers got roughed up, with Taylor McQuillin bowing out after 1.1 innings. Nancy Bowling took over and had a great performance through her first 2.2 innings, not allowing a single hit until the fourth inning where she gave up a two-run home run. Michelle Floyd came in for an inning and got roughed up herself, allowing four runs to go by for Alabama, dropping this game 9-1 in six innings.

Day 3: Marshall

Arizona's last game of the Bama Bash put them up against Marshall, who hadn't won a game all weekend. They started the game with a 1-0 lead after stealing home, but Arizona piled it up early, with a five-run inning courtesy of Mo Mercado, Katiyana Mauga, and Nancy Bowling. Mandie Perez joined the fun in the fourth adding her own solo home run, giving Arizona their sixth and final run of the game. Marshall was able to add two more runs, but Danielle O'Toole came away with the 6-3 victory.

*****

The team will be without Eva Watson for another 4-6 weeks as she suffered a knee injury. The injury moved quite a few pieces around, including Katiyana Mauga to right field and Ashleigh Hughes to second base, which moved Lauren Young over to third, replacing Mauga.

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/1OGssfT
via IFTTT

Arizona baseball shows off their basketball skills

Does Zeus need to take notes?

Before Arizona took on San Diego State in the final game of the Tony Gwynn Classic, a basketball game broke out (sort of) on the field.

Should these guys be taking on Cal and Stanford this week?

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/1KVLe8d
via IFTTT

Arizona basketball: Three takeaways from the Wildcats' loss to the Utah Utes

We learned about Allonzo Trier's scoring, Chance Comanche's minutes, and Parker Jackson-Cartwright's inconsistency

After being beaten by an unranked Colorado Buffaloes team on Wednesday night, the Arizona Wildcats desperately needed to be a the Utah Utes on Saturday afternoon to keep their Pac-12 Conference title hopes alive.

But the Wildcats would lose to Utah, 70-64, and their chance at winning another Pac-12 title is now virtually out the window. And that's not all we learned in that game -- here are a few other takeaways.

Allonzo Trier is the team's best scorer

I was tempted to write that Trier is Arizona's best player, but I don't want to take away from Kaleb Tarczewski's defensive value. Trier is definitely Arizona's best scorer, though, and he needs to touch the ball on every possession he's on the floor. The Utes had no answer for Trier, and so he was able have terrific success on the offensive end, scoring 23 points on just 10 shots. He shot from the perimeter, he drove to the basket, he spotted up, he created his own shot, he scored in transition. Trier did it all and, if you don't already, it'd be a good time to start appreciating how skilled he is.

I wouldn't say Trier is the most athletic player, but with the type of footwork and ball-handling ability he has, it really doesn't matter. When he needs to create space for a shot he can, we he needs to shake his defender and get into the lane he can, or he can spot-up if you need him to. I don't think it'd be ridiculous to say that he's the best scorer that's been at Arizona since Derrick Williams.

Trier is averaging 18.0 points per game in the last five games, and if he's playing like this going into the NCAA Tournament, Arizona is going to be a tough out.

Chance Comanche has earned more minutes

Comanche was a pleasant surprise against Utah. He played 11 minutes -- the most he's played since Dec. 16 against NAU -- and provided the Wildcats with something they desperately needed -- defensive ability. Comanche played the four and, even though he's not as strong as Ryan Anderson, he possesses better lateral quickness and length. Anderson has issues containing dribble penetration at times, but that's an area where it seems Comanche is better. Not to mention that Comanche's length naturally makes it tougher for opponents to finish over him, where as Ryan Anderson only has a 6'8.5" wingspan --  a below average measurement for a player of his size. Comanche had two blocks in the short time he was on the court.

Offensively, Comanche contributed too. The team had an offensive rating of 200 (!) when he was on the court, and he made both of his field goal attempts, including one that was with his back to the basket in the low post.

If Comanche can provide Arizona with some extra defensive firepower AND not be a liability offensively, he needs to play. And against Utah, he did that and more.

Parker Jackson-Cartwright struggles away from home

While neither Kadeem Allen nor Gabe York were good in this game, Jackson-Cartwright was by the far the worst amongst them. He played 12 minutes, missed both of his shots, and had two turnovers to just one assist. The concerning thing is that road performances like this have become the norm.

Take a look at how Jackson-Cartwright has fared on the road this year:

Opponent	Minutes	Points	FG	Assists	Turnovers	Offensive Rating (Arizona's ORTG = 115.3)
at Gonzaga	19	6	2-8	1	1	74
at ASU	20	4	1-2	3	1	122
at UCLA	16	9	3-5	2	2	119
at USC	19	2	1-3	1	3	51
at Stanford	18	0	0-3	3	3	29
at Cal	18	4	1-3	6	3	93
at WSU	35	7	2-3	4	0	158
at UW	24	3	0-2	1	2	69
at Colorado	21	2	1-2	3	2	50
at Utah	12	0	0-2	1	2	13

Of the 10 road games, three performances have been good -- at ASU, at UCLA, at WSU -- while the others have been really poor. I didn't even know it was possible to have an offensive rating of 13, like he had against Utah.

It's also worth noting that his three "good" performances on the road have come against teams that aren't of NCAA Tournament-caliber.

Now, obviously there are no more road games this season, and PJC did perform better in neutral site games (though, he did struggle against Providence, a tournament-caliber team):

Opponent	Minutes	Points	FG	Assists	Turnovers	Offensive Rating
Santa Clara	27	6	2-5	7	1	121
Providence	23	6	3-5	2	4	76
Boise State	24	7	4-5	1	1	104

PJC has shown he's more than capable of running the offense -- I mean, just in the last home stand he was phenomenal -- but he's inconsistent. This team goes as its guards go, and with the most important games remaining in Arizona's season being away from McKale Center, if his away-from-home struggles continue, you have to wonder how far the team can go in the postseason if he's the one running the point.

For that reason, starting a now-healthy Kadeem Allen appears to be the better option. Allen, no matter where the games were being played, was one of Arizona's most consistent players before he got sick. His play has picked back up as of late, and with him being the more consistent guard plus the team's best perimeter defender, I think the team has more upside with him starting at point guard.

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/1TIpVbM
via IFTTT

Arizona basketball: Chance Comanche's emergence is the "silver lining" of the Wildcats' losing road trip

Arizona lost both games of the Rocky Mountain road trip, but Chance Comanche earned himself some more playing time

Something needed to change for the Arizona Wildcats in the second half against the Utah Utes. The Utes' blistering offense was having no trouble putting points on the board against Arizona's shoddy defense. Utah shot 60 percent in the first half and took an 11-point lead on the ninth-ranked Wildcats heading into halftime -- the largest halftime deficit that Arizona had faced all season.

Sean Miller, recognizing that an adjustment was necessary, mixed things up. That adjustment was in the form of a lineup change. Four of Arizona's five starters would return to the floor, but one would start the half on the bench. No, it wouldn't be a minor alteration, such as moving Parker Jackson-Cartwright to the bench in favor of Kadeem Allen or Gabe York being replaced by Mark Tollefsen, rather Miller opted to start a rarely-used freshman, Chance Comanche, in place of Ryan Anderson, a likely All-Pac-12 player.

Considering Comanche hadn't played in five of Arizona's last six games (due to a concussion and being out of the rotation) and Anderson often being seen as the team's most dominant player, it may have appeared to be a puzzling move, but Miller's reasoning for it was simple -- his team's defense needed to improve.

"Ryan has been a godsend for us," Miller said*. "His ability to score points and rebound, I think it’s easy to see he’ll be an all-conference player, but you have to be able to do it on the defensive end because there’s so many good players that rebound and score, but it’s negated because of their defense."

Anderson's first half performance was filled with defensive miscues. Whether it was being beaten off the dribble, not making the proper rotations, or failing to provide help defense, Anderson simply didn't show up on that end of the floor, and it was enough for Miller to bench him for the start of the second half.

"We’ve been on him for a long time," Miller said. "It hasn’t changed. He’s got to play better defense for our team to have a chance down the stretch of finishing strong. He knows that and that's the way it is."

But as the door closed for Anderson, it opened for Comanche. On Arizona's very first defensive possession of the second half, Comanche swatted Utah's star center, Jakob Poeltl. It would be a fitting beginning to what was a stellar second half performance by the freshman.

"I thought that Chance Comanche was really the silver lining today," Miller said. "We’ve been watching him develop throughout the year....when you give these young players an opportunity in a game like today with the stakes where it’s at, you learn a lot about them."

And we learned that Comanche is ready for more playing time. Comanche played 11 minutes in the second half, made both of his field goal attempts, grabbed two rebounds, and, most importantly, provided the Wildcats with a defensive spark. He blocked two shots, used his 7-foot-2 wingspan to alter others and disrupt ball handlers, and guarded tightly on the perimeter.

"When he was in there, he just gave us more balance, more length, made things happen and just did a good job," Miller said. "I thought he gave us a boost we needed in the second half."

Comanche's playing time has been spotty in his freshman season, to say the least, but Miller acknowledged that he may have earned himself a permanent spot in the rotation with his strong performance.

"I think Chance is with us for the long haul," Miller said.

If so, the former four-star recruit will be added to an already strong front court trio of Kaleb Tarczewski, Ryan Anderson, and Dusan Ristic, giving the Wildcats even more versatility than before.

"We can play him at either spot, the four and the five, and he can guard the four and five," Miller said.

Despite Comanche's effort, the Wildcats were unable to complete the second half comeback and we're swept on the road trip, but his emergence could prove to be a nice consolation prize.

"I think depth at this time of year is coveted," Miller said. "It’s priceless because you’re able to rest good players for three or four minutes and sometimes while they’re resting, play really well."

It obviously remains to be seen how much of an impact Comanche will have moving forward, but the most important part of the season is now here, and if Comanche can replicate what he did against Utah, he could very well become a significant piece to a potential late-season run.

***

*all quotes transcribed via Arizona Athletics' YouTube Channel. You can follow this author on Twitter @RKelapireUA

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/1QdszDN
via IFTTT

Sonoran Hot Reads: The college football hate map is weird

So much misplaced hate

It's become a yearly tradition where Reddit puts together a map of the most hated college football team in each state. It's no surprise that the Arizona Wildcats are the most hated team in the state, because more people go to ASU than Arizona. But there are some weird things on here for states near Arizona. Like, why does the state of New Mexico hate Baylor so much? Or what's up with Nevada's vitriol towards Alabama?

- Gabe gives his thoughts on what's happened so far in spring practice

Basketball

- The winning streak against Utah is over

Baseball

- Arizona was in its second-straight 11-10 game. Fortunately, they came out on top in this one. They'll play San Diego State on Sunday, who were dominated by Kentucky Saturday night

Softball

- Danielle O'Toole beat Tennessee, but the Cats were run-ruled by Alabama later in the day

Other sports

- Pau Tonnesen keeps getting better, which is scary. The women's 4x400 relay team also broke the school record at this weekend's MPSF Championships

- Women's tennis did what baseball couldn't do this weekend and beat Tulane. Men's tennis took down UCF

- Sand volleyball held their Red-Blue scrimmage

- Women's basketball lost to UCLA. They play at USC Sunday afternoon

Tucson news

- With the weather warming up, more hikers are calling for assistance out on the trails

- Raytheon is looking to have better hurricane prediction technology

- People are slashing tires at a Marana apartment complex

PHOTOS: GRAAAVVEEE DIGGERRRRR & friends crank it up at #MonsterJam in #Tucson MORE >> https://t.co/GfxBLtoIBJ http://pic.twitter.com/eNYWEVoCd3

— Mike Christy (@wildcatphotog) February 27, 2016

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/1TL6tMF
via IFTTT

Arizona football: Wildcats approaching the halfway point of spring practice

We're almost halfway through Arizona spring practice

The Arizona Wildcats have made it through more than a third of spring practice and there have been plenty of observations. We've been able to give you everything from roster updates, observations from the first two days of spring practice, quarterback competition, Cam Denson's position change, the culture change on defense, and updates from Marcel Yates and Sani Fuimaono.

Now, here are some more notes on what's been going on in spring practice:

Rich Rodriguez after 6th spring practice

Tellas Jones cited with three misdemeanors

Word came out that Tellas Jones was in some legal trouble, cited with three misdemeanors in Scottsdale, where he will appear in court later next week.

Three charges against Arizona safety Tellas Jones: possession of drug paraphernalia, speeding and making an unsafe lane change (2/2)

— Michael Lev (@MichaelJLev) February 26, 2016

Tellas Jones has been not been a participant in practice this spring. However, his misdemeanors are not related to his absence. Rich Rodriguez cited "personal issues" when talking about his senior safety earlier this week at practice.

Tony Ellison a name to watch out for, again

Last spring, a lot of the receivers said that Tony Ellison was a guy to watch out for. Will Parks, Trey Griffey, Nate Phillips, all gave their seal of approval on Ellison. This spring, when asked about a receiver to watch out for, Samajie Grant said Tony Ellison. Grant believes that Ellison is the next Julian Edelman and gives him a 99% chance of starting at some point this upcoming season.

"He's been one of the best route runners, his release moves are clean and he's physical. Just an overall good receiver," Samajie Grant said after practice on Wednesday.

After practice on Thursday Rodriguez said that he would expect Tony Ellison to crack the starting rotation.

Samajie Grant battling through his injuries

Just nagging injuries for Grant, and he has to play soft on it but continues to play through it. Not being able to play to his full ability is frustrating but he's going to do what it takes to produce in his senior year, coming off a disappointing junior campaign.

Anthony Mariscal will see a lot of reps this season

Rich Rodriguez has said that safety is a very thin position. Every guy at safety will be getting reps because of graduation, after losing Jamar Allah, Anthony Lopez and Will Parks. Through the last five spring practices, when Mariscal's name gets brought up, players have nothing but great things to say about him.

Paul Magloire has still been working with the linebackers, and while they're going to be moving him around and there's still plenty of time, I think he might actually stay as a hybrid linebacker, adding more speed on the field. With that being said, I think the safeties will be Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, Tellas Jones, and Anthony Mariscal.

Trey Griffey to carry heavier workload this season

It's no surprise that Arizona is lacking size at the wide receiver position. Trey Griffey checks in at 6-3 and then Shawn Poindexter will be coming in at 6-6. After that, the main contributors will likely be under 6-0, giving Griffey a strong combination of height and Pac-12 experience.

Size not a concern for a go-to receiver

But that's not to say that he is the go-to receiver. Rodriguez believes that in his offense there doesn't need to be a go-to receiver, noting that they can have any of their pass catchers be go-to guys. Rodriguez had said that Trey Griffey is going to be playing more than he ever has and getting a lot of looks.

Samajie Grant also talked about the lack of height at the position but wasn't too concerned. He says there are guys who go up and get the ball, citing Cam Denson, who has a 36-inch vertical.

Spring practice is more serious now

The general consensus is that the everyone is completely focused in on this season. That was definitely the vibe that has been floating around on the defensive side of the ball, given the new staff overhaul, but even the offensive guys are saying that things are starting to get more serious.

"It's real intense," Grant said. "Rich Rodriguez isn't playing this year and no one is going to try him. Everyone is just more focused. After seeing our results last year, no matter how many players got hurt that was no excuse for our results last year. We all realized what being focused can do."

Jarvis McCall has moved to safety

This move makes sense, given the lack of depth that Rodriguez has mentioned at safety. McCall is a big body that Rodriguez craves at the safety position. My guess is that he sees most of his time at free safety, considering the fact that Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles will be moving to spur. This also opens up things for the corners and the two starting spots.

Arizona moved Jarvis McCall from corner to safety. Makes sense — he’s 6-foot-2 and Wildcats are low on safeties this spring.

— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) February 26, 2016

Middle linebacker still in the air

The loss of Scooby Wright, injuries to Jake Matthews and Cody Ippolito, leave the Arizona Wildcats bare at the middle linebacker spot when it comes to experience. There is no depth chart, but at the position chart for middle linebacker, Rodriguez mentioned Carrington Vaughn, John Kenny, Marquis Ware and Jamardre Cobb, among a few others.

Jahmile Addae after 6th spring practice

Dane Cruikshank talks spring practice impressions and redshirt season

I'll have more on Dane Cruikshank and where he falls in the cornerback rotation

*****

Just some general observations here, as it's always interesting to see who stays after practice to work with their position groups and get extra reps.

• Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles is a guy who is always one of the last to leave the field. He's been working a lot with Anthony Mariscal, coaching him up at that free safety spot. They were working with the jug machine and Demetrius has some nice hands. He's still only a sophomore and moving to that spur position will allow him to get his hands on some passes.
• The tight ends are huge. I've never exactly stood next to Trevor Wood or Josh Kern, or even remotely close to them, but they walked past me and I was able to compare myself to them. They are much larger individuals than I ever expected, maybe because I've been used to standing next to smaller guys like Cam Denson, Orlando Bradford, Grant and Nate Phillips. Trevor Wood is listed at 6-5 261lbs and Josh Kern at 6-4 235lbs.
• Antonio Parks wants to challenge Samajie Grant in some drills. Parks is a competitor and he's been wanting to line up against Samajie, who many corners I've talked to have said he's the hardest receiver to cover because of his strength, size, and route running. I'm expecting big things out of Antonio Parks throughout his career at Arizona and it's good to know he's ready to attack just one week into spring practice. When I spoke with Dane Cruikshank he said that he's still learning, but he's going to be a good one.
• Brandon Dawkins looks a lot more confident. Just the way he interacts with Rod Smith, the players, and the way he goes about his drills, Dawkins seems a lot more comfortable. He knows he has a real shot at taking the starting job, and I'm a big supporter of Dawkins. Whether he wins the job or not, he's going to play at some point this season, as we haven't been able to count on Anu Solomon to complete an entire season through his first two years.

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/1LMOY6Z
via IFTTT

Arizona baseball: Wildcats beat Nebraska 11-10 in extra innings

Another high-scoring, close game for the Cats

SAN DIEGO, CA -- The Tony Gwynn Classic has been riddled with blowouts, with the exception of the two Arizona games.

The Wildcats were in another high-scoring affair on Saturday against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, pulling out an 11-10 win in ten innings.

With the score tied at ten after nine innings, The Wildcats sent Alfonso Rivas to the plate. He singled for his fifth hit of the game and eighth of the tournament.

After a wild pitch and a couple of outs, Louis Boyd came up searching for his first career hit. And he got it, and RBI single up the middle.

"I'm just happy I had the opportunity to come up big for the team," Boyd told me afterwards. "I knew I had Bob (Dalbec) behind me, so they were probably going to challenge me with a fastball. I got it, got the barrel on it and came through."

"It was relieving," added Rivas of the hit. "I knew he was going to do it too. I had a feeling. He's a great hitter, great player and just got it done."

"It was awesome," head coach Jay Johnson continued. "He's been a great team guy. All three wins, he's really contributed to winning."

Boyd came in as a defensive replacement for JJ Matijevic in the 8th. The junior college transfer Boyd was the starting shortstop until right before the season started, and now he has limited opportunities to take advantage of.

"It really hasn't been that tough because I love (Cody) Ramer," Boyd explained of his situation. "I room with him on the road. He's a great player and you can't really go against the results that he's been having, and he's been helping our team win so no problems for me."

The player who scored that winning run, Alfonso Rivas, went 5-for-6 on the day, making him 8-for-11 for the tournament. He drove in four of the eleven Arizona runs, including a two-run homer in the fourth.

Rivas has been moved into the two-hole for this weekend, which may be part of his success, but it's not the whole story.

"Just staying patient, staying through the process," he explained. "Coach Johnson talked to me about sticking through it and that's what I've been trying to do. This weekend I've just had really good pitches to hit, and it showed in the game."

"In the two-spot, you obviously get your fastballs to hit, but I don't know, I just got really good pitches to hit today and put a good swing on them."

"He's a machine," Boyd added about Rivas' success. "Being a freshman, you don't expect that kind of poise out of him. Great guy to have on the team."

Much like Friday's game, it was all about the two teams going back and forth. Arizona got out to a 5-2 lead, but Nebraska answered with four runs. Then when the Wildcats took a 10-6 lead, the Huskers, once again, responded with four runs.

To put Arizona up 10-6, Ryan Aguilar hit a ball off the top floor of the four-story dorm beyond the right field wall. It had to have gone at least 450 feet.

"That was eye-opening right there," Rivas said. "I've seen Bobby Dalbec hit some during BP that are pretty like wow."

"He hit a foul ball in our first series that was just about that far but he kept this one fair, so it was pretty awesome to see," Boyd added.

With USD near the ocean, Coach Johnson, who helped design Fowler Park while he was on the Toreros' staff, says that right field bombs are common.

"The ocean is right there, so they kind of push 'em out to right field," coach joked. "It was good to see him get on that one."

Aguilar even added a bat flip to the end of it. That came right after Robby Medel had given a huge fist pump coming off the mound after two perfect innings. This is an emotional team that has played a lot of tight games early on.

"It's been fun," Boyd said of these first two weeks. "We've got a great bench, great atmosphere and great coaching staff. It's just gonna be a great ride the rest of the year."

Arizona plays on Sunday at an undetermined time against an undetermined opponent to conclude the Tony Gwynn Classic. The game is likely to be at 2 PM PT.

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/1LmueIo
via IFTTT

Arizona vs. Utah final score: Wildcats lose to Utes, 70-64

The Wildcats' Pac-12 title aspirations are all but over

As the clock ticked down on the Arizona Wildcats' 70-64 loss to the Utah Utes, a running gag for this season happened again. Arizona started off poorly on the road before picking it up in the second half. They would have opportunities to tie or take the lead but, once again, Arizona is allergic to clutch situations. In our five questions with Block U, Shane Roberts said the Utes were due, and he predicted a 66-62 victory --  he was almost spot on with his prediction. With the win, Utah has its first victory over Arizona since the 1998 Elite Eight and it can still win the Pac-12 regular season crown.

Down 40-29 at the half, Arizona would go on a run in the second half and briefly take the lead before a back-and-forth match ensued. The Wildcats had an opportunity down 66-64, but the Wildcats allowed an offensive rebound and Brandon Taylor crossed Gabe York to the floor and nailed a three with 41 seconds to put the game out of reach.

After Ryan Anderson hit two free throws to give Arizona a 64-63 lead, Arizona would not score again as Utah made many backbreaking plays, such as Taylor's three.

Allonzo Trier was the leading-scorer for Arizona as he put up 23 points and kept the game from getting out of hand with timely baskets. Ryan Anderson complemented him with 11 points but, unfortunately,  they were the only Wildcats in double-figures.

Jakob Poetl may have won the big-man matchup over Kaleb Tarczewski with 14 points and 10 rebounds but Zeus more than held his own. Zeus had nine points,10 rebounds, and three big-time rejections for the Wildcats. He was certainly one of the few bright spots for Arizona.

Guard play was Arizona's downfall as Gabe York, Parker Jackson-Cartwright, and Kadeem Allen shot 6-24 combined and had six turnovers to five assists. They were also below average on the defensive end as Utah's backcourt tandem of Brandon Taylor and Lorenzo Bonam badly outplayed them. Taylor had 19 points off 7-9 shooting while Bonam chipped in with 11 points and four rebounds.

This is the second time Arizona has been swept on the road, with their L.A. trip also resulting in a sweep, and they still have not been able to beat the top Pac-12 teams. Other than the Oregon loss, every Arizona loss this season was one play away from a possible victory and that is what makes it more frustrating. Instead of improving their stock for a top-four seed, the Wildcats could move down to a 6-seed in projections and make March Madness harder for them.

The Wildcats have two games remaining with Cal and Stanford coming to McKale Center, so hopefully they can right the ship and get some momentum before the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas.

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/1pgetJ7
via IFTTT

Sonoran Hot Reads: Does the Pac-12 care about court stormings?

Will the conference do anything about what seems to only be a problem for Arizona?

After the Arizona Wildcats lost to the Colorado Buffaloes, the whole court-storming issue has been revisited, and whether or not it should even be allowed at college games. Greg Byrne sounded off on his take, and ESPN's Andy Katz says that the Pac-12 office, specifically commissioner Larry Scott, isn't that concerned about making sure visiting teams get off the floor first. They should probably start caring. Let's get Arizona to the Big 12

- Will Kaleb Tarczewski punch a fan? Hopefully not, because Utah is good at basketball

- Arizona has a big game at Utah on Saturday afternoon. Here's Ryan's comprehensive breakdown, and then Ivan talked with Block U about Jakob Poeltl and got a predicition

- Myron Medcalf has Arizona winning in overtime

- It seems that most people think Rawle Alkins' decision will come down to St. John's and Arizona

Football

- It seems like Arizona keeps falling in ESPN's "we'll see" category for these football previews. It happened again with the defensive line, which I certainly don't disagree with

- We talked with one recruit that recently got a scholarship offer, and he called Arizona his dream school

Baseball

- Arizona dropped the first game of the Tony Gwynn Classic 11-10 to Tulane. They will play Nebraska at 2 PM MT on Saturday

- Robby Medel broke down last week's road trip, and why road trips are definitely not strictly about baseball

Softball

- Arizona beat Marshall earlier in the day, but then lost to Alabama in walk-off fashion:

Another error plates two Alabama runs as the Crimson Tide walk off, 4-3.

— Arizona Softball (@UA_Softball) February 27, 2016

Other sports

- GymCat Shelby Edwards is doing a weekly blog on ArizonaWildcats.com

- Women's swimming and diving is in fourth place at the Pac-12 Championships

- Men's golf is hosting a tournament starting on Sunday

- Gymnastics is hosting a pink meet on Saturday against Washington

- Track and field is competing in Seattle

- The sand volleyball Red-Blue Game is going down on Saturday morning

Tucson news

- There was a shooting in Sierra Vista

- Apparently city inspectors are getting on people about the number of weeds in their yards

This is insane @whatsuptucson http://pic.twitter.com/c3mT5UEr48

— chlohoney (@_chl0ster) February 26, 2016

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/1oODZFv
via IFTTT

Arizona vs. Utah: Five questions about the Utes with Block U

What can we expect to see from Utah? The people that know them best tell us

Saturday is a big day for the Arizona Wildcats, as they look to split the mountain trip and beat the Utah Utes.

Utah is hot lately, vaulting them into the Top 25 before this matchup. We talked with Shane Roberts from Block U about what he's seen from the Utes so far this year, and what we can expect to see on Saturday.

1. This season would you say Utah has overachieved, underachieved, or done as much as you have expected them to?

Shane: To open the conference season, underachieved, as they started Pac-12 play 1-3, and were looking as sloppy as I’ve ever seen them. It was looking pretty bleak early, but Utah has really turned it around and has found themselves in contention for the regular season title, which is what we all expected. If it wasn’t for some bone-headed plays against Stanford and Oregon State, Utah would likely be in first, but that early start really hurt.

2. Last season, Jakob Poeltl was held to single-figures in both matchups. How much has he improved and what do you expect from him Saturday?

Shane: Jakob was a different player, and had a different role last year. Last year, it was all about Delon Wright, Utah’s All-American at point guard. Poeltl was a compliment to him, and was pretty inconsistent. This year, he is without a doubt the man, and maybe one of the front runners to win Pac-12 POY. He’s improved in virtually every area. He put on some weight, so he’s not as easily pushed around, he’s improved his free throw shooting dramatically, and is very reliable there. He’s also a much better passer out of the double team, and he’s just overall much more aggressive.

3. If you could add any Wildcat to the Utes, who would it be?

Shane: Tarczewski probably. I mean the ‘Cats have a lot of talent, but Tarczewski would help improve the depth behind Poeltl significantly. When Poeltl goes out, Utah fans hold their breath a little bit, because it’s a big drop off from him.

4. Utah will win this game because....

Shane: ...They’re due. ‘Zona has had Utah’s number, and now Utah is peaking at the right time. I think Poeltl will have a serious challenge ahead of him with Arizona’s front, but I think his passing and Utah’s shooting right now will be a big difference.

5. Predictiton:

Shane: It’s going to be as hard-fought of a game we’ve seen all season. Arizona coming off the loss to Colorado, and Utah wanting to beat the Wildcats so badly. I like Utah this go around, 66-62 and finally get that Wildcat monkey off their back.

Thanks to Shane for taking the time to answer our questions! Be sure to check out Block U for all your Utah info!

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/1R8VM0m
via IFTTT

2016 Tony Gwynn Classic: Arizona drops opener to Tulane 11-10

The Wildcats were on the wrong end of a boxing match on Friday

SAN DIEGO, CA -- The Arizona Wildcats and Tulane Green Wave were trading blows the entire afternoon on Friday in the Tony Gwynn Classic, but it would be the Green Wave that would land the final blow, taking the game 11-10.

"It was fun," Zach Gibbons said after the game. "It was kind of like a boxing match, going blow for blow. Unfortunately we came out on the bottom of it, but we'll get 'em tomorrow."

"We're both trading blows," Ryan Aguilar added. "It's just like who can get hit the hardest, and who come back with a harder punch."

In total, there were five lead changes in the game, but strangely enough, Arizona never led at the end of an inning. Tulane was always countering.

"It seemed like every time we'd score, they would answer right back, and that's the sign of a good team," Arizona head coach Jay Johnson said of Tulane after the game. "And our guys did the same thing too."

The Wildcats had their chances to create bigger leads, but failed each time. They left ten men on base. Tulane stranded just three.

"Had our chance there at the end to extend the lead and maybe put the pressure in their dugout, but we weren't able to do it," Johnson added. "We left some runs on the table, and that won't go unnoticed."

Earlier in the day, Tulane head coach David Pierce short of foreshadowed this game and what would happen when talking about this Arizona squad.

"I know Jay's got 'em going, and they're gonna play aggressively," Pierce told me. "It'll be a tough challenge."

Arizona landed the first punch, coming out of the gate with a three-run first off of stud Tulane pitcher Corey Merrill. Gibbons hit a ground-rule double, then Ryan Aguilar followed that up with a two-run double of his own. JJ Matijevic drove in a third run on a single to right off the second baseman's glove.

Tulane countered with a four-run bottom half of the inning. The first five Green Wave batters all reached base off JC Cloney, including an absolute bomb from Hunter Hope.

Nathan Bannister would come on in relief in the first inning, and both he and Merrill settled in until the fourth inning.

Gibbons would drive in one of Arizona's two runs in the inning, giving the Cats a 5-4 lead.

http://pic.twitter.com/8dCfCovZCp

— AZ Desert Swarm (@azdesertswarm) February 26, 2016

"They were leaving it up in the wrong counts," Gibbons explained. "I was getting my foot down and putting a good swing on it."

He would finish the game 3-for-4. Alfonso Rivas and JJ Matijevic also had three hits apiece.

As was the case every time Arizona scored, Tulane countered right back. They were able to score two in the bottom half of the fourth. to retake the lead.

The same thing happened in the sixth. Arizona put two runs on the board, but left two guys on as Bobby Dalbec struck for the fourth time on the day.

The seventh rolled around, and the Wildcats tied the game up at ten with three two-out runs. Again, Dalbec came up, and again he struck out, leaving the bases loaded, and obtaining the rare platinum sombrero with his fifth strikeout of the game.

He also took the loss on the mound, giving up a run in the eighth inning, a home run off the bat of Jake Willsey. It was Willsey's second home run of the game.

"I think it's a classic case of everyone in the other dugout knows who he is," Johnson explained about his star's struggles early on. "He's getting pitched tough, and we've seen really good pitching so far."

Dalbec was dropped to the five-hole on Friday as part of a slew of lineup changes. But the players noticed a much better flow overall.

"I liked the lineup a lot today," Gibbons explained. "I feel comfortable with it. I feel like there was almost no gaps. You can't really pitch around a guy because you have the next guy to face."

The no gaps thing was certainly true. Dalbec was the only starter not to record a hit. He's now hitting .100 in 2016.

Arizona will play the loser of the Nebraska/San Diego game on Saturday. If Nebraska loses, Arizona will play them at 2 PM MT. If USD loses, Arizona will play them at 7 PM MT.

They also can no longer win the inaugural Tony Gwynn Classic, but that won't keep them down.

"Coach always says you know that today was Super Bowl Five," said Gibbons. "You gotta forget about it tonight, go home, have a clear slate and tomorrow's Super Bowl Six."

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/1TEuaF6
via IFTTT

Arizona vs. Utah preview: Wildcats look to avoid sweep vs. Utes

Arizona baseball: Live updates and info from Tony Gwynn Classic weekend

Keep up with all of this weekend's baseball action in one spot!

I am in San Diego for the Tony Gwynn Classic all weekend, keeping up with the Arizona Wildcats and everything else going on.

Come on down to the comments section to talk about the games, get live updates from Fowler Park and Tony Gwynn Stadium, or come talk about whatever you want with me!

Friday lineups:

Arizona (2-2, LHP JC Cloney starting)

1. SS Cody Ramer
2. DH Alfonso Rivas
3. RF Zach Gibbons
4. 1B Ryan Aguilar
5. 3B Bobby Dalbec
6. 2B JJ Matijevic
7. LF Justin Behnke
8. CF Jared Oliva
9. C Cesar Salazar

Tulane (3-1, RHP Corey Merrill starting)

1. SS Stephen Alemais
2. C Jake Rogers
3. DH Jeremy Montalbano
4. 3B Hunter Hope
5. 1B Hunter Williams
6. RF Lex Kaplan
7. 2B Jake Willsey
8. CF Grant Brown
9. LF Richard Carthon

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/1QiGSIG
via IFTTT

Arizona football recruiting: Running back Chris Brooks says Arizona is dream school

Arizona recently offered a running back out of California and he was ecstatic about the offer

The Arizona Wildcats coaching staff has been busy handing out offers to recruits from all across the country. Chris Brooks, 3-star running back out Newbury Park High School (Newbury Park, CA) was one of those recruits. Brooks checks in at 5-foot-9, 170lbs, and has been capturing the attention of California, Colorado State, Washington and Washington State.

I'm lost for words right now... Blessed to say I received an offer from Arizona! #Beardown http://pic.twitter.com/NyiqsAFPl6

— Chris Brooks (@Breezy101C) February 25, 2016

I was able to talk to Brooks about his offer and learn more about his recruitment process.

"You know, I've been in contact with them for a while now. I could tell they were into me a lot but didn't think they were going to offer me yesterday," Brooks said when I asked about his communication with Arizona. He has been in contact with Tony Dews, the receivers coach, for about a year now.

"Wow they just offered me. My dream school."

There are quite a few factors that drew Brooks over to Arizona, including the offensive play style, location, and previous relationships.

"I love their program. I'm a fan of the state and coaching staff," Brooks said about Arizona. "I enjoy hot weather and the facilities are amazing. Also a good friend Darick Holmes goes there."

Darick Holmes is a redshirt freshman wide receiver out of Newbury Park as well. The two developed their relationship through various camps and tournaments. Darick's younger brother, Darnay, is also a 2017 recruit, ranked 7th overall and 1st among all corners. Darnay has Arizona in his top eight schools and will announce his decision in June.

"Their offense is very appealing," Brooks added. "It fits me perfectly and I feel that I could make a huge impact for that team early, being a dynamic piece to the offense."

Brooks will head out to Tucson in three weeks, the weekend of March 19th. This offer bodes well for Arizona, adding another speedy piece to the offense who could even be moved around to the slot. In the 2017 recruiting class, Arizona will bring in Jessie Britt and Russell Halimon, who will be gray shirting, arriving in January of 2017.

"I see myself committing to Arizona but it will take some time. I'm going to wait it out for a little bit," he said when I asked if he could see himself committing to his dream school during his unofficial visit.

His junior year highlights are below.

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/1S6GApv
via IFTTT

Medel's Mound: Dishing on Arizona baseball road trip perils, academics and atmosphere in the dugout

Robby highlights the academic side of baseball road trips, plus some of the great and not so great things that can happen while teams are traveling

Road trips.

Traveling is a great way for teams to bond. Getting on the road and only worrying about baseball can really bring a team together.

Well, baseball and random study hall hours.

As Coach J says "we really gotta crush academics." I've always enjoyed playing on the road, something about plane rides and comfy hotel beds really floats my boat. It also makes it a lot better when there's some good baseball played. Although sometimes traveling doesn't always go smoothly.

For example, this past weekend there was a slight issue with bags and tickets, but luckily the University of Arizona baseball team has (Ray McIntire) Ray Mac on staff. That dude is a problem solver; he solves all the problems.

Playing on the road and the plane rides, experiencing new ballparks, playing in different states against out of conference teams is an awesome experience, but it can't be all about baseball. School is still a high priority and must not be forgotten. Coach Johnson and his staff do an amazing of job making sure we stay on top of our academic responsibilities. There's plenty of time for bro time and baseball, but we are student-athletes and school must come first.

The past weekend was a good opportunity for everyone to get a slight preview of what Arizona baseball is going to be like this year. I mean our dugout was compared to a mosh pit at a metal concert. How sweet is that?! The energy and passion we played with was something I've never seen before. Coach Johnson's approach of treating every game like it's the Super Bowl really helped heighten the magnitude of each game. Every game this weekend felt huge and our guys rose to the occasion.

Now I understand a 2-2 split doesn't sound like the best start in the world and yes it could have been better.

Putting the record aside, we saw that we are a special team and that team chemistry will never be a problem. On Monday night against Lamar we were down eight in the 8th inning, and from what I could tell, every guy in the dugout still believed we were going to win that game.

Now we head to San Diego, and there seems to be a lot of excitement around the team for this trip. I'm not sure but maybe good weather and tournament-style play has a lot to do with it -- another weekend on the road for this team to come together. Traveling is fun and all but I'm super excited to get back to Tucson and play at beautiful Hi Corbett. Also for all the Wildcat fans to feast their eyes on the new energy-filled team they'll have in front of them.

We kick it off with Tulane this weekend, a team we really don't know much about. But with our coaching staff grinding on a daily basis and the leadership of guys like Banni, Boyd, and the savvy one that is Bryce Tyler Crawford, we'll be fine. Another weekend full of great starting pitching and wreaking havoc on the base paths should help too. Along with great dugout dudes like Roper, Ming, Soroko, KLew, and Sawyer we should be fully equipped to take the Tony Gwynn storm and come back to Tucson VICTORIOUS!

On a final note: The team lost a close friend a few weeks ago. Josh Weaver and his family meant a lot to the team and keeping him and his family in your prayers would be awesome. He was a little dude with a deep love of the game and his passion was felt by all of us every time he came around.

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/1QkHief
via IFTTT

Arizona football recruiting: Wildcats coaching staff beginning to elevate recruiting

The Arizona coaching staff is not shying away from the big time recruits

The Arizona Wildcats coaching staff has continued to stay active on the recruiting trail, sending out multiple offers to some highly-ranked recruits over the last few days. These guys come from all over the country and hold offers to some of the biggest names in the sport. Among the dozen or so offers, seven went to top 300 recruits.

Teams typically throw out offers to a few upper-echelon guys here and there to see if they have any interest, but this latest wave of offers shows how serious this new defensive coaching staff is going to be in the recruiting game, breaking through and hopefully landing those four and five star guys Arizona has just barely missed out on in the past.

I'll be reaching out to all of these guys in the coming days. There are a few guys who were offered last week that were not included in this list. I have been in contact with a few of  them and will be getting those interviews out to you shortly as well.

Amir Riep, 4-star corner

Arizona sent out an offer to a 4-star corner out of Cincinnati, Ohio, ranked 18th at his position and 180th overall.

Blessed!! To receive a offer from University Of Arizona http://pic.twitter.com/MDkEs19ycJ

— Amir Riep (@Riep_Amir) February 24, 2016

He currently holds offers to Michigan State, Notre Dame and Ohio State, among others. He has unofficial visits set up with Penn State, Tennessee and Notre Dame. Arizona has been actively seeking defensive backs and countless recruits I've talked to have nothing but great things to say about Donté Williams.

Salvon Ahmed, 4-star athlete

Another big time prospect here in Salvon Ahmed, 4-star athlete ranked 9th at his position and 136th overall. He hails from Kirkland, WA, not too far from redshirt sophomore Marcus Griffin, who came from Bellevue.

Need all my #BearDown fans to give my lil bro @AhmedSalvon a follow! He just got the offer ⬇️

— Marcus Griffin 9⃣6⃣ (@TheRealMG96) February 23, 2016

Salvon plays running back and defensive back at Juanita High School and it seems likely that Arizona will be recruiting him as a defensive back.

Jacob Kibodi, 6-2 athlete

Arizona is continuing to tap into that Louisiana pipeline, extending an offer to Jacob Kibodi, unranked athlete out of Baton Rouge, LA.

Blessed to receive my 4th offer from Arizona ❗@JeritRoser @VarsityPreps @DemetricDWarren http://pic.twitter.com/9P84cr9MCv

— Jacob Kibodi (@_Greatness_1) February 23, 2016

He plays running back and free safety, and much like Salvon Ahmed, you would think that Arizona is recruiting him as a defensive back. Rich Rodriguez has said that they are extremely anemic at that position and wish to add size as well. His goal on defense is to be able to move guys around with their size. Rodriguez wants the corners being big enough to play safety, safeties being big enough to move to linebacker, and so on.

His junior year highlights are below

Aaron Banks, 4-star offensive tackle

Another highly-coveted recruit here with Aaron Banks, a 6-6, 305lb offensive tackle out of El Cerrito, CA. He's ranked 25h at his position and 160th overall.

Excited and blessed to receive an offer from the University of ARIZONA‼️#Arizona #BEARDOWN ⬇️ http://pic.twitter.com/xEDQZ5s77N

— BANKSofAMERICA™ (@bigaaronbanks) February 23, 2016

He holds offers to Arizona State, Baylor, Florida, Miami and USC, among others. Jim Michalzcik has been able to round up some great offensive line prospects over the last couple years, just needing a little bit more time until we see their full potential. With guys like Keenan Walker, Michael Eletise and Layth Friekh as the building blocks, Arizona's offensive line could be in great shape with another big prospect like Banks.

Joshua Ross, 4-star inside linebacker

Arizona went to Michigan for a couple of prospects. The first is Joshua Ross, the 6th-ranked inside linebacker in the nation, 156th player overall.

Blessed to receive an offer from The University of Arizona ! http://pic.twitter.com/XSRSKzV90l

— Joshua Ross (@Joshua_Ross05) February 23, 2016

Ross holds offers to Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame and just picked up an offer from LSU after Arizona offered. Rich Rodriguez has been reaching out to Michigan and had success late in this last recruiting class with Jalen Cochran, who also plays linebacker, and could be pushing the competition when he arrives this summer.

KJ Hamler, 3-star wide receiver

Arizona is in desperate need of size at wide receiver for the coming years and they've been going after some taller guys. Here, they go a different route, pursuing 5'9" 155lb receiver, KJ Hamler. He's ranked 48th among all receivers and 316th overall.

Blessed to receive an offer from The Arizona. #pac12 http://pic.twitter.com/mwBtqe57A6

— GIO.4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️WR (@Kj_hamler) February 23, 2016

He holds offers to Michigan State, Michigan, Louisville, and Oregon, among others. Arizona had great success with smaller guys like Samajie Grant and Nate Phillips. Throwing in Tyrell Johnson, DeVaughn Cooper and gang, this is the offense to be in as a wide receiver.

Deejay Dallas, Quarterback

This is a bit of an odd move here for Arizona, in my opinion. They went all the way to Georgia to offer Deejay Dallas, a 4-star receiver ranked 15th at his position and 214th overall. He holds offers to Alabama, Georgia, Florida State and Miami among others.

Super excited and honored to be blessed with an offer from the University Of Arizona to play Quarterback #BearDown http://pic.twitter.com/hHeeDAjumH

— DeeJay Dallas (@DeejayDallas5) February 22, 2016

But according to his Twitter, Arizona offered him to play quarterback. This seems odd given the depth at that position, especially within the 2017 class, holding commitments from 4-star quarterback Braxton Burmeister and Rhett Rodriguez.

Kurtis Brown, 3-star defensive tackle

Rich Rodriguez has said that he isn't quite satisfied with the size on his defensive line and that he will be addressing that issue with recruiting. This is where 6-foot-3, 260lb defensive tackle Kurtis Brown comes in. He's ranked 49th at his position and 79th overall in the state of California, hailing from Liberty High School, the same school as redshirt freshman safety Anthony Mariscal.

Blessed to have received an offer from Arizona!! http://pic.twitter.com/RjxdcRxf4R

— ❕Big Kurt❕ (@kurtisbrown44) February 21, 2016

Brown only holds offers to Arizona and Washington State, making this a very obtainable prospect here as of now. However, knowing Arizona's talent searching skills, expect Brown's offer list to start growing.

Odua Isibor, 6-6 210lb defensive end

Arizona has been going in-state on a lot of their offers for the 2017 class thus far, and they continue that trend with Odua Isibor, a Saint Mary's (Phoenix, AZ) product. He is unranked, but has a solid frame that would give Arizona some great size on the edge, a great look for Arizona's multiple front.

His junior year highlights are below.

Amik Robertson, 5-9 cornerback

Arizona is going after another defensive back out of Louisiana. Currently unranked, Amik Robertson checks in at 5-foot-9 and 165lbs. He holds offers to Cincinnati, Toledo, and Tulane, among others.

Blessed to receive my 7th offer from University of Arizona! #BearDown http://pic.twitter.com/9Z7kl6wB7y

— Amik Robertson (@_YoungTruth7) February 20, 2016

His sophomore year highlights are below

Alijah Vera-Tucker, 4-star offensive tackle

Arizona hit up northern California here for another top 300 recruit in Alijah Vera-Tucker, the 29th-ranked offensive tackle in the nation, 196th regardless of position. He checks in at 6'4" 275lbs.

Blessed to receive an offer from Arizona . #BearDown http://pic.twitter.com/8fsd62zZbJ

— Alijah Vera-Tucker (@yung_lijh) February 20, 2016

He hails from Bishop O'Dowd, the same school as Ivan Rabb, in case that school sounded familiar. Arizona is continuing to go after some of the top offensive tackles in the nation, making this their fifth offer to a top 50 tackle.

Chuck Filiaga, 4-star offensive tackle

Another one of those top 50 tackles is Chuck Filaga, 6-foot-5 330 pounder out of Vista Murrieta, the same high school as grey shirt tight end Jamie Nunley, who is finally on campus this semester. Given the aggressiveness from the staff, it wouldn't be surprising to see them land one of these top offensive linemen.

Bryce Wolma, 3-star tight end

Bryce Wolma was on campus last week and I got a chance to speak to him about his visit. You can read that here. He's close with the Rodriguez family and that's why he decided to take the visit. A couple days later they offered him. He told me in our conversation that he "could 100% see myself at Arizona," so take that for what it's worth. He's a big tight end and mentioned that he loves Gronk.

VERY excited to announce I've received an offer from the University of Arizona!! #beardown http://pic.twitter.com/1K3gsvtCJs

— Bryce Wolma (@brycewolma2) February 24, 2016

Sampson Niu, 3-star linebacker

Trying to fill some voids at the linebacker position, extending an offer to the 15th ranked inside linebacker in the nation, Sampson Niu, out of San Diego, CA. He holds offers to Colorado, Utah and Vanderbilt.

Blessed with my 12th offer from Arizona! #AG2G http://pic.twitter.com/DoOUAFPfSs

— Sampson Niu (@saampsonniu) February 25, 2016

He's been picking up offers every day of the week, so it's only a matter of time until his process starts to blow up.

Drew Dixon, 6-4 195lb athlete

Arizona continues to hit up the in-state talent, offering Drew Dixcon, a local recruit out of Sabino, who plays quarterback and wide receiver.

So blessed to receive my first offer from The University of Arizona #BearDown http://pic.twitter.com/YsirSK2aBD

— Drew Dixon (@DrewDixon_1) February 24, 2016

It's his first offer and that might bode well for the Tucson native. Soon after the Arizona offer, Hawaii and San Jose State reached out to him as well. Checking in at 6-4 195lbs, he has the size that Rich Rodriguez wants, going along with the lack of size at the wide receiver position. Although, it wouldn't be surprising to see him at quarterback. The way Arizona has been scouting quarterbacks, as well as Braxton Burmeister's recent offer from South Carolina, something tells me things could go awry. His junior year highlights are below.

Tony Fields, 6-2 205lb athlete

Another athlete here for Arizona, able to play both wide reciever and linebacker, hailing from Desert Pines High School (Las Vegas, NV). He holds offers to Colorado State, Hawaii, Nevada.

All glory to God, just received my 7th scholarship offer to the University of Arizona! #beardown http://pic.twitter.com/L9D59fiXfx

— 1 from DP (@T_Fieldss21) February 24, 2016

Arizona could really use him at either position, but I will find out more once I speak to him this weekend. His junior year highlights are below.

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/1SYyMaj
via IFTTT