Sunday, December 31, 2017

The best Arizona Wildcats moments of 2017

Let’s look back at the top moments of the year

2017 has come to a close, but it wasn’t without several memorable moments for the Arizona Wildcats all throughout the athletic department.

Let’s take a look back at the best of the best. If there are any you think we missed, please let us know in the comment section!

Basketball

Football

Softball

Baseball

Soccer

Other highlights



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posted by Unknown @ 5:16 PM   0 Comments

Post-ASU notebook: On Ayton’s dominance, Trier’s slow start, McKale Center crowd, ‘refreshing’ seniors, and more

Notes and quotes from Arizona’s big win over ASU

The Arizona Wildcats beat ASU 84-78 on Saturday night. Our full recap can be found here, and here are more notes, quotes, and takeaways from the game:

If the Arizona State Sun Devils looked unprepared to take on Deandre Ayton on Saturday when the big man posted 23 points and 19 rebounds, it’s because they were.

The Sun Devils had a few extra days to brace for the UA big man, having just one game this week, but they weren’t able to effectively emulate Ayton’s skill set in practice.

“It’s hard to simulate,” ASU head coach Bobby Hurley said after his team lost 84-78 to Arizona. “We can’t really simulate their size in practice.”

Who can?

“Nobody on any practice team has somebody his size, so you can’t really prepare for it when it comes to the game,” UA guard Allonzo Trier said. “So it’s going to be tough for every team.”

Like most opponents, ASU felt its best chance to slow down Ayton was to send waves of defenders at him.

“We tried to surround him,” Hurley said. “We trapped sometimes. Sometimes we dug. We mixed it up.”

ASU had more success than most, to be fair. It forced Ayton to commit six turnovers. Two of Ayton’s passes out of the post were stolen and taken the other way for two points.

But ultimately Ayton did Ayton things, finishing with 23 points on 9-14 shooting. Occasionally the big man steps out and hits jumpers, but he did his damage exclusively in the paint against ASU’s small frontcourt.

“He was in there forever and you give a guy a chance to sit in the paint that long, eventually they’re going to find him and give him the ball because he’s a pretty big target,” Hurley said.

Arizona would be dumb not to feed Ayton.

“Whoever coaches him, that’s what you’re going to judge yourself on,” Miller said. “We don’t have any magic potion. You have to get him the ball. Just remember now, it’s not just his points, it’s his passing. He might have had a turnover or two when post-trapped, but he finds teammates.

“He’s making the defense pay with his passing and his scoring.”

Ayton finished with three assists — one of which led to a key 3 by Trier that increased UA’s lead to 69-63 with roughly six minutes to play.

Miller also praised Ayton’s defensive effort. The 7-footer had three blocks and a steal. He helped limit ASU’s Romello White, who was averaging nearly 15 points per game entering Saturday’s contest, to just two points and eight rebounds in 18 minutes.

White fouled out, too.

“He really put the game out of reach,” Miller said of Ayton. “When we won the game, it was because of his dominance close to the basket. We did a good job of getting him the ball deep and that’s not as easy to do as everybody thinks. I also thought Deandre did, for the most part, a good job on defense in the role that he had.

“Romello White didn’t have his typical game tonight and that combination of Dusan (Ristic) and Deandre I’m sure affected him at least to some degree.”

Hurley agreed.

“Romello I’m sure hasn’t seen two guys like that,” he said.

Certainly not in practice.

“Ayton is a handful,” Hurley said. “What he does is pretty special.”

Ayton picked up his first collegiate technical foul after lightly shoving ASU guard Shannon Evans with his elbow between plays, though Ayton wasn’t certain that’s what he was called for.

“I think I got it on an off-ball shove,” he said. “I was getting grabbed. It was an intense game, so I don’t know.”

Miller wasn’t really sure, either.

“He might have bumped somebody after the whistle," he said. "We’ll look at it. Deandre’s smart. Deandre’s not a guy who goes looking for problems. He probably just has to make sure he understands the rule, coming from high school to college, you’re not allowed to do that and if you do here’s the consequence.

“But in a game like that I was surprised the call was made, but it was a tough game to referee. It really was. It was fast, had a lot of emotion, a lot of things going on. I thought they did a good job.”

Ayton also struggled a bit when handling ASU’s full-court press. Of his six turnovers, one led to a Kodi Justice 3 that cut UA’s lead to 78-76 with 1:12 left.

“He wasn’t used to getting a rebound and nobody back, but he’s young, he’ll learn from it as will our team,” Miller said.

The Wildcats had 16 turnovers, and had three against ASU’s press in the last three minutes. Arizona will need to clean up its execution against that type of defense moving forward.

As much emotion as there was in the game, Trier sort of downplayed the significance of the rivalry matchup as a whole, even though Miller declared a few days before the that ASU was a “heavy favorite” to win the Pac-12.

“I ain’t heard nothing about that,” Trier said. “We just knew it was the first game of conference, trying to protect home court, but whether we were playing Arizona State or Colorado or Utah, it doesn’t matter to us. We’re trying to win every single game we go out and play and we expect to win every single game we go out and play. I’ll leave it as that."

Miller later clarified Trier’s comment.

“I don’t think he says that in any disrespect toward the opponent or the rivalry,” Miller said. “I think what you try to sell to the players is this is one game, we have 17 more left. This isn’t a bowl game where you win, great, you lose you’re done till next year. It’s the beginning of a long journey in a conference season, so not getting too high, not getting too low is probably what he meant by that comment and that’s really what we try to stress to these guys.”

Hurley, who was calm and collected after the game despite showing his frustrating during it, has a similar mindset.

“We’re just going to regroup,” he said. “This is a marathon. It’s fun to be in these games. You live for these games. It was such a hard-fought game. Both teams battling, wanting it really bad. It was a lot of fun.”

Trier missed his first six shots in the game and only scored five points in the first half, but still managed to post 23 points in the win.

The junior was 5-15 from the field, 10-10 from the line, and 3-8 from 3. Trier scored 18 points in the second half, including some crucial points down the stretch.

“I just missed open shots that should’ve went in,” Trier said. “If you look at my percentages on the year and what I’ve been able to do and how I play as a player, there were probably at least four or five that should’ve went down. It happens, but I’m a confident dude. I put a lot of work in. I’m coming back at night doing all kinds of extra time, so I was confident that they would start falling eventually."

Miller was too.

“Sometimes he’ll start slow but as the game keeps going he finds his rhythm and he’s great to have the ball in his hands at the end of the game because he can really shoot free throws, drive, shoot from the 3,” he said.

“He’s become a really good passer. Sometimes I find myself saying, ‘man, he’s come a long way for me to say that’ but four assists and no turnovers in tonight’s game speaks volumes for how he’s started to find his teammates and take care of the ball.”

Arizona held double-digit leads several times over the Sun Devils in the second half and nearly squandered all of them away, but still held on to win.

Was that a good sign that the Wildcats were poised enough to stave off an undefeated ASU team? Or was it a negative that the Sun Devils were able to get back into the game?

“They’re a really good team,” Miller answered. “We’re not going to beat them by 20 points, 10, 15 points. For us to win that game going away, a lot of things would have had to fall in place. The difference between the two teams isn’t big enough for that game to go in that direction. It was hard-fought the whole time and that’s why they were undefeated coming into our game.”

ASU entered the game No. 2 in the country in free throw rate, but only attempted six free throws in the first half. However, the Sun Devils took 19 in the second half.

Tra Holder, who finished with 31 points, got to the line 16 times in all, but 10 times in the second half alone.

What changed? Arizona’s energy level, probably.

“Whether you agree with the foul or not, he’s coming to the basket constantly and we’re not the only team that he’s done that to,” Miller said. “But in the first half we certainly did a much better job. There’s a wearing-down effect. It’s hard to play that level of defense for 40 minutes. We probably strung 28-30 minutes together.”

Holder was one of ASU’s seniors — Shannon Evans and Kodi Justice being the others — who Miller described as “refreshing to see.”

“They have really improved. I remember when they were freshmen, and sophomores, and juniors, they were good, but man you can tell they’ve spent a ton of time in gym and made themselves into some really terrific players,” Miller said. “That’s to Bobby Hurley and his staff’s credit and that’s something that we have to do. When you look at our team, developing our bench, developing our freshmen, developing on our players where they have more confidence, making better plays.”

Miller singled out UA guard Dylan Smith as an example. The UNC Asheville transfer hit three huge 3s in the first half as Trier struggled with his shooting.

Arizona’s bench didn’t do much else, which is a recurring problem. Brandon Randolph did hit a 3 and a pair of free throws, but Alex Barcello and Ira Lee both went scoreless and the Wildcats were -7 when they were on the floor.

Emmanuel Akot did not play. Neither did Keanu Pinder.

Four of Arizona’s starters played 33 minutes or more, a sign that Miller isn’t exactly willing to rely on his bench in important games. Probably a smart move.

Arizona (11-3) has now won eight straight since its three-game losing streak in the Bahamas.

After UA beating ASU, ESPN reporter Jeff Goodman tweeted that “Arizona has certainly righted the ship after that disaster down in the Bahamas, and Wildcats have two studs in Allonzo Trier and Deandre Ayton ... but point guard play still worrisome.”

Yet, Miller thought Parker Jackson-Cartwright did a “good job” vs. the Sun Devils.

“Six assists to one turnover. He’s a three assist to one turnover guy,” Miller said. “I know he had that layup (that he missed) which kinda opened up like the Red Sea. That was a real turning point in the game, but obviously he’ll make it (in the future).”

That layup Miller is referring to came late in the second half. It would have extended UA’s 10-point lead to 12, but the miss led to a three-point play for ASU which eventually ballooned into a 9-0 run.

Equally as surprising as PJC’s missed layup was that he missed three open looks from 3, finishing 1-4 from that distance.

The senior is shooting 50 percent from 3 this season.

On Saturday, McKale Center was probably the loudest it had been since last year’s UCLA game or the Gonzaga game a few years before that even though the students are still on winter break.

The crowd’s energy certainly helped the Wildcats navigate through some of the game’s toughest moments.

“Our crowd is one of the best in the country night in and night out,” Miller said. “It doesn’t matter if the students are here. Doesn’t matter if they aren’t. It’s the best. We appreciate what they mean to our home-court advantage.

“They’re also one of the most knowledge crowds in the game. When our team is down or things aren’t going well, today’s way is you just start booing. And our crowd senses that we need a pickup and that’s when they a lot of times get the loudest which is remarkable. Not a lot of crowds are like that and that’s a tribute to Coach (Lute) Olson. They’ve seen so many teams and big games for decades that they know what to do and how to do it. And we needed them tonight and they were there.”

Follow Ryan Kelapire on Twitter at @RKelapire



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posted by Unknown @ 3:40 AM   0 Comments

Saturday, December 30, 2017

3 up, 3 down in Arizona’s thrilling win vs. ASU

It was an intense, passionate, hard-fought, barnburner of a battle in McKale Center.

Everybody take a breath.

The 17th-ranked Arizona Wildcats extended their win streak to eight on Saturday night with a win over the No. 3 team in the country, the Arizona State Sun Devils, 84-78.

That’s the fact but it doesn’t tell even close to the full story. It was an intense, passionate, hard-fought, barnburner of a battle in McKale Center.

The Wildcats were throwing haymakers, continuously trying to knock the gritty Sun Devils out. ASU consistently responded, refusing to go down to Arizona no matter what the deficit may be. Arizona was displaying power, athleticism and skill, building up a double-digit lead multiple times in the second half. Arizona State was showing off their poise and hustle, causing the Wildcats to make goofy mistakes and hitting big shots to stay alive.

In the end, the Sun Devils ran out of gas and the Wildcats started their Pac-12 season triumphant over their hated rival. Let’s take a deeper look at the positives and negatives from an instant classic in Tucson:

3 Up

Deandre Ayton

Tonight served as a reminder that Deandre Ayton is just a freshman in college. He’s a 19-year-old kid playing in his 14th game at a high level and he had moments where it certainly showed. Ayton turned the ball over six times including a terrible pass in the final minute that led to a Kodi Justice three-pointer to keep the Sun Devils alive.

But when Ayton wasn’t making mistakes, he was tormenting ASU. He piled up 23 points, 19 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and one steal — a ridiculous Pac-12 debut for the future top five NBA Draft pick.

He did it all on Saturday night and it goes far beyond the box score. Ayton fought through double teams, scored through contact, dropped dunks on defender’s skulls, swatted shots on the other end and guarded beautifully on the perimeter.

So yes, he’s just a kid. He’s prone to the occasional silly mistake and turnover. He’s just a kid. And that should absolutely terrify the rest of the basketball world.

Defensive Pressure

Arizona State came in to McKale Center as one of the best shooting teams in the country but the Wildcats kept them in check on Saturday night.

ASU was held to less than 38 percent shooting and it wasn’t due to a cold shooting night from the Devils. Arizona strongly contested most of ASU’s attempts and forced them to take difficult shots especially near the rim.

Arizona State made 8-of-25 attempts from long range for 32 percent from deep but it could have been much lower. Many of ASU’s eight three-pointers was simply impressive shot making and Sun Devils guards pulling up from long distance before Arizona’s defense was able to get out there and get a hand up.

Arizona stuck with their man, fought through screens, never shied away from switching and consistently got hands in the faces of shooters. It was necessary against a hot shooting No. 3 team in the country and it got the job done.

The state of Arizona

Just a quick personal note — I’ve lived in Tucson, Arizona my entire life and have followed Arizona basketball for as long as I can remember. I’m deeply invested in the Arizona-Arizona State rivalry, always have been and always will be.

So, when I write what I’m about to write, I don’t say it lightly or with any hyperbole whatsoever.

ASU is for real.

The Wildcats are expected to contend on a yearly basis. They’re one of the prominent programs in the country. They were massively hyped before this season began, stumbled out of the gate and are now starting to live up to the hype, winning eight in a row. They’re tremendously talented and feature multiple players that will play in the NBA.

And yet, Bobby Hurley’s ASU team gave Arizona everything they could handle. It turns out that that team that started 12-0 is very, very good. College basketball fans were treated to a classic on Saturday night between two of the best teams in the country and they happen to be intense rivals and from the same state.

It’s still very early but these teams are clearly the two best in the Pac-12 as we enter 2018. This rivalry has never been hotter than right now, tonight was a lot of fun and all of us basketball fans in Arizona should kick back and enjoy.

3 Down

Sloppy Minutes

Arizona has had a sneaky lingering issue all season. They don’t generally have a high volume of turnovers but they have these stretches of time where they give up the ball like they’re allergic to the basketball.

They did have a bunch of turnovers on Saturday night with 16 total, their second highest total of the season (Arizona had 19 turnovers against SMU). But most of them came in clusters of terribly sloppy minutes.

Arizona doesn’t have a turnover problem but they do have a problem where one turnover leads to another the issue snowballs for multiple minutes at a time. The Wildcats are a very rhythm based team and when they’re out of their rhythm, the turnovers come out in droves. They need to figure out a way to snap out of these turnover clusters.

Going Against a Full Court Press

While we’re on the subject of turnovers, Arizona’s ability to deal with full court pressure was horrendous on Saturday night, leading to most of their giveaways.

The Wildcats had a similar issue toward the beginning of last season. Teams knew to press Arizona, especially when they’re trying to pass the ball in bounds. The Wildcats didn’t know how to handle those situations and would commonly turn into a comedy of errors for Arizona.

Saturday night brought that issue to the surface in a bad, bad way once again. Late in the game, Arizona couldn’t seem to get the ball across the half-court line without some sort of drama. Whether it was dangerous passes, getting trapped in corners, trouble getting the ball in at all or flat out giving the ball away, it created unnecessary problems and kept the Sun Devils hanging around much longer than they should have.

Lack of Real Depth

This Arizona Wildcats team was hyped as being the deepest Arizona team in years. If that’s true, we’re not being allowed to see it.

Dylan Smith was fantastic in the first half, knocking down three 3-pointers. Brandon Randolph hit a wide open 3-pointer. Both of them played 12 minutes on Saturday night. Ira Lee pulled down a couple strong rebounds in his eight minutes. Alex Barcello had a rather uninspiring six minutes on the floor.

When it came down to it, Sean Miller really rode the starters. Dusan Ristic logged 26 minutes but the other four starters were on the floor for at least 33 minutes. If this team is truly going to live up to its potential, guys need to get a longer look. Or in the case of someone like Emmanuel Akot, a look at all.

It’s become clear that this will be a team that leans on the starting five to do it all. It’s an unexpected turn and could be a tough task to live up to the expectations Arizona has without truly reliable bench play.



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posted by Unknown @ 11:35 PM   0 Comments

ASU vs. Arizona final score: Wildcats hold off Sun Devils in epic matchup

What a game

In a rivalry game for the ages, the Arizona Wildcats proved they are still the top team in the state, outlasting the third-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils 84-78 on Saturday in Tucson to open Pac-12 play.

The game, hyped as one that could be the best ever in the in-state series, lived up to its billing, featuring two elite teams playing at a dizzying pace in front of a deafening sold-out crowd.

There was even a Bobby Hurley temper tantrum, too.

"It felt to me like a pretty good game,” Arizona head coach Sean Miller joked.

“We knew we were in for one heck of a game, and if we weren’t playing at a high level tonight we wouldn’t have won.”

While ASU, which entered as the last unbeaten team in college basketball, showed plenty of resiliency nearly erasing a few double-digit leads in the second half, Arizona’s combo of Deandre Ayton and Allonzo Trier was too much to handle for the visiting Sun Devils.

Ayton had 23 points and 19 rebounds, while Trier overcame a lackluster first half in which he only scored five points to finish with 23 points and four assists.

Trier became the 51st Wildcat to reach the 1000-point mark.

“Their performance was spectacular,” Miller said. “I hope everybody in McKale realizes what 23 points and 19 rebounds feels like for a freshman. You don’t see that very often.”

Ayton was 9-14 from the field, taking advantage of defenders who were several inches shorter than him on the low block.

“He really put the game out of reach,” Miller said. “When we won the game, it was because of his dominance close to the basket. We did a good job of getting him the ball deep and that’s not as easy to do as everybody thinks. I also thought Deandre did, for the most part, a good job on defense in the role that he had.”

The Sun Devils entered with the No. 4 offense in the country, but shot just 38 percent from the field and 8-25 from 3.

It was only the third time all season ASU had been held under the 80-point mark. The Sun Devils, usually good at taking care of the ball, had 13 turnovers, too.

Arizona’s defensive improvement was on display.

“For about 30 minutes of the 40, we couldn’t have done a better job defending them,” Miller said. “I thought some of their turnovers were because of our defense. Some of their missed 3s were challenged and we’ll take it. If they’re that good of a team, then I think it says a lot about our team."

Tra Holder overwhelmingly led the Sun Devils with 31 points. He made 15 of 16 attempts from the line, with 10 them coming in the second half.

The senior was 6-12 from the field, while his teammates combined to shoot just 19-54 (35.2 percent).

“He’s coming to the basket constantly and we’re not the only team that he’s done that to,” Miller said. “But in the first half we certainly did a much better job. There’s a wearing-down effect. It’s hard to play that level of defense for 40 minutes. We probably strung 28-30 minutes together. And keep in mind that a lot of their baskets and fouls at the end weren’t because of our defense, they were because of our offense.”

Arizona led 76-64 with 4:11 left after a three-point play by Ayton and appeared to finally be taking control of the game, but then became “unglued” as Miller described it.

The Wildcats had 16 turnovers, three of which were committed in the last three minutes against ASU’s unrelenting full-court press.

Plus, with Arizona up 10, Parker Jackson-Cartwright missed a wide open layup which quickly turned into a three-point play for the Sun Devils and, eventually, a 9-0 run that was capped off by a deep 3 by Holder to cut UA’s lead to 76-73 with 2:17 left.

"That would have put us up 12,” Miller said of PJC’s missed opportunity. “The ball went from that rim to that rim for a 3-point play so fast your head spun."

But as UA nursed its waning three-point lead, Trier worked his way up the court through ASU’s press, lost his footing and somehow kept his dribble before driving to the lane for two.

Arizona got a stop on the ensuing possession, but in typical this-game fashion, Ayton coughed the ball up and Kodi Justice sank a corner 3 to make it 78-76 with 1:19 left to tense the McKale Center crowd.

Trier went back to the rim and put up an errant shot, but in came Ayton flying in for the tip-in to give UA an 80-76 lead with 11 seconds left.

“He was ready for tonight’s game and thank goodness,” Miller said of the big man. “We needed it.”

Holder made two free throws to put ASU within two, but Trier hit two clutch free throws with 10 seconds left to finally ice the game.

“We didn’t handle the ball or finish the game well at all,” Miller said. “We were fortunate. We put ourselves in a position to possibly lose the game when maybe we could have paraded to the foul line and won by maybe eight points."

Earlier, Arizona had taken a 12-point lead with 10:55 left after Rawle Alkins found Dusan Ristic under the hoop for an easy slam.

Alkins pumped his fist and hollered “let’s go!” as ASU called a timeout, but the Sun Devils put that break to good use.

Holder scored 11 points within a three-minute span as ASU went on a 13-2 run to make it a 64-63 UA lead with 7:52 left.

ASU missed two layups in transition that would have given it the lead (thanks to a good defensive effort by Trier) and Jackson-Cartwright sank a jumper in transition to put UA up 66-63.

Then Trier gave the Wildcats a six-point cushion by sinking a deep 3 early in the shot clock on UA’s next possession.

Trier missed his first seven shots of the game, but finished 5-15 from the field and scored 18 points in the second half.

“I just missed open shots that should’ve went in,” he said. “I was confident that they would start falling eventually."

While inefficient from the field, Trier was 10-10 from the charity stripe, making several timely free throws down the stretch.

“Sometimes he’ll start slow but as the game keeps going he finds his rhythm and he’s great to have the ball in his hands at the end of the game because he can really shoot free throws, drive, shoot from the 3,” Miller said.

The Wildcats got 12 points and four rebounds from Dusan Ristic, who proved that they could play both of their 7-footers and have success against ASU’s small-ball style of play.

Arizona only outrebounded the undersized ASU squad 40-39 and had just a slim 28-26 edge in points in the paint, but ASU forward Romello White, averaging nearly 15 points per game, fouled out after scoring just two points.

“Romello White didn’t have his typical game tonight and that combination of Dusan and Deandre I’m sure affected him at least to some degree,” Miller said.

Arizona led 39-37 at the break after the two teams traded blow after blow in a frenetically-paced first half — quite literally, as Ayton picked up a technical foul for a light elbow to Shannon Evans’ chest.

As Trier struggled to find his shot, Dylan Smith hit a trio of 3s which helped Arizona jump out to a six-point lead early on, revving up the home crowd which turned out to be boisterous all game.

“I couldn’t hear myself for a few possessions,” Ayton said.

While ASU didn’t have the crowd behind it, Remy Martin provided the Sun Devils with plenty of energy, pouring in nine of his 11 points in the first half. In consecutive possessions, the guard stole a pass from Ayton and took it for a dunk then hit a 3, which helped ASU capture the lead.

ASU took its largest lead of the game a few moments later when Justice hit a 3 to put the Sun Devils up 35-30. The ASU guard turned to the crowd and tried to hush it, but all that did was awaken Trier who scored all five of his first-half points in the last 90 seconds to give UA a narrow lead at halftime. The Wildcats finished the period on a 7-0 run.

The Wildcats never relinquished the lead from there, but they sure came close a few times as the Sun Devils gave it all they had before picking up their first loss of the season.

“It’s hard to believe this was just our conference opener,” Miller said. “We have 17 more left.”

Miller called ASU a “heavy favorite” to win the Pac-12 earlier in the week, but the Wildcats — three-game losing streak in the Bahamas and all — still appear to be the team to beat in the conference.

Arizona (11-3) has now won eight straight with its win over ASU being its most impressive showing to date — yet the Wildcats believe they are only scratching the surface of what they can become.

Saturday’s win was proof.

“Coach Miller broke it down to us that we should be playing like this every game,” Ayton said.



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posted by Unknown @ 10:50 PM   0 Comments

ASU vs. Arizona open thread, live stream, TV channel, live chat, and more

Come chat with us during this highly-anticipated rivalry game!

It’s game day!

The 17th-ranked Arizona Wildcats (10-3) and third-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils (12-0) are set to battle Saturday in Tucson in what could be the game of the ages.

ASU is the last unbeaten team in college basketball after TCU and Villanova lost earlier in the day.

Here is how you can into the action, and we will chatting about the game in the comment section below. Join us!

How to watch

Game time: 7 p.m. MST

TV channel: Pac-12 Networks

Live stream: Pac-12.com/live

Announcers: Long/Muehlebach/Brunson

How to listen

Online radio stream: Arizona IMG Radio Network

Satellite Radio: Sirius 126, XM 198

Local radio: 1290 AM, 107.5 FM

Our pre-game coverage

As always, follow us on Twitter at @AZDesertSwarm and like us on http://ift.tt/2xG74I2



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posted by Unknown @ 5:25 PM   0 Comments

Q&A with House of Sparky: In-depth look at the ASU Sun Devils

We got some insight about the Sun Devils from someone who knows them best

Before the 17th-ranked Arizona Wildcats and third-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils tip off Saturday in what is regarded as the most anticipated game in this series since, well, ever, we wanted to learn more about ASU and its surging basketball program, so we asked our friends at House of Sparky, the ASU SB Nation site, for some insight.

Here is our Q&A with House of Sparky’s co-managing editor Max Madden. (We answered their questions about Arizona basketball here).

Ryan Kelapire: How have Shannon Evans, Tra Holder, and Kodi Justice improved since last season, and why have they improved so much? Is it just experience?

Max Madden: Both Holder and Evans have greatly benefitted from increased scoring options in Romello White, De’Quon Lake and Remy Martin. At times last season, each of them had to do it all themselves and defenses were able to lock in. Having more offensive weapons has forced teams to respect ASU's post game, then the guards go and score a ton of points while they're looking the other way.

RK: ASU's shooting has been good all throughout the Hurley era, but what makes this offense as elite as it's been?

MM: They've taken an extremely calculated approach to spacing on the offensive end that has opened up a ton of good looks for the backcourt. It's pretty interesting stuff actually, the whole offense and plays are drawn up in an attempt to increase lateral movement and create shots at very specific locations for the players. Fabian Ardaya of SunDevilSource.com broke it all down here, definitely worth a read.

RK: So much has been made about how Arizona will defend ASU's guards, but how can the Sun Devils slow down UA's oversized frontcourt of Dusan Ristic and Deandre Ayton?

MM: ASU has decent size outside of its guards. Mickey Mitchell and Kimani Lawrence stand around 6 foot 7 while White is about 6 foot 8 and Lake is 6 foot 10. I'd imagine they'll try to press PJC and Trier up top in the half court press and limit their ability to get it down low. If the Cats can get it dow there, the Devils will have major issues.

RK: ASU's defense has been pretty poor this season, so what are its weaknesses on that end of the floor?

MM: When your entire program is built around the "Guard U" mantra, you'd imagine that there would be a heavy emphasis on creating turnovers -- especially when you just don't have great size around the perimeter. There hasn't been. Lake and White are underrated post defenders, but not good enough to carry the team. ASU is going to have to force UA to make mistakes, something it hasn't done since Vegas.

RK: How has ASU's fanbase responded to the school's recent basketball success?

MM: Phoenix is a difficult market to be successful in sports fan wise, but I think the fanbase is coming around. The last couple games at home have been particularly crowded at Wells Fargo which is always a great sign for the program. I've noticed a lot more school pride around campus and the 942 crew has been pretty much full since the Las Vegas tourney.

RK: Sean Miller called the Sun Devils the "heavy favorites" to win the Pac-12 and believes they can even win the national championship. Do you agree? Would most Sun Devil fans agree?

MM: Any hot team can win a national title. Though at this point, ASU is more than hot and more than just on a winning streak -- they're a very dangerous, well-coached team that can do some serious damage in March. Something that's pretty interesting to consider is that ASU and UA are both clear favorites to win the Pac-12 this year and they both play the same exact schedule. Should be awesome to follow down the stretch.

RK: Prediction?

MM: I've doubted ASU plenty of times this season on the road and been wrong, but I'll do it again. The unbeaten run will come to an end to the tune of a 87-83 defeat.



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posted by Unknown @ 4:10 PM   0 Comments

ASU forward Kimani Lawrence to debut vs. Arizona, per report

The 6-foot-7 forward was one of ASU’s highest-rated recruits ever

The Arizona State Sun Devils are adding a new wrinkle to their team just in time for Saturday’s highly-anticipated rivalry game against the Arizona Wildcats.

Freshman forward Kimani Lawrence is set to make his college basketball debut Saturday in Tucson after missing the first 12 games with a stress fracture in his left foot, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.

Lawrence impressed in the preseason before getting injured, and is the fourth-highest rated recruit the Sun Devils have landed since 2007 per ESPN’s rankings.

The 6-foot-7, 210-pound forward was the No. 57 recruit in the 2017 class and No. 13 small forward.

This is what it says of Lawrence in his ASU bio:

— Long-armed and mobile swingman could guard any and all positions. Seems to find himself in the right place at the right time.

— Good mid-range jumper and will help in any and all rebounding and defensive categories in his freshman year.

It is unclear how many minutes Lawrence will play against Arizona or how up to speed he is, but his presence alone could help the undersized Sun Devils in their battle against a much bigger Wildcats frontcourt.

ASU’s frontcourt has consisted of 6-foot-8 freshman Romello White, 6-foot-7 sophomore Mickey Mitchell, 6-foot-10 De’Quon Lake, and 6-foot-9 Vitaliy Shibel, so adding another body into the mix could help immensely, especially since Lawrence could be the most talented player in that group.

ASU has struggled on defense this season, ranking 112th (of 351) in college basketball on that end of the floor per KenPom, and Lawrence’s defensive ability was highly-touted when he was a recruit so maybe he will give ASU a boost there, too.

Saturday’s game in McKale Center is set to tip off at 7 p.m. MST and it will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.

Arizona is listed as a 6.5-point favorite by ESPN.

Follow Ryan Kelapire on Twitter at @RKelapire



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posted by Unknown @ 2:05 PM   0 Comments

Lauri Markkanen scores career-high 32 points in Bulls’ win vs. Pacers

Markkanen continues to impress in his rookie campaign

Lauri Markkanen went off Friday night, scoring a career-high 32 points in a win for his Chicago Bulls over the Indiana Pacers.

It was the former Arizona Wildcat’s first time scoring 30 points or more in an NBA game.

Markkanen is best-known for his lethal jump shot that few big men have, and it showed Friday as he went 5-for-9 from beyond the arc, and he was a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.

The Bulls dominated for most of the game, keeping a double digit lead for the majority of the contest. This was mostly thanks to Markkanen, who led all scorers and added seven rebounds to his performance.

Markkanen is having a stellar rookie season, averaging 14.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in his young NBA career.

Those numbers aren’t far off from his lone season in Tucson when he averaged 15.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.

The Bulls had a rough start to the 2017-18 campaign, but have won 10 of their last 12 games to improve to 13-22.

Markkanen has started in all 32 games he’s played in.



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posted by Unknown @ 12:40 PM   0 Comments

This ASU-Arizona game is what we’ve all been waiting for

This is the most anticipated basketball rivalry game of the millennium in Arizona

Around the country, this game might not raise too many eyebrows or turn many heads. But here, in Arizona, for the hundreds of thousands of Arizona and Arizona State fans which occupy the state’s borders, this is the most anticipated basketball rivalry game of the millennium.

Arizona State, undefeated at 12-0, is riding a high like the program has never seen before — or at least I’ve never seen before. Their fans are giddy and confident, and have every reason to be with wins over currently ranked No. 6 Xavier and No. 11 Kansas.

What’s even more impressive is how they’ve won.

It’s sort of if the Phoenix Suns of the glory years came back for one final push. This ASU team is sixth nationally with 92 points per game, while eclipsing the century mark twice and having failed to break 80 also just two times.

Add to the fact that you probably only know one name — Tra Holder — that makes this all the more impressive.

But Holder is their motor.

The 6-foot-1 point guard is averaging career-highs across the board with 21 points, five rebounds, and nearly five assists per game. He’s also shooting 45 percent from deep which, you guessed it, is a career high.

Overall, ASU has five players who average double figures in scoring. However, and this could be the deciding factor in the outcome of the game, three of the five are basically six feet tall.

If you didn’t know before, ASU plays small but fast. I mean, you must play fast to average 90-plus points a game in college basketball. For comparison, Arizona State is 53rd in adjusted tempo while Arizona is 243, according to KenPom. (I should note that while they play at different paces, Arizona has the sixth best adjusted offense while ASU is fourth. In other words, there shouldn’t be a lack of scoring on Saturday night.)

Of the four guards/wing players the Sun Devils put out there, all are shooting above 38 percent from deep, meaning the game will likely be decided on how the Wildcats defend the arc.

Coach Sean Miller has always instituted a pack-line defense, while also ensuring his team knows how to close out and defend outside shots. Saturday’s game will be a microcosm of that defensive mentality.

ASU will in no means have an easy time scoring one-on-one inside against Deandre Ayton. He’s too talented and Bobby Hurley’s squad doesn’t have much of an interior presence as their tallest person is 6-foot-10.

This means it’s going to come down to how does ASU shoot and how will Arizona defend.

If they let the Sun Devil guards penetrate and kick to the corners for easy 3s, it could get ugly quick. But if Arizona can muck it up a little bit, play through Ayton and let their overwhelming talent and size wear ASU out, I can see this thing ending with Arizona an 8-14 point victor.

Down in Tucson, or at least across Wildcat Nation, the vibe is subdued excitement — I think…or maybe that’s just me.

It is sort of like this.

Don’t get me wrong, we’re all very excited for the game. Maybe even a little nervous because ASU is this creature — a demogorgon even — and we really don’t know what to think. (Where’s Steve when you need him?!)

But most of all, I think UA fans are happy to finally have a rivalry game that will matter, but we’ve also been here for so long it’s like “Finally guys, what took you so long? Welcome to the party.”

Interstate teams are supposed to be fierce rivals.

Duke-UNC. UCLA-USC. Alabama-Auburn.

It’s nice that we, while the game is sadly shown on Pac-12 Networks, will get a little bit of this in college basketball.

It’s healthy. It’s good for both programs. And most importantly, it’s good for our NCAA resumes.

(ASU, you need a crash course on the NCAA tournament, just look up to the rafters on Saturday. You’ll quickly learn.)

So, come Saturday, when all eyes within the state and thousands of graduates outside, are pinned on Tucson, remember this feeling. The feeling of a what will hopefully be a competitive game and the beginning of a state rivalry that will continue for years to come.

Because with how the Pac-12 is currently fairing, it’s the only thing to look forward to until March.

You can follow Alec on Twitter: @UofAlec



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posted by Unknown @ 10:15 AM   0 Comments

How to watch ASU vs. Arizona: Live stream, TV channel, game time, and more

Don’t miss what could be the game of the ages

The No. 17 Arizona Wildcats and No. 3 Arizona State Sun Devils are set to take the hardwood Saturday in McKale Center in what could be a rivalry game for the ages.

You definitely don’t want to miss any of the action, and here is how you can tune in:

How to watch

Game time: 7 p.m. MST

TV channel: Pac-12 Networks

Live stream: Pac-12.com/live

Announcers: Long/Muehlebach/Brunson

How to listen

Online radio stream: Arizona IMG Radio Network

Satellite Radio: Sirius 126, XM 198

Local radio: 1290 AM, 107.5 FM

Our ASU-Arizona coverage

Game notes

  • Arizona opens Pac-12 play with No. 3/4 Arizona State inside McKale Center with the last four meetings between the two programs having gone to the Wildcats. UA has won 17 of the last 20 head-to-head meetings in Tucson going back two decades with a home record of 7-1 versus the Sun Devils under head coach Sean Miller.
  • Saturday’s game between intrastate rivals marks the first time the Wildcats and Sun Devils have met while both being ranked in the Top 25 since March 11, 1995 when No. 18 Arizona State downed No. 12 Arizona in double overtime in Tucson.
  • Junior Allonzo Trier is 16 points shy of becoming the 51st Wildcat to score 1,000 points in a career. Trier’s 984 points have come at an average of 17.0 points per game for his career. The Seattle native will become the eighth UA player to reach the 1,000-point mark during the Sean Miller era of 2009 to present.
  • UA enters the ASU game as winners of 77 of its last 79 games inside McKale Center going back to the 2012-13 season. Arizona is 130-13 (.909) at home under head coach Sean Miller with a mark of 63-9 (.875) in Pac-12 home games.
  • The Wildcats and Sun Devils will meet for a 233rd time in their all-time series going back to 1913. Arizona State was the first college team UA ever faced on Dec. 13, 1913 after playing primarily YMCA’s and Tucson High School alumni teams starting in 1904.

As always, be sure to follow us on Twitter at @AZDesertSwarm and like us on Facebook at http://ift.tt/2zM4Kna



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posted by Unknown @ 1:39 AM   0 Comments

Friday, December 29, 2017

ASU vs. Arizona score predictions

Who will win this rivalry game?

The 17th-ranked Arizona Wildcats and third-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils are set to battle Saturday in Tucson at 7 p.m. MST in a highly-anticipated rivalry game.

KenPom projects Arizona will win 85-80 with a 66 percent win probability.

Here’s how we think the game will shake out:

Ryan Kelapire — Arizona wins 87-82

I don’t see how this won’t be a high-scoring game, but I never pick against Arizona in McKale, hence my selection here.

This is a really intriguing matchup, though. How will Arizona defend ASU’s guards? How will ASU defend UA’s oversized frontcourt?

Arizona has the talent edge and homecourt advantage, but ASU is better-coached and a more cohesive team.

In the end, I think these teams will split the season series with the home team winning each time.

Jason Bartel — Arizona wins 94-92

Give me a buzzer-beating 3 by Rawle Alkins to hand ASU its first loss of the season and give Arizona a huge boost at the start of Pac-12 play.

This should be a great game and probably the first time I’ve actually looked forward to an Arizona/ASU basketball game.

Christopher Boan — Arizona wins 88-86

ASU is a helluva team, with Tra Holder being the best guard to pass through Tempe since James Harden, and Bobby Hurley coaching out of his gourd this season.

That said, they don’t have the depth to match Arizona, especially on the hardwood at McKale (with or without the Zoo in attendance, since they haven’t been a factor since Salim laced em up). I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if ASU wins this bad boy, but I expect Deandre Ayton and Allonzo Trier to do just enough to earn Arizona the win, with a brutal road trip to Utah and Colorado awaiting them next weekend.

Robby Leano — Arizona wins 90-85

I'm both confident for an Arizona win, yet wouldn’t be surprised if ASU wins. While normal ranking standards would call for Arizona "upsetting" ASU, keep in mind a few things. Arizona's a different team than when they took a nose dive in Atlantis and are more complete now with Rawle Alkins back. McKale Center is usually a tough place to play, but the timing of the "Holiday Pack" and Pac-12 scheduling has me scratch my head to whether or not it will be normal McKale Center. Either way, Arizona wins.

Matt Sheeley — Arizona wins 86-80

Seeing everyone else’s prediction nearly made me flip mine just to add a little diversity here but I just can’t see the Sun Devils coming into McKale and stealing one. Don’t get me wrong, they’re legitimately good and if this one were played in Tempe or even at a neutral location, I’d lean their way. But the Wildcats have had more than a week off, they have more talent and something tells me that they’re so accustomed to being the program that’s heaped with praise, that we could see Arizona play with a chip on their shoulder on Saturday night.

The Devils’ shooting will keep them in it and probably make things interesting late. But give me the ‘Cats in a close one behind another ultra-efficient night from Allonzo Trier.

Alec Sills-Trausch — Arizona wins 91-83

One streak ends. Another continues. Sean Miller's squad fends off ASU’s onslaught of 3-point attempts to end 2017 on a very high note. Also, don't rush the court....unless Phyllis leads the charge.



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posted by Unknown @ 8:04 PM   0 Comments

3 keys to an Arizona win vs. ASU

Here’s how the Wildcats can beat the third-ranked Sun Devils

The Arizona Wildcats and Arizona State Sun Devils always have each other’s dates circled on the schedule. It’s one of the best rivalries in all of college sports and a game that matters to both fanbases regardless of standing or ranking.

Saturday night represents something a little different though. The date has now been circled by everyone in the national media. It’s the two best teams in the Pac-12, both are ranked and one of them is the No. 3 team in the country. What’s even crazier — it’s not the Wildcats.

Arizona State has emerged as the hottest and most surprising team in the nation with a 12-0 start including marquee victories over Xavier and at Kansas. Bobby Hurley has his team killing opponents with a frenetic pace and tremendous outside shooting.

But the Wildcats are clearly no slouch. They may not be the team that people expected to contend for a national championship when the season began but since their nightmarish trip to the Bahamas, Arizona is winners of seven straight that includes two true road wins and a neutral floor victory over Texas A&M.

On Saturday night, the eyes of the college basketball world will be honed in on McKale Center and the two best in the west will meet with conference and state supremacy on the line. Here are three keys to the Wildcats getting the job done:

Perimeter Defense

Arizona’s defense has slowly improved over the season, especially since the return of Rawle Alkins to the lineup. They’ve gone from slow help and lazy closeouts on three-pointers to forcing Connecticut to make tough shots in their last game. But they’re still far from perfect and perfect might be needed against ASU’s vaunted offense.

The Sun Devils are top 30 in the nation in both three-pointers made per game and three-point percentage. They make nearly 10 a game at a 40 percent clip.

Arizona State’s shooting is a serious problem that Arizona must contain, especially from their leader and best player, Tra Holder. He averages 21.3 points per game, knocks down nearly three 3s every time out and shoots 46 percent from long range.

The defense of Alkins along with the improved defensive effort from Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Allonzo Trier should make things difficult for ASU. But if the effort isn’t there and shots are falling from long range, Arizona will need to match them shot-for-shot or watch their rivalry steal one in McKale.

Strong 40 Minutes

The Wildcats have been prone to slow starts throughout the season. Recently, it took nearly 15 minutes for Arizona to lead by more than one possession against lowly North Dakota State. And then Connecticut stuck with the Wildcats for 30 minutes in McKale last week. Generally speaking, they’ve been finding another gear as the game prolongs and eventually running away from opponents.

That could be tough against Arizona State though. Not only are the Sun Devils undefeated, they’ve done it while being a second half team. ASU’s +11.8 second half scoring margin is second best in the nation, trailing only Michigan State. They average 48.8 points in the second half, best in the country and nearly three points better than second place.

Simply put, with the way ASU has played, Arizona can’t afford a slow start. The Wildcats can’t rely on flipping a switch later on in the game. They can’t find themselves in a hole going into the second half because even the smallest margin could be too much. It’s going to take 40 minutes of their best on Saturday night.

Feed the Beasts

Arizona State has seen some very good opponents and beaten them. With all due respect to those teams, they haven’t seen anyone as talented as Arizona. There will likely be times when the Wildcats have the three best players on the floor. Allonzo Trier’s efficiency will cause the Sun Devils defense fits. The penetration, spot-up shooting and active hands of Rawle Alkins can make ASU’s night miserable.

But where Arizona’s true advantage lies is in the middle. Dusan Ristic has played well of late and shows a post game that is tough to stop. He’s averaging 11 points and nine rebounds over his last three games.

And then there’s Deandre Ayton. ASU hasn’t seen anyone like Ayton because, well, there’s nobody like Ayton in college basketball. After his lackluster game against UConn last time out and with the nation watching this one closely, you can bet that Ayton is hungry to impress.

One area that Arizona State has struggled with is giving up offensive rebounds. They allow more than 10 per game and rank near the bottom of the country in that category. Ayton averages over 11 rebounds per game, Ristic hasn’t had less than eight in Arizona’s last three contests and Alkins can be an absolute animal on the offensive glass.

If the Wildcats let their big men work and snatch up second chance points, Arizona could be well on their way to handing their bitter rival their first loss of the season.



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posted by Unknown @ 5:39 PM   0 Comments

ASU vs. Arizona: 3 things to watch

What to watch for in UA’s highly-anticipated rivalry matchup

Perhaps the most anticipated game ever between the Arizona Wildcats and Arizona State Sun Devils is set to take place Saturday in Tucson.

Both teams come in ranked in the Top 20 with something to prove and desperate not to see their rival claim victory.

And here are three things to watch:

Offense, offense, and more offense

Both Arizona and Arizona State are offensive juggernauts that score the ball almost effortlessly. Per KenPom’s efficiency rankings, ASU has the fourth-most efficient offense in the country, while UA places sixth.

The Sun Devils have yet to score less than 75 points in a game, and have eclipsed 100 points twice, including in an impressive win over No. 6 Xavier.

The Wildcats haven’t quite managed those gaudy numbers, but they’ve impressed nonetheless. Allonzo Trier has averaged 21.2 points per game, with DeAndre Ayton and Rawle Alkins not far behind at 19.5 and 16 ppg, respectively.

This game could come down to simply who can outshoot the other. Don’t be surprised if this game approaches 200 combined points.

Wildcat frontcourt vs. Sun Devil backcourt

One area the two teams differ on is the positions their best players play. Both teams have undisputed leaders in Deandre Ayton for the Wildcats and Tra Holder for the Sun Devils.

While both teams may have powerful offenses, the different positions of their stars means they reach those high scores in very different ways.

For Arizona State, the teams loves to smallball and have Holder and fellow wing Kodi Justice shoot the three. Almost a third of ASU’s points come from behind the arc.

The Wildcats, on the other hand, focus on getting the ball to Ayton down low. UA only focuses on the 3 when defenses shift their focus onto Ayton, freeing up the outside shot. Arizona gets 54 percent of its points from inside the arc.

It’s likely this game will come down to which style of play, and the stars that fit into each style, can dominate.

Romello White

If there’s one player on either team who is the biggest X-factor, it’s ASU power forward Romello White.

ASU’s guards get most of the attention, and rightfully so, but White has been a huge part of the Sun Devils’ success, averaging 14.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per contest.

“In my mind, one of the most understated players on their team and a big concern for anybody that plays them is Romello White who is a big guy that has fantastic hands, rebounds, and gives them an inside presence that makes what they do even that much more difficult to defend,” Arizona head coach Sean Miller said.

White vs. Ayton in the post could be the most matchup of the night, and while Ayton certainly has more name recognition and is a fantastic player, the battle could go White’s and the Sun Devils’ way if he can do what no other player has done: shut down Ayton (or at least limit him).



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posted by Unknown @ 4:09 PM   0 Comments

Notebook: On Arizona’s frontcourt, ASU’s offense, matchups, rivalry games & more

More notes before Saturday’s big game

One of the biggest storylines entering Saturday’s rivalry game between the Arizona Wildcats and Arizona State Sun Devils is how UA’s oversized frontcourt will fare against ASU’s small-ball style of play and vice versa.

The Wildcats might have to play small and stagger the minutes of Deandre Ayton and Dusan Ristic so they aren’t forced to guard on the perimeter for long stretches, but it doesn’t sound like that will be Arizona’s plan — at least initially.

“We’ve played a number of teams in our 13 non-conference games that have a five-man that can shoot, maybe four perimeter players around a five-man as a true center. And we’ve worked our way through that,” head coach Sean Miller said.

“Dusan has earned the right to play the minutes he plays because he’s one of our teams best players. And he’s improved as much as anybody on the defensive end. I don’t know if anybody will vote for him on the all-conference defensive team, but so much of this is about can we see him become the best that he can become.”

Ristic and Ayton struggled together defensively in the Bahamas against smaller teams which was partially the cause of UA’s three-game losing streak, but Miller believes Ristic in particular has improved since then.

“He’s improved toward the latter half of our non-conference schedule and sometimes that light goes on at different points in your career, but whoever takes the court on Saturday has to be somebody who plays really hard and smart defensively and does they best they can,” Miller said. “Dusan will have his hands full, but I can’t really name anybody on our team that won’t have their hands full. They’re obviously a tremendous offensive team.”

While ASU’s trio of senior guards are its main source of scoring, ASU big man Romello White is no slouch, either. The 6-foot-8 freshman is averaging 14.9 points and 8.6 rebounds this season.

“In my mind, one of the most understated players on their team and a big concern for anybody that plays them is Romello White who is a big guy that has fantastic hands, rebounds, and gives them an inside presence that makes what they do even that much more difficult to defend,” Miller said.

“We have one big test on our hands Saturday and hopefully we’ll be up to the challenge and task.”

Here are more notes before Saturday’s game which is scheduled for 7 p.m. MST and will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.

ASU has the No. 4 offense in college basketball, averaging 123.0 points per 100 possessions, and roughly one-third of its points come via the 3-point line.

The Sun Devils also play at a torrid pace, ranking 36th (of 351) in college basketball in average possession length.

ASU’s style of play and shot selection reminds Miller of the prolific offense UCLA had last year when it was led by Lonzo Ball and TJ Leaf.

The Bruins finished with the No. 2 offense in the country that season.

“They were a nightmare to defend,” Miller recalls. “They had some similarities (to ASU). Their pace was actually even faster than Arizona State. They had the balance of having that big guy or big guys that could score with terrific guard play, but UCLA was an unbelievable high-percentage scoring team. When they shot a 2, it was going in. When they shot a 3, it went in. They didn’t really get to the free-throw line a lot, but with ASU their ability to score from the foul line — get there and make the free throws they shoot — it puts a lot of pressure on your team. That’s the difference.”

A huge difference. ASU is No. 2 in the country in free throw rate — free throw attempts per field goal attempt — while UCLA was 342nd.

Arizona went 2-1 against the Bruins last year if that is any indication of how this year’s matchups against ASU will go, though UCLA was the only visiting team to win in McKale Center.

Of course, defense has been a major problem for the Wildcats all season, but they are improving. Arizona ranked in the 60s in KenPom’s defensive efficiency stat a couple weeks ago, but is now ranked 53rd heading into Saturday’s game.

Arizona’s biggest problems have been defending in transition and preventing dribble penetration — two things ASU’s stellar backcourt might be able to exploit.

“It’s a big problem, Miller said. “I don’t care who you have defensively no one’s really been able to keep them off the free throw line and stop them in transition. We’re the next team in line to give them a test. That’s something that our starting guards have to do a good job.”

Rawle Alkins has been credited with helping the UA improve on defense, providing energy, toughness, versatility, and a voice on the perimeter since his return on Dec. 9.

“I think we’re getting better on the defensive end,” Alkins said. “I’d say [Wednesday] was probably our most competitive practice of the year. Defensive-wise, I think everyone is starting to guard and take it personal.”

While Arizona has been less-than-impressive on defense this season, ASU has fared far worse, ranking 120th in defensive efficiency per KenPom.

Meanwhile the Wildcats are the No. 6 offensive team, so the Sun Devils should have problems stopping UA, too.

While Saturday’s rivalry game between Arizona and ASU is the most meaningful rendition in Miller’s tenure in Tucson (by far), it’s evidently nothing like the brutal Xavier-Cincinnati rivalry games he endured as Xavier’s head coach.

“Every program has their rivalry,” Miller said. “When I was at Xavier, the Xavier-Cincinnati crosstown shootout, you can’t compare that to anything ... There’s nothing like that game right there. That’s a bloodbath and anyone who’s coached in that game or played in that game understands that that’s just different. If you’re soft you want to transfer right after the game.

“The difference here is we’re in the same conference. We play twice a year and could play three times a year. There’s great meaning, but I feel like when we play UCLA there’s great meaning and every game that we play we’re trying to win. We respect the rivalry, but I don’t think it’s consuming.”

Still, Alkins expects Saturday’s game to be like any other rivalry game.

“Both Arizona schools playing against each other is always a big game, but being that they’re ranked so high, the expectations of the game are going to highly impacted,” he said.

“We’ll do our best and they’ll do their best.”

Follow Ryan Kelapire on Twitter at @RKelapire



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posted by Unknown @ 2:34 PM   0 Comments

No, you will not rush the court against ASU

For the love of John Button Salmon, stay in your seats

This is Arizona.

Home to 11 Elite Eights, four Final fours, and one national championship.

We hold ourselves to a high standard, and in the collegiate basketball world, to the highest of standards - one that is much greater than that other school.

No matter the other team’s ranking, especially Arizona State’s, we should not rush the court.

It’s both principle and prestige.

First, the principle.

Rushing the court means you intrinsically did not believe you would win the game. You rush because of the shock value. You rush because the excitement is overwhelming. (Think stomping Oregon in football in 2013.)

Against ASU, no one in Red and Blue should doubt that UA has a damn good shot at winning this game. There’s currently no spread line as of writing this, but ESPN gives the Wildcats a 66 percent chance and KenPom is at 67 percent.

So, if winning this game is expected, as many should be expecting, why would this be cause for a court rush? Short answer, it isn’t.

However, if you’re still on the fence about rushing and weren’t convinced above, we can venture into the prestige arena.

Let me reiterate, this is Arizona. We’re playing ASU.

Beating the Sun Devils is a yearly task — especially in McKale. We’re the more talented team, which even die-hard ASU fans will admit. Them being ranked third overall is not a reason to rush the court. But that frankly is beside the point.

With the game being played at McKale Center, we owe it to the years of history inside that building to behave like we’ve been here before. Those hallowed walls have seen more Pac-10/12 titles than most schools in the conference combined and I have a strong — though unscientific — belief that Arizona has not rushed the court in Tucson since Lute Olson led the team to a Final Four. Let us not start now.

(Author’s Note: If you have knowledge of court rushings in McKale that disprove my thinking, please let me know.)

Arizona fans like to compare the program to those like Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, and North Carolina. Well, those schools don't rush the court.

It’s a basketball culture thing and we, at Arizona, are a basketball school which means we have to adhere to a stricter constitution. And, you guessed it, first on that list is you don't rush the court.

I believe most of you understand this but I saw some rumblings on social media and thought it would be best to address this just in case some people had inklings to do so.

So, get excited for Saturday. Get very excited. Show up en masse, be loud, but do not, for the love of everything holy, rush the court on Saturday.

You can follow and send all hate mail differing opinions to me on Twitter: @UofAlec



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posted by Unknown @ 10:09 AM   0 Comments

Are Arizona and ASU primed for their best basketball matchup...ever?

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posted by Unknown @ 8:04 AM   0 Comments

Thursday, December 28, 2017

Arizona’s bench needs to step up vs. ASU

Especially on defense

Before the season started, Sean Miller was asked how he was going to manage all the talent the Arizona Wildcats were perceived to have.

The Wildcats were returning four starters and adding five highly-touted freshmen plus a transfer in Dylan Smith.

Talent galore — or so it seemed.

Arizona’s starting five has been as good as advertised, but the Wildcats have struggled to get much of anything from the rest of their roster. Brandon Randolph, who got to start when Rawle Alkins was out with a foot injury, is UA’s top bench scorer, averaging 6.8 points per game.

Dylan Smith is second at just 4.8 points per game.

Randolph has showed flashes of being a complete scorer, Ira Lee can defend and rebound a little bit, Smith and Alex Barcello can shoot, and Emmanuel Akot and Keanu Pinder have intriguing physical tools, but none of them have been reliable contributors, each with their own glaring flaws (or injuries) — hence why Miller is still shuffling Arizona’s rotation even as Pac-12 begins.

“I don’t know if we have a deep team,” he said Thursday.

“We’re trying to figure out who we’re playing. That’s not because I’m not playing who I want to play. That’s because it’s very difficult to determine who should and that’s not a good thing. We have a lot of guys working hard. We’ve had a couple great practices since we’ve returned (from Christmas break). We had that competitive spirit in practice because there’s really no surefire thing once you get past a few players because we’re hoping it sorts itself out, but that really hasn’t been the case yet.”

The lack of bench production burned the Wildcats in the Bahamas where they lost three straight, especially since Alkins was sidelined.

But when Arizona beat then-No. 7 Texas A&M in Phoenix earlier this month, Arizona got a rare 13 points from Smith,.

The Wildcats (10-3) will need similar production Saturday when they host the third-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils — the best team Arizona has faced to date.

“We need our bench to come in and do a real good job in this game,” Miller said. “I think if we had the opportunity to be in the game, to compete and have a chance to win this game, I think we’ll have a lot of good play from guys coming in off the bench.”

Not only has Arizona’s bench struggled to score this season but most of its members have had their fair share of struggles defensively.

Arizona’s starting five can produce enough offensively that it doesn’t necessarily need a huge scoring outburst from someone like Randolph or Smith to beat ASU — though it would certainly help — but at minimum it needs those players to turn in strong defensive efforts and not be liabilities on that end of the floor.

If not, the Sun Devils (13-0), who are top-five in the country in offensive efficiency and can score at all three levels of the court, will pick apart the Wildcats’ defense, which ranks just 55th in efficiency per KenPom.

“Our bench … they have to be able to defend,” Miller said. “They have to be responsible in a game like this. You can’t be that player that checks in the game and gives up four baskets and says ‘coach, why did you take me out?’ That’s the type of team Arizona State has.

“So defensively, you don’t have to be perfect, but you really have to understand that this is a very difficult challenge to keep them from having that big night offensively like they’ve had throughout the season.”

Follow Ryan Kelapire on Twitter at @RKelapire



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posted by Unknown @ 8:24 PM   0 Comments