2016-2017 Arizona Basketball

EVCat · Post by **EVCat** » Fri Feb 10, 2017 10:39 am

I partially excused the Utah game as being a pretty good team that just got their team back at the break (top 2 scorers missed first 13 games), but their failure to take off has me concerned. Colorado games happen, as do Oregon State games. 9 to 15 point wins with lackluster periods vs bad competition do not concern me. College kids, especially freshmen, do not maintain high levels of greatness on Thursday night slogs against RPI 200 teams. Double digit wins against blah teams that had periods of less-than-stellar play don't concern me like they do some people. As long as they were able to reach down and find that extra to pull away, I am content.

Oregon bugged me more, even though I can say it is just one game, because that is the game you are fully mentally alert for. Yeah, they shot incredible. But unlike Gonzaga, there was no moment where we put it together, got mad and showed we were proud and wounded. I take a lot more away from big games and the mentality exposed in those games than I do with the others. We have questioned why a bad team with a usually-half empty gym scared us on a 9pm tip on a Thursday for 30 years now. Those games just happen...as long as we win, I don't over-reach.

But Oregon was more than just a great shooting effort. It was a full capitulation. That has me a lot more concerned long term in relation to our ceiling. I don't think our floor has changed any...we are still a 2nd weekend team that, of course, could lose in the first weekend, but anyone calling that is guessing. Oregon had me wondering if we could overcome our weaknesses (everyone has them in today's game) enough to make a real run. We lack interior defense and above average point guard play, don't seem to have clear leadership, and those issues aren't changing. But can we will ourselves over those issues against 2 or more equally talented teams? Do we have those players?

That's more my concern. Crashing and burning is not my biggest concern. Playing better than we are for a couple of game...can we do that?

gumby · Post by **gumby** » Fri Feb 10, 2017 2:51 pm

cpt wrote:This team has some serious issues. There's no flow, little joy, everyone is tight, tentative. We need to play smarter, yes but we also need to play looser. I am beginning to think that all the accolades after the UCLA win was the exact opposite of what this team needs. Miller has got to find a way to loosen these guys up or it's going to be a miserable last month of the season.

This is how I feel, especially the joy part. They don't look like they enjoy basketball, which is a helluva lotta fun. Need a spark ... and soon.

Maybe that Bruin victory and the opportunity to recapture first place alone will provide it. And it's not just struggles with zone. Board and defense affected, too.

Have some fun guys! Let if flow!

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Fri Feb 10, 2017 2:56 pm

gumby wrote:They don't look like they enjoy basketball

Reminds of Shakur always looking at the bench whenever he screwed up and thought Lute would be mad at him and pull him.

I imagine many of the players feel the same way about Miller, esp. when Miller curses at them right on the court.

rgdeuce · Post by **rgdeuce** » Sat Feb 11, 2017 12:59 pm

I think their poor play is more responsible for their mood than Miller yelling at them. I dont know many athletes who look like they are having fun when they are playing like crap.

rgdeuce · Post by **rgdeuce** » Sat Feb 11, 2017 11:06 pm

This team is a trainwreck right now. Chance may be the only guy who is playing well top to bottom and isnt killing us in one particular area. Kadeems D is great but he's not running the offense well, Rawle has been outstanding offensively but is killing us on D, Kobi went from a solid defender to looking like it's October again and you dont know what youre gonna get offensively, Trier couldnt guard my sister and is still looking for his shooting rhythm when he isnt over dribbling, PJC turned it around the homestand but is still a mixed bag and still limited due to size, Dusan has been our most efficient offensive player but is a complete liability on the boards and defensively and anytime there is a loose ball within a foot, and Lauri went from Steve Kerr to a humungous shooting slump in the blink of an eye.

Trying to remain positive and stay hopeful that the switch comes on. Just crazy that this team was built to be peaking in February will a full head of steam going into the conference tournament and its looking like October. Maybe this is just destiny playing out like 97

PennZona20 · Post by **PennZona20** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 1:13 am

I'm officially worried.

Harvey Specter · Post by **Harvey Specter** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 3:43 am

Merkin wrote:
gumby wrote:They don't look like they enjoy basketball
Reminds of Shakur always looking at the bench whenever he screwed up and thought Lute would be mad at him and pull him.

I imagine many of the players feel the same way about Miller, esp. when Miller curses at them right on the court.

I am not sure why Shakur would have ever looked at the bench when he screwed up (which was often) worrying he would be pulled. He got more leeway than virtually any other Cat I remember.

He was deemed the Golden Child (who could do no wrong in the eyes of Lute) by his teammates... and was there was a fair amount of animosity among other members of that team because they felt he got special treatment.

Lute was a master, but he certainly had his favorites. And Staf was one of them.

Harvey Specter · Post by **Harvey Specter** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 3:50 am

PennZona20 wrote:I'm officially worried.

I understand why people are... but I am not. Things need to turn around, but I believe they will.

Every team hits a rough patch during the season, and virtually no team peaks for an extended duration. We are in a rut, but we are winning (well, when we aren't being blown out by 30 in Eugene)... and like all things - this too shall pass.

Better to struggle now than in a month... lots of young players who are hitting a wall. Trier still finding his way (although I have never been close to the fan of his that most of the board is... I'll always support him cuz he's a Cat, but he's never been my favorite one).

In Miller I Trust. (Just Call me Cordera of the Hoops board

)

Alieberman · Post by **Alieberman** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 8:01 am

I wish Miller would play Chance and Ristic together... Lauri should not have been out there in the last 5 minutes... his shot is completely lost right now

rgdeuce · Post by **rgdeuce** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 8:58 am

I dont know, Lauri played insane defense on Rabb on several possessions in the closing minutes. Even though he is struggling offensively, he still demands a lot more respect than Chance would and that opens things up. He can still attack and get to the line. I dont want to sell Chance short though, hes been playing excellent ball.

Speaking of Rabb, what a complete waste. Its insane to have a player of that caliber go stretches of possessions without even getting a touch, especially on a team that has bigtime issues putting up points at times. Good job Cuonzo.

Longhorned · Post by **Longhorned** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 9:33 am

I feel like this is one of those times like I'm watching a different game than some of the smart fans around here. I wasn't expecting the boneheaded execution on some of those plays in the second half, but I'm totally encouraged by the Cal game.

Oregon would have beaten Cal last night, but Gonzaga wouldn't have. Kansas wouldn't have. UCLA wouldn't have.

Bird was insane, making us pay for double-teaming Rabb while merely staying inside Bird's jersey. Trier and Lauri couldn't get it going, and in spite of our unforced turnovers, Arizona rebounded the ball and didn't let Rabb even get a taste of it. The double-team and pass denial were executed to perfection.

The horrible officiating made for a halting pace that favored Cal's physicality, and Arizona rose to the challenge. That's one of those games you just need to find a way to win. You don't lower your head because you don't see showtime flow on offense. We showed a little too much desire to dribble the ball out of bounds, and make passes to the fifth row, but let's not get nuts about this.

baconus66 · Post by **baconus66** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 9:37 am

I'm all for having lauri on the court as much as possible and shooting as much as before. Some tight games or potential losses now are worth him finding his shot and rhythm. Always helps that he had one of his better defensive games.

I'm in the boat of not that worried. I was more worried before cal actually. We had been struggling a lot defensively until last night when we wound up with a really nice defensive night (Miller agreed). While the offense didn't score a lot the flow looked better, there were less awful unforced turnovers, and less bad out of rhythm shots. I think the team is close to finding that groove again and if/when they do it's going to be exciting. I've watched closely during the games and warmups and I don't think there are any major chemistry issues, I think the lineup changes just require some practice before it all becomes easy again

Main Event · Post by **Main Event** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 9:47 am

Wall + Zone = Blah last 6 games

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 9:54 am

Well we are not playing well but we are winning and I doubt early in the year had LM played like he is now that we would have won that first CAL game and a few others.

I think it is a great sign we have the resolve to play poorly and still fly the W. Once we get right watch out

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 9:57 am

Lauri reminds me a bit of Richard Jefferson in that his shot stopped going in, so he concentrated on defense.

There was a reason LM was out there end of game and top scorer Ristic was on the bench.

Trier being out there too end of game after going scoreless, but called for and nailed those 4 FTs.

EVCat · Post by **EVCat** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 10:08 am

I have concern, but cannot get to the level of worry when our bad stretch yields a 4-1 result. I dont believe in transitive properties in sports...if we play like we did against X, then Y will kill us. No, because just by virtue of Y being Y, we are going to be more motivated, excited, willing to give to the team to win where that isnt as present vs OSU.

We are 23-3, 12-1. Thats a fucking dream. No nightmare scenario in there that doesnt involve injury. Players in slumps dont stay in slumps. We would have to believe we are worse with Trier to really be scared...not that there is an adjustment we havent made, but that we are straight up worse with him than without him. I dont believe that. But i do think much of the change in level of play has to do with role defining, confidence...all related to Trier returning. The deficiencies are what they are...those arent going away. Dusan isnt going to suddenly be a post defense threat. We arent going to suddenly have PJC or Kadeem play high level point. Thise are our weaknesses and everyone has them.

The Trier adjustment can be fixed with time. And we have 4 weeks, which i think is plenty. I am somewhat concerned at our play right now. I do not, however, believe adding talent ruins a team. The order eventually gets restored , but it is a shit transition when people lose their time and roles. 4 weeks...as long as we see some improvement week to week, we will be fine come NCAA...as fine as we wver were going to be...a Sweet 16 team with the ability to shock both ways up and down

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 11:12 am

rgdeuce wrote:This team is a trainwreck right now. Chance may be the only guy who is playing well top to bottom and isnt killing us in one particular area. Kadeems D is great but he's not running the offense well, Rawle has been outstanding offensively but is killing us on D, Kobi went from a solid defender to looking like it's October again and you dont know what youre gonna get offensively, Trier couldnt guard my sister and is still looking for his shooting rhythm when he isnt over dribbling, PJC turned it around the homestand but is still a mixed bag and still limited due to size, Dusan has been our most efficient offensive player but is a complete liability on the boards and defensively and anytime there is a loose ball within a foot, and Lauri went from Steve Kerr to a humungous shooting slump in the blink of an eye.

Trying to remain positive and stay hopeful that the switch comes on. Just crazy that this team was built to be peaking in February will a full head of steam going into the conference tournament and its looking like October. Maybe this is just destiny playing out like 97

I don't know, I was much more positive after the game last night. Still far from perfect, but some thoughts:

The pace of the game was slow, and it amplified the general ugliness on offense. With Lauri and Trier way off, this was a dangerous game. Offensively, we got very little in transition and half court was fits and starts.

Defense and rebounding were the best they've been for a while. Rebounding was a little sketchy early, but we shut them down late. Defensively, it's crazy that Cal made a lot of hail marys and only produced 57 points. Bird hit some ridiculous shots, but we did an excellent job on Rabb.

Having Lauri sidelined so early just killed things for him. He never got into any kind of offensive rhythm, but this was his best defensive game in an Arizona uniform. It was not one of Trier's best. If I was really unhappy, it was that a sophomore leader looked lost on D so often.

It was an ugly game, but judged by the standard of having our best offensive players produce almost nothing, I can live with it. The renewal on D and the boards made me feel good on the whole.

rgdeuce · Post by **rgdeuce** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 11:42 am

Long, curious why you think Gonzaga, Kansas and UCLA wouldnt have beat Cal last night? Cal didnt play well at all. While you have to give Lauri and Co and out double Rabb gameplan kudos, who is to say those teams wouldnt have done similar?

If we are merely looking at end results, there is only slight concern. After all, we are 5-1 and conference games being gritty and close isnt abnormal. But only one of those wins come against a quality opponent and it was a home game. We have been laboring in every one of the last six. Again, a couple in a row or a stretch where its every other is one thing. But six straight. We are merely winning because we hit a super easy patch of our schedule and we have enough sheer talent to overcome teams who have far less. If you throw random tournament teams, 1-15 seeds, in this stretch we could easily be 3-3 or 2-4.

There are positives to take from this game, but they are outweighed by the negatives and the fact that this play has been going on for three weeks. Yea, we won without a damn thing from Lauri and Zo, but u also got to see that our two best players havent been right lately. We are built for that, so you have to curb the props a bit too, because how many teams have a Kobi, Rawle, Dusan, Kadeem, and now Chance who can pick up that slack and be options 3-6? You also gotta know that Cal didnt play well. Rabb had a rough night and their frosh PG was in warm ups on the sideline. They made a lot of unforced mistakes themselves. We should be concerned we let their little white dude Morton (?) light us up w some easy shots.

And ignoring the end results, we just dont look like a team. We look like a collection of talent that just got pieced together for a showcase tournament. Its showing big time on the offensive end, at times defensively and a good deal of time around the glass. You look at the body language and faces on our bench, we look like we are losing these games and outside of a few guys each night, it seems that nobody is stepping up and grabbing everyone else by their jerseys and telling them to get their shit together. Ive been on enough teams in my life to know how this ends. We got a few weeks to fix it. All that said, it was a small step in the right direction in some areas and hopefully we can build on it

CalStateTempe · Post by **CalStateTempe** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 11:52 am

In terms of D, we were getting burned in the inside all night with players out of position.

For me the only thing positive about that game is it's over and we got the win. Cal was fully capable of winning last night if they were even halfway on.

EastCoastCat · Post by **EastCoastCat** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 11:53 am

Longhorned wrote:I feel like this is one of those times like I'm watching a different game than some of the smart fans around here. I wasn't expecting the boneheaded execution on some of those plays in the second half, but I'm totally encouraged by the Cal game.

Oregon would have beaten Cal last night, but Gonzaga wouldn't have. Kansas wouldn't have. UCLA wouldn't have.

Bird was insane, making us pay for double-teaming Rabb while merely staying inside Bird's jersey. Trier and Lauri couldn't get it going, and in spite of our unforced turnovers, Arizona rebounded the ball and didn't let Rabb even get a taste of it. The double-team and pass denial were executed to perfection.

The horrible officiating made for a halting pace that favored Cal's physicality, and Arizona rose to the challenge. That's one of those games you just need to find a way to win. You don't lower your head because you don't see showtime flow on offense. We showed a little too much desire to dribble the ball out of bounds, and make passes to the fifth row, but let's not get nuts about this.

Well said...I've been thinking along similar lines especially when your 2 top scorers contribute barely anything. It was a slugfest and this team continues to rise up to the occasion to put a W on the board no matter how ugly it looks. If I recall our offense against Cal in Berkeley was nothing to write home about either so to assume it would be different, even with Trier in the lineup, is wishful thinking.

Sometimes you just need excellent defense and rebounding to win a game. That's what we saw last night.

rgdeuce · Post by **rgdeuce** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 1:12 pm

I'd like to see Chance get more minutes. For as well as he played and considering how long Lauri was off the floor, 17 wasnt that much. Dusan got 31 and had 12 points on 13 shots and only grabbed 3 boards. Chance had 5 boards (gave us 4 offensive to Dusans 1) and gave us 8 points on six shots. Rooks was giving Dusan a much tougher time than Chance too.

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 3:10 pm

A random thought from the Cal game:

Props to Dusan for his big to big doubles on Rabb then rotation back. Movement and rotation is not his strong suit, but he doubled Rabb on time and rotated back without leaving any gaps. If you'd told me pregame that we would rely on that, I'd have been worried, but he did well.

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 3:47 pm

Isn't Cal the best defensive team in the conference? I'm not sweating a poor offensive performance against a good defensive team. There are no style points in February.

catgrad97 · Post by **catgrad97** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 4:03 pm

*man-hugs Chicat*

HiCat · Post by **HiCat** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 4:51 pm

Chicat wrote:Isn't Cal the best defensive team in the conference? I'm not sweating a poor offensive performance against a good defensive team. There are no style points in February.

Hola Paco, como esta?

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 4:54 pm

Chicat wrote:Isn't Cal the best defensive team in the conference? I'm not sweating a poor offensive performance against a good defensive team. There are no style points in February.

The rudder less ship just found its rudder. The voice of reason has hopefully returned!!

Longhorned · Post by **Longhorned** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 5:04 pm

rgdeuce wrote:Long, curious why you think Gonzaga, Kansas and UCLA wouldnt have beat Cal last night? Cal didnt play well at all. While you have to give Lauri and Co and out double Rabb gameplan kudos, who is to say those teams wouldnt have done similar?

Sticking with reality instead of my thoughts about Gonzaga and Kansas matchups that may not ever happen (though I do think it would suck for both of them if it does), I'll stick to UCLA. It's hardly going out on a limb to say that Cal will beat UCLA if they play in Vegas. I think Cal has improved more than UCLA since they last met at the start of January, especially on defense. They had basically figured out how to guard UCLA after the first half. Bird was a non-factor that game, and that probably won't happen again. Bryce can't guard Mullins, period. I don't think Leaf can contain Rabb with help. I think they'll put up 75 on UCLA and hold UCLA to 70.

NYCat · Post by **NYCat** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 7:19 pm

I mean I get not panicking after just one game vs a good Cal team. But, this offensive slump has been going on for 6 straight games after the UCLA win. That includes, Wazzu, UDub, Or St, Furd - not exactly world beaters. Those teams have slowed down the offense and pretty much shut them down with zone defense. (Oregon is just a terrible matchup vs this team, they're talented, athletic, well coached, no one can guard Brooks etc).

Ever since Trier's return the team has been struggling, including Trier, Lauri, kadeem etc. The team can't break/attack a zone defense to save its life. Effort hasn't been there during that stretch, gotten outrebounded, turnover prone, waste 30 seconds only to put up bad shots, lazy, getting beat on defense easily, Lauri's legs look they have gone out (missing short on shots), little movement, etc. The zone defense is hard to break for the team, PJC has been the best at doing it, but he isn't good enough to be playing full time and isn't an offensive threat.

And then the Trier factor, since Trier's return to the team they've regressed as a team somehow - maybe having on court chemistry issues (they haven't played together with him). Trier just completely changed the whole offense, we've looked really out of sync since his return. I hope the issues get ironed out because this team can beat any team in the country if they're playing well. I hope they just have to get a couple more games under their belts playing together in the new offense to iron things out.

But, the team went 5-1 in this offensive slump . Hard to be too worried, probably winning on talent + depth alone & teams running out of gas.

dovecanyoncat · Post by **dovecanyoncat** » Sun Feb 12, 2017 8:04 pm

rgdeuce wrote:And ignoring the end results, we just dont look like a team. We look like a collection of talent that just got pieced together for a showcase tournament. Its showing big time on the offensive end, at times defensively and a good deal of time around the glass. You look at the body language and faces on our bench, we look like we are losing these games and outside of a few guys each night, it seems that nobody is stepping up and grabbing everyone else by their jerseys and telling them to get their shit together. Ive been on enough teams in my life to know how this ends. We got a few weeks to fix it. All that said, it was a small step in the right direction in some areas and hopefully we can build on it

Even in this win there were many times on offense our spacing is just terrible, as if guys didn't know where they should be, and they got in each others' way and/or couldn't find each other in the flow of play. But we have a talent advantage over the vast majority of our opponents so, on offense, shooting slumps are the last aspect of execution I'll worry about...as long as we're screening, passing and rebounding well. We had problems to fix coming into this game and it sure as hell wasn't offense that won it for us so at least we made progress in one area, and fortunately we saw continued offensive production in Chance, an important defensive player.

Somebody said earlier that this team needs to discover if they're Lauri's or Trier's team. I think it's actually neither in respect of leadership. Lauri and Zo are our most productive scorers but our few upperclassmen hold the keys to stabilizing the current situation. Deem, with his effort level; Parker, with his ability to run sets; Dusan, with his plodding efficiency and just last night his call to the crowd (a small thing, I know, but I believe it is a first for him?)...these will be important to Miller's effort to right the ship. Without experienced leadership it's hard to retain the fix to a problem.

Alieberman · Post by **Alieberman** » Mon Feb 13, 2017 1:41 pm

#5 Arizona
#6 UCLA
#7 Oregon

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Mon Feb 13, 2017 1:45 pm

i'd put us behind oregon still after that beatdown. but as of now, ucla is 1-2 against arizona and oregon, oregon is 2-1 against arizona and ucla and arizona is 1-1 against the two. i'd rank the teams:

#5 Oregon
#6 Arizona
#7 UCLA

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Mon Feb 13, 2017 1:56 pm

Bracket Matrix:

2) Arizona
2) Oregon
4) UCLA
7) USC
10) California
Getting votes, but not in) Utah

http://bracketmatrix.com/" target="_blank

EVCat · Post by **EVCat** » Mon Feb 13, 2017 2:08 pm

azgreg wrote:Bracket Matrix:

2) Arizona
2) Oregon
4) UCLA
7) USC
10) California
Getting votes, but not in) Utah

http://bracketmatrix.com/" target="_blank

Utah got their team too late. And they just haven't done anything beyond winning the games they should. They need to pop a major upset or two to get out of that bubble/outside status. If they had their two leading scorers from season's start, they might have that quality win or two, or just not the bad losses. But if we had TFerg and Ray Smith and Stanley was a Junior and AG a Senior we would...

..still have the same issues? Who knows.

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Mon Feb 13, 2017 2:17 pm

yeah unless they go on a run i don't see Utah in. they're 15-8 and 8-5 in the league with an rpi of 82 and SOS of 89. they are 1-8 against top 50 rpi teams. Their biggest wins of the year so far are at home against Colorado and USC. 4-4 in road games..but their best road win (rpi wise) is over #132 asu

gumby · Post by **gumby** » Mon Feb 13, 2017 2:51 pm

ASUHATER! wrote:i'd put us behind oregon still after that beatdown. but as of now, ucla is 1-2 against arizona and oregon, oregon is 2-1 against arizona and ucla and arizona is 1-1 against the two. i'd rank the teams:

#5 Oregon
#6 Arizona
#7 UCLA

We're 1-0 against Colorado.

gumby · Post by **gumby** » Mon Feb 13, 2017 2:57 pm

Utah's been desperate ever since getting swept in Bay Area. Best victory is over SC. Really the only victory of consequence. Only team left where they can make noise is Oregon. Cal rematch is a MUST win. Still might not be enough.

EOCT · Post by **EOCT** » Mon Feb 13, 2017 3:05 pm

azcat49 wrote:
Chicat wrote:Isn't Cal the best defensive team in the conference? I'm not sweating a poor offensive performance against a good defensive team. There are no style points in February.

The rudder less ship just found its rudder. The voice of reason has hopefully returned!!

Well observed 49!

gumby · Post by **gumby** » Mon Feb 13, 2017 3:06 pm

Alieberman wrote:#5 Arizona
#6 UCLA
#7 Oregon

Coaches:

#5 UCLA
#6 Arizona
#8 Oregon

UCLA fan -- We beat Oregon!
Oregon fan -- We crushed Arizona!
Arizona fan -- We beat UCLA!!
Oregon fan -- So did we.
Arizona fan -- We did it on the road! And beat Colorado!
Oregon fan -- We crushed the Cats!
Arizona fan -- You have an ugly floor!

HiCat · Post by **HiCat** » Mon Feb 13, 2017 3:07 pm

http://collegebasketball.ap.org/poll/2017/15" target="_blank

Wildcats atop a 5-6-7 Pac-12 trio in AP Top 25 poll

Pascoe Arizona Daily Star Feb 13, 2017 Updated 21 min ago

Miller also referenced the big picture:

"I would rather be in the poll than not in it, that’s for sure, especially if you’re in the Top 10," he said. "That's a credit to this year’s team, it really is. The ranking in mid- to late-February, there’s a lot that has been earned and in our case the consistency from the beginning of the year until now, overcoming adversity, playing through injuries and the situation we had with Allonzo, I think we have a resilient group and a great group of guys to coach.

"When you get to mid-February with March being so close, now is when you want to hit on all cylinders and I think you rely a lot on that chemistry and that togetherness to continue to compete and improve not stop and think about where we're at, continue on that quest to be at our best."
http://tucson.com/sports/arizonawildcat ... eacf7.html" target="_blank

RichardCranium · Post by **RichardCranium** » Mon Feb 13, 2017 11:08 pm

Hmmm. I didn't expect that. I wonder what happens when Baylor kicks Kansas' butt on Saturday?

prh · Post by **prh** » Mon Feb 13, 2017 11:34 pm

RichardCranium wrote:Hmmm. I didn't expect that. I wonder what happens when Baylor kicks Kansas' butt on Saturday?

Did you see Baylor tonight? Kansas was bad for 35 minutes but at least WVU is good, TTech just isn't.

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 7:33 am

gumby wrote:
Alieberman wrote:#5 Arizona
#6 UCLA
#7 Oregon
Coaches:

UCLA fan -- We beat Oregon!
Oregon fan -- We crushed Arizona!
Arizona fan -- We beat UCLA!!
Oregon fan -- So did we.
Arizona fan -- We did it on the road! And beat Colorado!
Oregon fan -- We crushed the Cats!
Arizona fan -- You have an ugly floor!

Pack it up everybody, there's no room for any more posts in this thread after this masterpiece, well that is until the Arizona/UCLA game where more dialogue can be added.

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 8:20 am

ChooChooCat wrote:
gumby wrote:
Alieberman wrote:#5 Arizona
#6 UCLA
#7 Oregon
Coaches:

UCLA fan -- We beat Oregon!
Oregon fan -- We crushed Arizona!
Arizona fan -- We beat UCLA!!
Oregon fan -- So did we.
Arizona fan -- We did it on the road! And beat Colorado!
Oregon fan -- We crushed the Cats!
Arizona fan -- You have an ugly floor!
Pack it up everybody, there's no room for any more posts in this thread after this masterpiece, well that is until the Arizona/UCLA game where more dialogue can be added.

False. We haven't even reached the transitive property.

UCLA beat Colorado by 15.
Colorado beat Oregon by 9.
Oregon beat Arizona by 27.

Thus, UCLA should beat Arizona by 51.

USC beat UCLA by 8.
Arizona beat USC by 7.

Thus, Arizona should beat UCLA by 15. Or lose by 51.

Lofty · Post by **Lofty** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 8:47 am

Well, we haven't played a good game since the UCLA roadie. Sleepwalking through UW and WSU and even OSU for a good while. That UO beatdown was very predictable. Then can barely escape Stanford at home with more shittiness. And then Cal, while a solid, good team, man, we sucked. But at least W's were obtained.

But I guess I see big glaring problems for this team as we head into last month. Need to bounce back and get this figured out. Ranked No. 5 is a huge joke, right now.

rgdeuce · Post by **rgdeuce** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 9:18 am

Longhorned wrote:
rgdeuce wrote:Long, curious why you think Gonzaga, Kansas and UCLA wouldnt have beat Cal last night? Cal didnt play well at all. While you have to give Lauri and Co and out double Rabb gameplan kudos, who is to say those teams wouldnt have done similar?
Sticking with reality instead of my thoughts about Gonzaga and Kansas matchups that may not ever happen (though I do think it would suck for both of them if it does), I'll stick to UCLA. It's hardly going out on a limb to say that Cal will beat UCLA if they play in Vegas. I think Cal has improved more than UCLA since they last met at the start of January, especially on defense. They had basically figured out how to guard UCLA after the first half. Bird was a non-factor that game, and that probably won't happen again. Bryce can't guard Mullins, period. I don't think Leaf can contain Rabb with help. I think they'll put up 75 on UCLA and hold UCLA to 70.

Cal just doesn't have the offensive firepower to hang with UCLA on more than a once in a blue moon occasion. That game in Pauley was only a 10 point victory before UCLA because they got a fat 24 or 25 point lead and got lazy and started chucking. Cal would be a good team if Cuonzo properly utilized the offensive pieces he has but he doesn't.

Chicat wrote:Isn't Cal the best defensive team in the conference? I'm not sweating a poor offensive performance against a good defensive team. There are no style points in February.

They are 10th in Kenpom adjusted D. You expect struggles and sloppiness. The only thing is, a lot of the sloppiness we saw in the Cal game is what we had seen in the prior five, things that have nothing to do with the other team. I will say this though, we played with much more urgency and were moving the ball and moving off ball a lot better against the zone. Which is good, because they still played a lot of M2M in that game because we werent completely incompetent against the zone, which helped us out.

rgdeuce · Post by **rgdeuce** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 9:22 am

ASUHATER! wrote:i'd put us behind oregon still after that beatdown. but as of now, ucla is 1-2 against arizona and oregon, oregon is 2-1 against arizona and ucla and arizona is 1-1 against the two. i'd rank the teams:

#5 Oregon
#6 Arizona
#7 UCLA

The difference is, that win came for us on the road and Oregon's both came at home. We also didnt lose to Colorado.

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 9:24 am

27 points is just impossible to overlook

rgdeuce · Post by **rgdeuce** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 9:30 am

ASUHATER! wrote:27 points is just impossible to overlook

Not when you take into account that it was a historic shooting night for Oregon. If you want to play the eye test game, I agree, Oregon should be ahead of us with how both teams have looked in recent weeks. If we are merely going off resume though, we are clearly ahead of Oregon.

Olsondogg · Post by **Olsondogg** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 10:58 am

ASUHATER! wrote:27 points is just impossible to overlook

Give me a fucking break. It was a loss, nothing more nor less. Did you see WVU lose at KU yesterday? Would you have preferred that?

Get over it, the team has.

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 11:05 am

an OT loss where you lead most of the game is in no way equatable to a 27 point loss where you're embarrassed from opening tip to final buzzer.

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