Bear Down Wildcats

Yes absolutely, Choo.

And should Arizona drop a few or majority of them it doesn’t really matter in the end.

I think we are seeing the real Nico now that he has started playing against older more experienced guards...but my gut feeling is his shooting will start to trend back up once he sorts it out...what has surprised me is the rest of the team...Dylan still takes his share of bad shots, but even that is trending down...everyone is else is trending up (with the exception of Ira who should have tried out for football)...

Yes, the next four are rough, but the second two are at home. I think we’ll go 3-1 with the only loss coming in Eugene.

That Sunday night game at 8pm just is a killer. Have to wait until late Sunday to play and then get home about 2or 3 in the morning. Need to be sharp this week

Thought that was a great win and we showed improvement in defense and rebounding from December. Also our shot selection was much better. If we can play through Zeke meaning he gets the most shot attempts a game, we will have a chance in any game. We play so much better looking for shots in the paint or drives then settling for long contested jumpers.

Amen, Lando.

https://tucson.com/sports/arizonawildca ... 2d98d.html" target="_blank

A one-on-one with Walton

Gwen Niemi, 98, poses with a Dec. 7, 1941-edition of the Honolulu Star Bulletin printed just after the Pearl Harbor attack, at her westside home, Nov. 8, 2018, in Tucson, Ariz. Niemi was inspired by the article to enlist in the Women's Army Corps, where she attained the rank of captain.

Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
The UA honors an active duty solider or a veteran every game, an introduction that invariably leads to a standing ovation from the McKale Center faithful.

Even by those standards, Saturday's introduction of Gwen Niemi was special.

The 99-year-old Officer Candidate School graduate pushed a walker to midcourt and, as the cheers rose, appeared to become emotional. Then she did a little dance, walked from midcourt to press row and found ESPN analyst Bill Walton. She leaned in whispered something in his ear, and got a broad smile.

Niemi graduated from college at the age of 21 when she heard that the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps was starting, according to Star archives.

In 1942, Niemi applied for Officer Candidate School and was one of the first 200 women to make it through.

She served in many cities, achieving the rank of captain, before requesting a discharge in 1946.

"After the war was over, they had less and less need for women," she told the Star in 2018.

After leaving the military, she moved to Tucson, where she taught physical education at the University of Arizona for four years before starting a family.

So what did she say to Walton? As they say in the military, it's classified.

Lando05 wrote:Thought that was a great win and we showed improvement in defense and rebounding from December. Also our shot selection was much better. If we can play through Zeke meaning he gets the most shot attempts a game, we will have a chance in any game. We play so much better looking for shots in the paint or drives then settling for long contested jumpers.

This. We made the sort of improvements necessary to achieve our potential.

I think you see it most clearly in shooting 26% from 3. That night has beaten us a few times. Of course ASU is worse than Zaga or Baylor, but we destroyed them because the rest of our game was good enough we didn't need those shots to fall. When they do fall...

Offense needs to run through Zeke. Period.

Let defenses double him (because not too many guys can guard him one on one), he'll kick it out, and our guards can attack. I was hoping this team would have at least one lights-out 3 point shooter (Smith, Baker, Hazard), but so far, that hasn't happened. Smith and Baker are shooting a nice 3-point %, but their shots have disappeared at big moments. Hopefully they'll become more reliable in the coming weeks.

CatFanOneMil wrote:I think we are seeing the real Nico now that he has started playing against older more experienced guards...but my gut feeling is his shooting will start to trend back up once he sorts it out....

I see him doubting himself for the first time maybe ever. There were hints that he was having some of that in preseason. He is an outwardly confident, even cocky player, and he is confident enough to play through any crisis of confidence, as we have seen in him continuing to take shots when he was really off, like he knows he just needs one to dial in. So "doubting" may be a strong word, but he is adjusting with the next level while knowing he has to be the guy while also dealing with little nagging injuries that take just enough away to be distracting.

Against ASU, you could see he was having some problems early with an old foe, Jaelen House. Jaelen may be the most central-casting villain to hit the floor in some time, and he certainly cannot shoot or score with any real consistency, but defensively, he is a fucking nightmare. And he was getting into Nico a little and Nico started to press a bit. We started inbounding to Baker and having Nico draw Jaelen away from the inbound before coming back for the ball, because Jaelen is insanely quick. But Nico had a couple of drives, maybe even the drive and look-away dish (I haven't watched the broadcast yet), and even with the banged knee, you could see his face light up, like "I got this".

He knows the game and is an intelligent player...so he is going to know better than anyone that the game has been upped, and he will be fine, but he just couldn't dial it in during those losses. He may have needed the sight of Jaelen's wagging mouth to get to it, to not overthink.

I would pay serious money to know what he and Remy were jawing back and forth behind the free throw line...pretty sure he was saying, "Naw just look at the scoreboard bru"

So how about some predictions for tomorrow?

I haven't seen a single beat writer predict an AZ win tomorrow. I'd expect the line to be about Oregon -4.

This is easily the toughest road test this team has faced, so it'll be interesting to see how they come out. Can we avoid our typical slow start? Can Zeke and Chase avoid foul trouble? Can we do better at the foul line? Can we take better care of the ball and get our TO number lower?

Beachcat97 wrote:So how about some predictions for tomorrow?

None of us can see the future my good man...

Beachcat97 wrote:So how about some predictions for tomorrow?

I haven't seen a single beat writer predict an AZ win tomorrow. I'd expect the line to be about Oregon -4.

This is easily the toughest road test this team has faced, so it'll be interesting to see how they come out. Can we avoid our typical slow start? Can Zeke and Chase avoid foul trouble? Can we do better at the foul line? Can we take better care of the ball and get our TO number lower?

They're a higher rated team and we're at their place. I doubt we will get any picks.

We need to play a solid game across the board to win. The upside of the Gonzaga and Baylor games is that you can see the potential to win if 3's fall.

If we hit shots without turnovers, we should have a decent shot. Hopefully we continue the improvement on D and the glass we saw vs ASU.

I'm more focused on how we play. We could have great effort, execution, etc... and Oregon could have a great shooting night from deep. If that happens and we lose a close one while playing well and smart -- then that's ok. Not crazy about moral victories -- but this young team needs to play well with their adjusted roles.

zonagrad wrote:I'm more focused on how we play. We could have great effort, execution, etc... and Oregon could have a great shooting night from deep. If that happens and we lose a close one while playing well and smart -- then that's ok. Not crazy about moral victories -- but this young team needs to play well with their adjusted roles.

That has to be the overall goal. Oregon is a team you could see deep in the tourney. This game is one there isn't shame is losing with a good effort.

A good, smart game to build from is priority #1. How far that gets us on the scoreboard...well, I care, but at this point, consistent development matters more.

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

zonagrad wrote:I'm more focused on how we play. We could have great effort, execution, etc... and Oregon could have a great shooting night from deep. If that happens and we lose a close one while playing well and smart -- then that's ok. Not crazy about moral victories -- but this young team needs to play well with their adjusted roles.

That has to be the overall goal. Oregon is a team you could see deep in the tourney. This game is one there isn't shame is losing with a good effort.

A good, smart game to build from is priority #1. How far that gets us on the scoreboard...well, I care, but at this point, consistent development matters more.

I think if we focus on rebounds, defense, not fouling and keep turnovers below 15 we stay in this game pretty competitive...Oregon does not defeat Oregon and in order to compete UA must not defeat UA...I think our bench depth is an advantage here...like Hurley said "they kept sending in wave after wave of guys"...

If Dylan has one of his breakout games we get the win...if Nico breaks his slump we get the win...if we fail to get Zeke the ball we have beat ourselves.

You can bet Altman will triple Zeke IMMEDIATELY to force turnovers...

Jefe wrote:

This week will wreck the average for the Oregon schools...UA always makes the house fill up even for our opponents.

How significant is CJ Walker being out?

Beachcat97 wrote:How significant is CJ Walker being out?

Relatively minimal. Averages 5.7 points and 3 rebounds. Shouldn't change the game much if at all.

Jefe wrote:

Interesting to watch the attendance numbers change as the season unfolds. Gotta believe ASU fan interest is gonna fade as they muddle through a mediocre year. Surprised to see Oregon's numbers so low -- especially with such a highly ranked team.

Stanford doesn't draw well -- which is pathetic considering the population of the area and the quality team they have.

zonagrad wrote:

Jefe wrote:

Interesting to watch the attendance numbers change as the season unfolds. Gotta believe ASU fan interest is gonna fade as they muddle through a mediocre year. Surprised to see Oregon's numbers so low -- especially with such a highly ranked team.

Stanford doesn't draw well -- which is pathetic considering the population of the area and the quality team they have.

Their football team too for that matter. Both Furd and Cal had huge stadiums at one point, now they are greatly reduced and still attendance suffers.

zonagrad wrote:

Jefe wrote:

Interesting to watch the attendance numbers change as the season unfolds. Gotta believe ASU fan interest is gonna fade as they muddle through a mediocre year. Surprised to see Oregon's numbers so low -- especially with such a highly ranked team.

Stanford doesn't draw well -- which is pathetic considering the population of the area and the quality team they have.

Oregon is always like that. They average like 50% capacity unless Arizona or Washington or some top 25 ooc team comes to town.

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

zonagrad wrote:I'm more focused on how we play. We could have great effort, execution, etc... and Oregon could have a great shooting night from deep. If that happens and we lose a close one while playing well and smart -- then that's ok. Not crazy about moral victories -- but this young team needs to play well with their adjusted roles.

That has to be the overall goal. Oregon is a team you could see deep in the tourney. This game is one there isn't shame is losing with a good effort.

A good, smart game to build from is priority #1. How far that gets us on the scoreboard...well, I care, but at this point, consistent development matters more.

I'm with you on this, Spiff...to an extent. Somewhere along the way, don't we need at least one quality win? It's possible that the Illinois and Wake wins will age well as the season progresses, but if we're hoping for better than a 5 seed, I'm pretty sure we'll need to beat Oregon at least once this season. Maybe racking up wins over Colorado and UW will have the same effect; hard to say. But as it stands, our tourney resume leaves a lot to be desired.

I'm with you that there isn't shame in losing in Eugene, but that would just make beating them in Tucson that much more important.

Beachcat97 wrote:So how about some predictions for tomorrow?

I haven't seen a single beat writer predict an AZ win tomorrow. I'd expect the line to be about Oregon -4.

This is easily the toughest road test this team has faced, so it'll be interesting to see how they come out. Can we avoid our typical slow start? Can Zeke and Chase avoid foul trouble? Can we do better at the foul line? Can we take better care of the ball and get our TO number lower?

I'd like to say we can win but I just don't see it happening. I think we get in early foul trouble and get off to a slow start resulting in a large lead for Oregon. Oregon will go after Nnaji and we have no answer for Pritchard. I think Oregon will dictate tempo and manage to maintain a lead we can't overcome. Nico needs to make good decisions if his shot is off. Can't have him chucking mindless jumpers trying to shoot himself out of a slump. He'll have to deal with more athletic and long defenders which thus far he hasn't done well against. I'm hoping it's not another case of Altman out-coaching Miller. I think we keep it relatively close but never really threaten. 83-74 sounds about right.

Captain Obvious wrote:

Beachcat97 wrote:So how about some predictions for tomorrow?

I haven't seen a single beat writer predict an AZ win tomorrow. I'd expect the line to be about Oregon -4.

This is easily the toughest road test this team has faced, so it'll be interesting to see how they come out. Can we avoid our typical slow start? Can Zeke and Chase avoid foul trouble? Can we do better at the foul line? Can we take better care of the ball and get our TO number lower?

I'd like to say we can win but I just don't see it happening. I think we get in early foul trouble and get off to a slow start resulting in a large lead for Oregon. Oregon will go after Nnaji and we have no answer for Pritchard. I think Oregon will dictate tempo and manage to maintain a lead we can't overcome. Nico needs to make good decisions if his shot is off. Can't have him chucking mindless jumpers trying to shoot himself out of a slump. He'll have to deal with more athletic and long defenders which thus far he hasn't done well against. I'm hoping it's not another case of Altman out-coaching Miller. I think we keep it relatively close but never really threaten. 83-74 sounds about right.

Our inside depth poses a problem for Oregon. Unless they shoot lights out from distance, this is a game we can win.

Oregon has a lousy fanbase and it's not a surprise they play to a half empty building. Tickets for tomorrow night start at $12 including fees.

zonagrad wrote:Our inside depth poses a problem for Oregon. Unless they shoot lights out from distance, this is a game we can win.

I like where your head's at, zg!

Miller's best win over Altman has to be the 2017 Pac tourney title game, right? That Oregon team went on to reach the FF.

The St. John's lost looks even worse as St. John's lost by 19 to a mediocre Georgetown team tonight.

Irish27 wrote:The St. John's lost looks even worse as St. John's lost by 19 to a mediocre Georgetown team tonight.

St. John's is not a good team. I was at that game. We just played like dogsh*t. That's our only bad loss up to this point.

Beachcat97 wrote:

Irish27 wrote:The St. John's lost looks even worse as St. John's lost by 19 to a mediocre Georgetown team tonight.

St. John's is not a good team. I was at that game. We just played like dogsh*t. That's our only bad loss up to this point.

It’s our only bad loss.

Problem is, it’s offset by zero good wins.

Oregon game thread is up

SCCats wrote: Problem is, it’s offset by zero good wins.

Illinois is right there to be considered a good win. They have 5 losses, one to us, but only one "bad" loss, and that is still to a major conference program (Miami, KenPom 87). They have lost to us, then #3 Maryland, Miami (by 2), Mizzou (KenPom 56), and #14 ranked/#3 KenPom Michigan State. They have beat then #5 Michigan and Wisconsin, notably, and will get some more big games.

KenPom has them at 29. The newest NET ratings have them at 34, which is 4 spots under a Quadrant 1 win for a home game.

That's one. We have other wins that will be in that 70ish range, like NMSU and maybe Penn, before it is all over, but Illinois stands as a good win. And, of course, we only have the one "bad" loss to a St John's team that will still be in the upper 3rd of D1, so not a devastating loss.

Certainly, to get a top 4 seed and protected in the west, we need to put some Q1 and a mass of Q2 wins together. Oregon is a great shot, and we do get them at home this year as well.

On Illinois: if you even have to make an argument that it’s a good win, that means it’s debatable, which means it probably isn’t a good win in the eyes of the selection committee. Good wins are obvious. Increasingly, it appears our only remaining chances for good wins are Oregon and Colorado. Maybe Washington.

Beachcat97 wrote:On Illinois: if you even have to make an argument that it’s a good win, that means it’s debatable, which means it probably isn’t a good win in the eyes of the selection committee. Good wins are obvious. Increasingly, it appears our only remaining chances for good wins are Oregon and Colorado. Maybe Washington.

That's not really true at all. People would have said Oregon's win over UNC was a "GOOD" win. It isn't. Not at all. Illinois' numbers suggest they could be in the battle for a Q1 win. Which plays.

This isn't all perception...metrics are used. And if Illinois is hanging around that 25 to 30 metric level (out of 320+ teams, remember), that is a good win, The selection committee uses "arguments" to determine good wins. And they use, as a guide, the tools they are provided, like the NET rankings, of which a win at home vs a top 30 is a Quadrant One win. Which is...a GOOD win.

The quality of a win over any team depends upon how they finish the season. So there are no clearly good wins until we find out who teams are. Illinois has, thus far, shown themselves to be a good win, but we don't know what is in store. Just like those elated to beat UNC are finding less currency in that win.

This isn't all touchy-feely. The committee isn't just guessing.

EVCat wrote:

Beachcat97 wrote:On Illinois: if you even have to make an argument that it’s a good win, that means it’s debatable, which means it probably isn’t a good win in the eyes of the selection committee. Good wins are obvious. Increasingly, it appears our only remaining chances for good wins are Oregon and Colorado. Maybe Washington.

That's not really true at all. People would have said Oregon's win over UNC was a "GOOD" win. It isn't. Not at all. Illinois' numbers suggest they could be in the battle for a Q1 win. Which plays.

This isn't all perception...metrics are used. And if Illinois is hanging around that 25 to 30 metric level (out of 320+ teams, remember), that is a good win, The selection committee uses "arguments" to determine good wins. And they use, as a guide, the tools they are provided, like the NET rankings, of which a win at home vs a top 30 is a Quadrant One win. Which is...a GOOD win.

The quality of a win over any team depends upon how they finish the season. So there are no clearly good wins until we find out who teams are. Illinois has, thus far, shown themselves to be a good win, but we don't know what is in store. Just like those elated to beat UNC are finding less currency in that win.

This isn't all touchy-feely. The committee isn't just guessing.

Fair enough. Still, if we're hanging our hat on Illinois in March, as our lone good win, I don't think that bodes well for higher than a 5 seed, unless Illinois wins their league or something, which you know isn't happening.

Beachcat97 wrote:

EVCat wrote:

Beachcat97 wrote:On Illinois: if you even have to make an argument that it’s a good win, that means it’s debatable, which means it probably isn’t a good win in the eyes of the selection committee. Good wins are obvious. Increasingly, it appears our only remaining chances for good wins are Oregon and Colorado. Maybe Washington.

That's not really true at all. People would have said Oregon's win over UNC was a "GOOD" win. It isn't. Not at all. Illinois' numbers suggest they could be in the battle for a Q1 win. Which plays.

This isn't all perception...metrics are used. And if Illinois is hanging around that 25 to 30 metric level (out of 320+ teams, remember), that is a good win, The selection committee uses "arguments" to determine good wins. And they use, as a guide, the tools they are provided, like the NET rankings, of which a win at home vs a top 30 is a Quadrant One win. Which is...a GOOD win.

The quality of a win over any team depends upon how they finish the season. So there are no clearly good wins until we find out who teams are. Illinois has, thus far, shown themselves to be a good win, but we don't know what is in store. Just like those elated to beat UNC are finding less currency in that win.

This isn't all touchy-feely. The committee isn't just guessing.

Fair enough. Still, if we're hanging our hat on Illinois in March, as our lone good win, I don't think that bodes well for higher than a 5 seed, unless Illinois wins their league or something, which you know isn't happening.

The Pac projects 4 other tourney teams. We will have chances to pick up good wins. This isn't other years where good wins in conference didn't exist.

Stanford, UW, Oregon, OSU, Utah, CU, Utah & UA are all very much in the tournament picture. Lots of quality wins out there. Just try not to shit the bed against Cal & Wazzu.

I made a mistake...Oregon did not beat UNC...it was a good "loss", not a win, but is losing currency.

If Illinois is our only good win in March, this season is a disaster and we shouldn't be above a 5 seed.

apropos of nothing, but...North Carolina has only won 3 of their last 10 games, and 2 of those wins are over PAC 12 schools (Oregon, UCLA). The other win is over Yale.

EVCat wrote:If Illinois is our only good win in March, this season is a disaster and we shouldn't be above a 5 seed.

Exactly. I also wonder how far a bunch of wins over Pac teams not named Oregon will take us, though. I mean, if our only losses were to Oregon and maybe a couple more on the road, we'd probably be in the hunt for a 4 seed. But a single win over Oregon would do us wonders. Doesn't have to be tonight.

zonagrad wrote:Stanford, UW, Oregon, OSU, Utah, CU, Utah & UA are all very much in the tournament picture. Lots of quality wins out there. Just try not to shit the bed against Cal & Wazzu.

So you say the Pac-12 has eight teams that are still on the path to the tourney.... Using your logic, I say only seven are in the hunt...

PS - You give Utah way too much credit

MountainCat wrote:

zonagrad wrote:Stanford, UW, Oregon, OSU, Utah, CU, Utah & UA are all very much in the tournament picture. Lots of quality wins out there. Just try not to shit the bed against Cal & Wazzu.

So you say the Pac-12 has eight teams that are still on the path to the tourney.... Using your logic, I say only seven are in the hunt...

PS - You give Utah way too much credit

I wouldn’t say on the path. But they’re easily in the mix for consideration. Generally speaking, I think a winning conference record gets you in the NCAA tournament this year. The PAC performed pretty good in OOC games.

zonagrad wrote:

MountainCat wrote:

zonagrad wrote:Stanford, UW, Oregon, OSU, Utah, CU, Utah & UA are all very much in the tournament picture. Lots of quality wins out there. Just try not to shit the bed against Cal & Wazzu.

So you say the Pac-12 has eight teams that are still on the path to the tourney.... Using your logic, I say only seven are in the hunt...

PS - You give Utah way too much credit

I wouldn’t say on the path. But they’re easily in the mix for consideration. Generally speaking, I think a winning conference record gets you in the NCAA tournament this year. The PAC performed pretty good in OOC games.

Psst... just joking.... you counted Utah twice... that's all...

MountainCat wrote:

zonagrad wrote:

MountainCat wrote:

zonagrad wrote:Stanford, UW, Oregon, OSU, Utah, CU, Utah & UA are all very much in the tournament picture. Lots of quality wins out there. Just try not to shit the bed against Cal & Wazzu.

So you say the Pac-12 has eight teams that are still on the path to the tourney.... Using your logic, I say only seven are in the hunt...

PS - You give Utah way too much credit

I wouldn’t say on the path. But they’re easily in the mix for consideration. Generally speaking, I think a winning conference record gets you in the NCAA tournament this year. The PAC performed pretty good in OOC games.

Psst... just joking.... you counted Utah twice... that's all...

Damn I’m dense

MountainCat wrote:

zonagrad wrote:

MountainCat wrote:

zonagrad wrote:Stanford, UW, Oregon, OSU, Utah, CU, Utah & UA are all very much in the tournament picture. Lots of quality wins out there. Just try not to shit the bed against Cal & Wazzu.

So you say the Pac-12 has eight teams that are still on the path to the tourney.... Using your logic, I say only seven are in the hunt...

PS - You give Utah way too much credit

I wouldn’t say on the path. But they’re easily in the mix for consideration. Generally speaking, I think a winning conference record gets you in the NCAA tournament this year. The PAC performed pretty good in OOC games.

Psst... just joking.... you counted Utah twice... that's all...

Like Blazing Saddles, he likes Utah.