Bear Down Wildcats

3. Arizona

Three things about the Wildcats:

1. Sean Miller deserves applause for Arizona’s nonconference schedule.

Bill Self is the undisputed king of nonconference scheduling, but Miller is also doing a hell of a job. Arizona played in the Maui Invitational, it played Gonzaga and Michigan at home, and it’ll play back-to-back road games leading into conference play. It might not be the toughest schedule in the country, but there are a lot of coaches who would stay as far away from San Diego State and Gonzaga as they possibly could, since Arizona has little to gain in those games. But to his credit, Miller’s team will have played the Aztecs and Zags along with UNLV this year. If the basketball gods truly love us, this will become a tradition. How great would it be to know that every year we’re guaranteed Arizona games against San Diego State, Gonzaga, and UNLV? And what if the Cats rotated between playing BYU, New Mexico, and another Mountain West/WCC team as their fourth big nonconference game every year? Loading up on must-see games like that is how you combat the East Coast bias.

2. Zeus “Zeus” Zeuszeuski has been great.

It’s easy to see that Zeus’s numbers are down from last year and wonder what went wrong with him, but the truth is that he’s just fine. Zeus has played only one bad game this season (San Diego State) and it’s little surprise that he’s rebounding less with Brandon Ashley back and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’s role expanding. If you expected Zeus to be Jahlil Okafor or Willie Cauley-Stein, that’s on you. I wouldn’t mind seeing him get nastier on defense, but he’s been great as a space-eater who plays physical, cleans up the glass, and doesn’t force shots. He’s given everything Arizona needs from him.

3. Stanley Johnson is still my favorite freshman.

In five games against power conference teams and ranked teams, Johnson is averaging 14.8 points, 6.6 boards, and 1.6 assists while shooting 46.8 percent from the field. He’s 6-7 and 245 pounds, yet he regularly hits floaters. He was named the MVP of the sport’s most prestigious early-season tournament. He wears a T-shirt under his jersey, he has an Afro, and he has stripes shaved into the side of his head. He quotes JFK on Twitter and apparently has a bromance with Frank Kaminsky. That is all.

9. Gonzaga

I watched the Gonzaga-Arizona game for the first time yesterday. I knew that Arizona had won in overtime, which I probably could’ve guessed anyway, given Arizona’s penchant for grinding out close games. Yet even though I had the box score right in front of me, I couldn’t accept that the Wildcats actually won until I saw Byron Wesley air-balling his first free throw with three seconds left in overtime. As I watched the game unfold, I couldn’t believe that Gonzaga would eventually let it slip away. The Zags outplayed the Cats for 40 minutes and ended up losing only because Arizona was put in the college basketball world to let opponents get the taste of an upset before ripping out their hearts. If this happened against any other team, I’d accuse Gonzaga of choking in a game it should have won. But it’s Arizona. If I start criticizing teams for losing close games to Arizona, I may never sleep again.

By the way, let’s not gloss over some breaks that went against the Zags. They outplayed the third-ranked team on the road without a great game from their best player (Kevin Pangos). Plus, the Zags shot just 23.5 percent from the 3-point line4 and dealt with foul trouble through most of the game. If you’re looking for proof that it just wasn’t Gonzaga’s day, consider this: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Brandon Ashley, Stanley Johnson, and T.J. McConnell all made a 3 in the same game that Sean Miller was never shown coughing on the sideline. For Arizona, this is like seeing Halley’s Comet, finding a cure for cancer, and Kenny Chesney putting out a song about something other than the first 25 years of his life all rolled into one. We were a McConnell dunk away from the entire universe ceasing to exist.

If Gonzaga plays defense like it did against Arizona, then it is a Final Four–caliber team. It proved this against Arizona and reaffirmed it a week later when it beat up a decent UCLA team on the road. Do yourself a favor and watch Gonzaga play at BYU on December 27. As long as Tyler Haws is able to return from an ankle injury, the over/under on points scored for that game will be something like 700 points.

Frybry02 wrote: 3. Arizona - 37.8
10. Kansas - 39.2

Chicat wrote:The team attempted a season low 5 threes last night, hitting 2, and won going away on the road by shooting 49% and for the most part taking high percentage shots.

I feel like the team is really buying in to fixing their deficiencies and fine tuning their roles. If RHJ can start pulling up for mid-range jumpers and Zeus can apply something secretly sticky to his hands, this team could become elite offensively.

Arizona Wildcats
Projected Seed: 2
Giant Rating: 83.4

Arizona is certainly a lion, not a gazelle. But if it wanders into the path of the wrong herd of feisty buffalo, it just might get hurt. The Wildcats’ Giant Rating is solid at 83.4, but that’s not quite up to the standards of a typical top-two seed. This year, for instance, Virginia checks in at 93.6, Duke stands at 94.0, and Kentucky sports an absurd 99.3 rating.

So why is Arizona somewhat more vulnerable? It comes back to an old GK standby: offensive rebounding. As big and athletic as the Cats are with Kaleb Tarczewski, Brandon Ashley, Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, they are only slightly above average on the offensive boards. Per Kenpom.com (all data through Tuesday), they grab 32.4 percent of their missed shots, which ranks 127th in the nation. That matters because these Wildcats are not an offensive juggernaut. Although they rank 13th in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency (115 points per 100 possessions), they have shown that they can go cold at inopportune times. In their loss to UNLV in December, the Cats shot just 42.6 percent yet grabbed only seven of 39 available offensive rebounds (17.9 percent). It was the same story in a two-point loss at Oregon State: poor shooting (37.8 percent) compounded by a weak effort on the glass (19.4 percent).

It’s virtually impossible to shoot well for six straight tourney games. So a team has to find other ways to win, and the safest route for a Giant typically involves creating additional chances by taking advantage of its superior size and athleticism. Arizona has the skills to do that, but the Wildcats’ emphasis on transition defense means they don’t have the scheme to match. Over the season’s final month, it might make sense for Sean Miller to turn his guys loose to track down their own missed shots. Chances are they’ll end up mauling their prey.

Main Event wrote:First look at Giants that could fall

they are only slightly above average on the offensive boards.

Merkin wrote:

Main Event wrote:First look at Giants that could fall

they are only slightly above average on the offensive boards.

Apparently he hasn't watched two many games where PAC-12 refs were involved. As Miller was saying, going up for an offensive rebound is an automatic foul in PAC games.

Merkin wrote:

Main Event wrote:First look at Giants that could fall

they are only slightly above average on the offensive boards.

Apparently he hasn't watched two many games where PAC-12 refs were involved. As Miller was saying, going up for an offensive rebound is an automatic foul in PAC games.

Olsondogg wrote:I never knew that some of those teams were giants. Also, the giant rating...can we please have "More bullshit metrics that mean nothing for $200, Alex."

NETSFAN4HASSAN wrote:1.) Tarc wasn't a Mickey D

2.) I agree with everything else you said. Tarc, is NOT a basketball player. He's just 7 feet. I mean, Kryl had better hands. Bash has an issue. These teams go at him because they know he is unable and maybe unwilling to focus on defense. He doesn't move is feet and plays extremely soft. He just doesn't get it!

Catintheheat wrote:

NETSFAN4HASSAN wrote:1.) Tarc wasn't a Mickey D

2.) I agree with everything else you said. Tarc, is NOT a basketball player. He's just 7 feet. I mean, Kryl had better hands. Bash has an issue. These teams go at him because they know he is unable and maybe unwilling to focus on defense. He doesn't move is feet and plays extremely soft. He just doesn't get it!

I was thinking of Kryl. Even though Tarc may have gained a lot of muscle in the gym, he hasn't seemed to develop into a center. I think he's actually regressed. BAsh has never been the same since the injury. I highly doubt either one gets drafted to the NBA. Maybe BAsh will develop into a good player in Europe.

Chicat wrote:

Chicat wrote:

Chicat wrote:

"Brandon has been a big part of our success," Miller said. "He's a double figure scorer most of the year. If he were making free throws at a better rate -- that's something we're working with him on, and he's working on it himself -- he might be our leading scorer. That says a lot about how important he is to our team."

rgdeuce wrote:Ive always wanted to bang that fox sports girl on the left.

rgdeuce wrote:Ive always wanted to bang that fox sports girl on the left.

Katzenfreund wrote:

rgdeuce wrote:Ive always wanted to bang that fox sports girl on the left.

Umm... that's not a girl, it's Matt Moreno from TOS.

rgdeuce wrote:Ive always wanted to bang that fox sports girl on the left.

NETSFAN4HASSAN wrote:

Catintheheat wrote:

NETSFAN4HASSAN wrote:1.) Tarc wasn't a Mickey D

2.) I agree with everything else you said. Tarc, is NOT a basketball player. He's just 7 feet. I mean, Kryl had better hands. Bash has an issue. These teams go at him because they know he is unable and maybe unwilling to focus on defense. He doesn't move is feet and plays extremely soft. He just doesn't get it!

I was thinking of Kryl. Even though Tarc may have gained a lot of muscle in the gym, he hasn't seemed to develop into a center. I think he's actually regressed. BAsh has never been the same since the injury. I highly doubt either one gets drafted to the NBA. Maybe BAsh will develop into a good player in Europe.

I was thinking about the last annoying kid we had that couldn't catch a fucking a thing coming at him and Kryl just popped up! Remember Kryl's voodoo hands? Infinitely better than Tarc's. Was interesting to see no one even say much to him when he missed a point blank pass from TJ. It's like they've resigned themselves to it.
Bash...I feel bad for him. He STILL has the tools; he just mentally can't put stuff together and I agree; that injury might've slowed down his already suspect feet.

I love my Cats but I am so disappointed with these two at the moment.

Puerco wrote:Err, check the time of my post. It wasn't in response to the Cal game. That's just icing on my point, er, cake.

Tarc is, at the very least, a good player on this year's team. He's good for 9 and 5, which is useful by any estimation, and he's got the highest shooting percentages on the team, actual or effective. But that's just by the box score. If you have any faith that Miller is truthful, then Tarc becomes more than just a good player. He become dominant. I've watched the few games that make it on TV over here, and I have never seen Tarc out of position on defense. The guy plays magnificent help defense, and he's always in the right place at the right time otherwise. He may not be dominant at protecting the rim, but he does a hell of a lot to keep opposing players from getting anywhere near it in the first place.

Comparing Tarc to Kreal is just asinine. Apologies to anyone who might be offended by that statement, but I'm pretty confident that it's true.