A co-op community for Arizona Fans
http://beardownwildcats.com/
No money line listed nowJefe wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 2:51 pmMoney line all day!HiCat wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 5:14 amhttps://www.actionnetwork.com/ncaab/col ... ecember-22Jefe wrote: Tue Dec 21, 2021 1:55 pmNot yet, Im thinking AZ -3.5Beachcat97 wrote: Tue Dec 21, 2021 10:58 amAnyone seen a line posted for tomorrow yet?
Thinking it’ll be Tennessee -2
+102 on Fanduel right not, I locked in at +118UAEebs86 wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 4:15 pmNo money line listed nowJefe wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 2:51 pmMoney line all day!HiCat wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 5:14 amhttps://www.actionnetwork.com/ncaab/col ... ecember-22Jefe wrote: Tue Dec 21, 2021 1:55 pmNot yet, Im thinking AZ -3.5Beachcat97 wrote: Tue Dec 21, 2021 10:58 amAnyone seen a line posted for tomorrow yet?
Thinking it’ll be Tennessee -2
Is this the biggest the biggest game of the season so far? I think so. A win against a top 6 team in TBA would be wild. Arizona is no joke... I wish I could say I know how we win this game, but I don't. Shooting the 3 at a high level is the only way I see a win in this one. Arizona has some legit big men along with really solid guard play and I can bet they will pressure us all up and down the court. Against Illinois Arizona ran a 1-2-2 press most the game and it will REALLY slow you down. We're in for a 15 round fight here and if we can throw some counter punches at home it should be an exciting game. I'll give the rotation for Arizona as well as ORtg (offensive rating) All #s from KenPom.com.
Before I go into it KP predicts we win this game 75-73 with a 58% chance of winning. I'll just say I do not see that happening. These Arizona guys shoot at a high clip as well as rebound better than pretty much anybody else, especially offensively.
PG: Kerr Kriisa (6'3" 180) ORtg 119.5 231st in the country
SG: Dalen Terry (6'7" 195) ORtg 122.9 159th in the country
SF: Benedict Mathurin (6'6" 210) ORtg 119.4 239th in the country
PF: Azuolas Tubelis (6' 11" 245) ORtg 119.4 239th in the country
C: Christian Koloko (7'1" 230) ORtg 128.8 74th in the country
Reserves:
Pelle Larson (6'5" 215) ORtg 115.2 397th in the country
Oumar Ballo (7'0" 260)
Arizona will play those seven and possibly eight depending on foul trouble. We are one of the worst teams in the country in getting FTA to FGA so I wouldn't expect us to get anybody in foul trouble. I've seen many say this could be a Plavsic game and I highly disagree. Plavsic does not have the "foot speed" our other bigs do, Arizona would screen and roll him to death. This is a game I think we have to go small and use JJJ for his solid rebounding and quickness.
I have to say, I think our post play since the days of Grant and Kyle has been SO soft that it's really sad. Fulk and Pons did a solid job in a year we had bad guard play, but when the guard play caught up they didn't do the same. I know, Fulk is out there battling injuries and all that. Pons was a shot blocking guy that helped but he also hurt in his abilities to rebound since he wanted that blocked shot so bad. There's no arguing that Grant and Kyle were so much tougher overall than what we've seen since. If this team is going to make noise it will be because our bigs decided to man up down low.
Arizona runs their offense at a level I'm not sure we've ran into this season. Zona plays four guys that shoot .35%+from 3 and with the "force you to shoot" defense we play that could be a death sentence. We may have to rely on an off night from Arizona to win this one.
Our X Factor me is ORN or JJJ. One of those two will win us this game. Obviously our best player in Kennedy Chandler getting guys good shots is a huge part. This will be another game where Chandler likely won't have a Colorado type game attacking the rim. If we go as far as Chandler this will be a game where he will show the ability to attack and draw defenders for good looks/his ability to shoot the 3.
I hate this match up honestly. I'd give us a 25% chance to win this one, even if we're at home. Maybe we hit shots and Zona doesn't, I just don't see it.
Prediction: Tennessee 66 Arizona 77
Post of the year97cats wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 3:59 pmTutelis?Chicat wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 1:17 pmMaybe not the correct Tubelis?CatFan1399 wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 1:14 pm Just heard from a proverbial “friend of a friend” that Tubelis injured his hand. It’s allegedly pretty swollen and the team is not sure if he’ll be able to go tonight. Has anybody heard anything to corroborate this?
First loss of the season and it was just dumb.RondaeShimmy wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:14 pm Arizona low iq cost them the game
So many chances but they turned stupid when it got close
As you know I'm big on Akinjo. He would have carved up Tennessee like a turkey (like he did with Duke, Illinois and Marquette). Him and Benn would have taken over.dmjcat wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:25 pm Thoughts after the game:
The "We don't miss Akinjo" fantasy is over
The "Koloko is NBA ready" fantasy is over
Our collective basketball IQ when pressured is NOT good.
Coach Lloyd has 8 days to figure out how to run an offense against a tough defensive team that puts pressure on the ball. Tyger Campbell is going to be an even bigger nightmare for Kerr than Chandler was tonight.
Tubelis has to figure out how to play against smaller quicker players........he isn't going to have an easier time against Jaquez at UCLA
I would take an LA road split in a heartbeat right now.
That loud sound you heard at the end of the game was Seth Davis having an orgasm
That is the achilles heel of this team.......we don't have a guard who handles the ball well under pressure.RawleArenas wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:30 pmAs you know I'm big on Akinjo. He would have carved up Tennessee like a turkey (like he did with Duke, Illinois and Marquette). Him and Benn would have taken over.dmjcat wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:25 pm Thoughts after the game:
The "We don't miss Akinjo" fantasy is over
The "Koloko is NBA ready" fantasy is over
Our collective basketball IQ when pressured is NOT good.
Coach Lloyd has 8 days to figure out how to run an offense against a tough defensive team that puts pressure on the ball. Tyger Campbell is going to be an even bigger nightmare for Kerr than Chandler was tonight.
Tubelis has to figure out how to play against smaller quicker players........he isn't going to have an easier time against Jaquez at UCLA
I would take an LA road split in a heartbeat right now.
That loud sound you heard at the end of the game was Seth Davis having an orgasm
Long season, but the other frustrating part was Tennessee played poorly. Chandler is a stud and was way off all game. They missed a ton of ft's too.WildcatStunner wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:42 pm Awful start to put us in a hole we had a hard time getting out of. Officiating didn't do us any favors. We fought like hell and made a game out of it. Sucks to lose. Specifically cause it felt like we hurt ourselves more than Tennessee did. But whatever, learn from it and hope this team can grow.
100%. The problem early was we had no offense, so we couldn't' get set on defense and it led to some easy buckets (mostly and 1's or fouls) for Tenn. Second half was much much better.RondaeShimmy wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:57 pm Honestly our drop coverage was pretty good vs Chandler
Made him take deep 2s or floaters
We drop two spots in the votes, no moreRawleArenas wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:52 pm Interesting thing is, we didn't drop in Kenpom. Still #6, I'm thinking we drop 3-4 spots in the AP rankings.
He said "let's go" while clapping at Terry
Like I said elsewhere: he was lucky they didn't eject him from the game.
Do you think that Seth Davis is only going to drop us 2 spots?YoDeFoe wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 8:17 pmWe drop two spots in the votes, no moreRawleArenas wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:52 pm Interesting thing is, we didn't drop in Kenpom. Still #6, I'm thinking we drop 3-4 spots in the AP rankings.
Agree completely. Attacking college kids on a personal level is lower than a snakes belly.billk78 wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 8:00 pm I have to say, some of the things I'm seeing tweeted at Kerr tonight by supposed Cat fans are absolutely disgusting. Hurling insults and saying to leave the team. Unbelievable. The kid plays his heart out for this team. He made a mistake with the Tech (we think; who knows with those refs). But where would this team be without him? And I have a feeling those same "fans" will be Tweeting how much they love him when he's winning us games in March.
Akinjo left. Let it go. Kerr stayed loyal. He's our point guard. BTFD.
Davis is already on twitter bitching at Arizona fans for lampooning him for low rankings of the team to date. "You lost so now what" type of stuff.dmjcat wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 8:26 pmDo you think that Seth Davis is only going to drop us 2 spots?YoDeFoe wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 8:17 pmWe drop two spots in the votes, no moreRawleArenas wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:52 pm Interesting thing is, we didn't drop in Kenpom. Still #6, I'm thinking we drop 3-4 spots in the AP rankings.
Predicted a few weeks back that our only 3 game losing streak of the season would begin tonight. Sticking by that.97cats wrote: Sun Nov 28, 2021 7:15 pm Arizona will soon be approaching a stretch without a home game for almost a month while playing four true road games in that same period against Tennessee, UCLA, USC, and ASU.
the xmas/New Years road tour toward a #1 Seed
tough start at Tennessee for Arizona - seemed as tho they had sea legs a bit for the first time, and heck, its that time of year. arrived in Knoxville late the night before, its a learning lesson for coaches and players. i tend to forget there is a lot of firsts for Lloyd as well in admits of all the lopsided winning.Beachcat97 wrote: Thu Dec 23, 2021 1:10 amPredicted a few weeks back that our only 3 game losing streak of the season would begin tonight. Sticking by that.97cats wrote: Sun Nov 28, 2021 7:15 pm Arizona will soon be approaching a stretch without a home game for almost a month while playing four true road games in that same period against Tennessee, UCLA, USC, and ASU.
the xmas/New Years road tour toward a #1 Seed
Even if we do drop the next two, we’ll still be in the mix for a 2 seed if we protect home court and win the road games we’re supposed to.
I don’t disagree with any of that.pokinmik wrote: Thu Dec 23, 2021 7:02 am Of course it could happen but I’d be pretty surprised if we don’t win one of the two LA games. This team is too good and they’re due to handle the adversity a little better and play a cleaner game. Ask any non-vol SEC fan, playing at tenn is a house of horrors. We overcame a shitload and were one fluke 3-point play rebound putback from being able to win.
Me, too. I'm disappointed in the loss. I expected to win. But I had to leave it in the first half when it couldn't have looked worse, and then followed it on my phone as we somehow tied it up. We seriously shot 59% against the best defense in the country in the second half on the road?Alieberman wrote: Thu Dec 23, 2021 7:49 am We played an awful game against a good team on the road… and still made a game of it
I’m not any less optimistic today than before this game
Literally said the exact same thing to my Dad during the game, lol.Longhorned wrote: Thu Dec 23, 2021 8:11 am
Besides, if we aren't laying a egg at Christmastime, then this isn't Arizona Basketball!
Yeah, Christmastime generally. That LSU game was something like Dec. 27th I think. And the players really didn't show up for that one, while LSU was pumped. We tried to win that by turning the switch on with five minutes left in regulation.Beachcat97 wrote: Thu Dec 23, 2021 8:25 amLiterally said the exact same thing to my Dad during the game, lol.Longhorned wrote: Thu Dec 23, 2021 8:11 am
Besides, if we aren't laying a egg at Christmastime, then this isn't Arizona Basketball!
I even have a vague memory of losing to a different SEC team - LSU - in December back when Lute was still on the sidelines. Think they had Stromile Swift.
These letdown games right before Christmas are pretty common. And we were on the road against a top 15-ish team. And STILL almost won. Take away the Kriisa tech and hit a few more FTs, and it’s an AZ victory.
I sort of go back and forth on this. It worked, but I wonder how much was D and how much was Chandler missing makeable shots.RondaeShimmy wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:57 pm Honestly our drop coverage was pretty good vs Chandler
Made him take deep 2s or floaters
Yep agree. Most want to say how bad we played, that we stink. I say those fans are already spoiled. As bad as we played, We were only one play away from a win. We couldn’t keep our starters in a rotation due to fouls early on. Yes Tennessee plays a great defense, but half the calls against us were shadow fouls.pokinmik wrote: Thu Dec 23, 2021 7:02 am Of course it could happen but I’d be pretty surprised if we don’t win one of the two LA games. This team is too good and they’re due to handle the adversity a little better and play a cleaner game. Ask any non-vol SEC fan, playing at tenn is a house of horrors. We overcame a shitload and were one fluke 3-point play rebound putback from being able to win.
I'm sorry, I totally disagree. You can't have your top bigs for only 19 and 13 minutes in the game respectively and expect to be a force on the glass. It ain't happening. Part of the function of good defense (we're top 10 too) is to create a pressure atmosphere where it disrupts the timing of your shots. I think Chandler fell into this (he is a freshman after all) considering this is his first genuinely marquee game. We had 3 impact players foul out, two others players with 4, while Tennessee had one player 4 with Fulkerson only having 2.Spaceman Spiff wrote: Thu Dec 23, 2021 8:55 amI sort of go back and forth on this. It worked, but I wonder how much was D and how much was Chandler missing makeable shots.RondaeShimmy wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:57 pm Honestly our drop coverage was pretty good vs Chandler
Made him take deep 2s or floaters
This is just memory, but I remember him regularly getting 13-17 foot jumpers without a heavy contest. He made basically zero of them, but they are makeable shots.
It's something I said earlier, as much as we missed a ton of opportunities, Tenn missed a lot too. I'm sure if you asked them, they'd feel like they shot poorly and could have closed it out earlier if they made a few more makeable shots.
Cleaning up mental mistakes is a big thing, but an underrated part of last night was getting outrebounded by 3. Between our size and the fact we gave away a ton of possessions (i.e., likely defensive rebounds for UT) that's not what you want to see.
It's early and the biggest thing is how we respond to this. It's the first time we've looked vulnerable, and whether we build from it or regress matters so much more than last night.
Isn't that the point of drop coverage?Spaceman Spiff wrote: Thu Dec 23, 2021 8:55 amI sort of go back and forth on this. It worked, but I wonder how much was D and how much was Chandler missing makeable shots.RondaeShimmy wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:57 pm Honestly our drop coverage was pretty good vs Chandler
Made him take deep 2s or floaters
This is just memory, but I remember him regularly getting 13-17 foot jumpers without a heavy contest. He made basically zero of them, but they are makeable shots.