Wildcats Back in Tucson - Prepare for Oregon State

After dropping a pair of road games at the hands of the LA schools, the #10 ranked Arizona Wildcats (23-6, 12-4) head back to Tucson to enact some revenge upon an early conference loss as they play host to the Oregon State Beavers (10-17, 5-11) on Thursday, February 3^rd.

Last Meeting:

On January 2^nd, Oregon State handed the Wildcats their first conference loss, defeating the Wildcats 76-75 in Corvallis. In the loss, three Wildcats scored in double figures led by Momo Jones’ 20 points. Veiled behind his 20 points, however, was Jones’ 1:5 assist-to-turnover ratio as he led the Wildcats in a sloppy affair where they turned the ball over 19 times against Oregon State’s 1-3-1 zone defense.

The impact player from the game had to be Jared Cunningham. Cunningham came away with 17 points, including a thunderous put-back slam that seemed to tilt the momentum in the Beavers favor in the lingering minutes. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX_yAi_M1Y8) Cunningham was no slouch on the defensive end of the court either, scooping up 5 steals from the bottom of the 1-3-1 zone.

When the Wildcats have the ball:

Last time these teams met, Jesse Perry totaled 5 points and 2 rebounds in 24 minutes. If the Beavers stick to the 1-3-1, which is difficult to rebound from, Perry can greatly increase the Wildcats odds by crashing the offensive boards and creating second chance opportunities. Additionally, look for Jones and backup PG Jordin Mayes to control the tempo of the game and attempt to beat the Beavers zone by creating fast break opportunities. Once into the offense, the two point guards need to get their teammates involved, keep the zone moving, and protect the pumpkin.

When the Beavers have the ball:

The Wildcats will need to protect the lane and stuff the penetration of the Beavers’ guard tandem in Calvin Haynes and Jared Cunningham. Hayes and Cunningham accounted for nearly half the Beavers’ point-total last meeting, scoring 18 and 17 respectively. Oregon State’s chances will be helped greatly if they can get a repeat performance from F Omari Johnson who accounted for 10 points and 8 rebounds in the weekend’s loss to California. The Beavers will have their hands full with Arizona F Derrick Williams and will have to throw some fouls his way as seemingly the Pac-10 officiating crews have let the “most protected dude since Jordan” comments get to their heads.

What to expect:

Surely, Coach Miller will not be the most pleasant character in this week’s practices after his Wildcats lost two in a row and placed a significant dent in their Pac-10 Championship hopes. One has to be equally confident that Miller will have the Wildcats prepared for this year’s final set of games at home in front of the ZonaZoo and the Tucson faithful. The Wildcats will come out hungry, although the fans won’t leave that way, because they will pick up their free tacos as the Wildcats feast upon Oregon State en route to a 82-68 victory.