Arizona Wildcats: 3 Thoughts on Win against Missouri
By Daniel Tran
1. Brandon Ashley is showing no ill effects from the ligament injury he suffered last year.
Ligament injuries are scary, especially when they occur in the foot, which is one of the most fickle and complicated parts of the human body. Some foot injuries never fully heal, leaving the athlete the foot is attached to unable to perform at the highest level. Good thing that isn’t happening to Arizona Wildcat forward Brandon Ashley.
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Ashley had another solid game, finishing with 15 points and 2 rebounds. On the year, he is averaging 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals a game. The quick step that he had before is still evident in the way he gets to the basket and draws fouls, which resulted in 7 shots at the charity stripe today. Good thing for Arizona, too. They are going to need his consistent shooting touch from the mid-post area to make up for their lack of perimeter shooting (but more on that later).
2. The Arizona Wildcats are no joke in their half-court defense.
Talk about relentless; this team really gets after it in its half-court defensive sets. The Missouri Tigers had nothing go right for them today on offense and Arizona was a big reason why.
The Tigers shot a paltry 35.6% from the field, including 23.1% from three-point range. The pressure that the Wildcats displayed was evident in the stat sheet as well, forcing the Tigers into 17 turnovers.
It was incredible to watch how unrelenting Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Stanley Johnson are on their respective assignments on defense. Their aggression sometimes worked against them in the form of foul calls, but they clearly have a knack of keep their man in front of them and forcing them into bad shots or turnovers.
3. The Wildcat’s three-point shooting however needs some tuning up.
While Arizona has been forcing their opponents into bad shots all year, they have also had a little trouble making their shots beyond the arc. Elliot Pitts is showing a consistent stroke and Parker Jackson-Cartwright has been a surprise contributor from three-point range, but if the team wants to take a step into championship contention, they are going to have to hit their three-point shots at a better clip than their current 33.3%.
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Tonight, Arizona’s starting backcourt of T.J. McConnell and Gabe York went a combined 1 of 10 from beyond the arc against Missouri. On the year, the two have combined to shoot 8 of 32 from three-point range. There needs to be improvement if the Wildcats want to make a deep run into the NCAA Tournament.
Sure, the Wildcats defense and their size on the offensive glass allows them extra possessions on offense to make up for their outside shooting deficiencies, but will that be sustainable when they start going against more formidable teams? I don’t think so.
Conclusion
Arizona has looked strong since the beginning of the year, and they continued their run of good basketball against Missouri today. On the strength of Brandon Ashley and a consistently hounding defense, the Wildcats were able to comfortably win 72-53 in Maui. Not all is well however as their three-point shooting continues to be a concern, but with their defense and rebounding creating extra chances to score, it should not be a problem until later in the season.