Arizona Basketball: 3 keys to Wildcats beating TCU in Round of 32

Arizona can be extra aggressive on defense

Not only is Arizona one of the tallest teams in the country, but they are also one of the best defensive teams in the country, they rank 20th in defensive efficiency entering this game. With that length and those defensive chops, the first big key for the Wildcats against TCU is to be really aggressive on defense and send the Horned Frogs to the free-throw line.

Usually sending an opponent to the free-throw line isn’t an optimal strategy, but when it comes to TCU because the Horned Frogs are one of the worst free-throw shooting teams in the country. After their dominant win over Seton Hall, where they hit 11 of 14 from the stripe, their percentage rose to 67.1% which is 321st best in the country. Sophomore Mike Miles leads the Horned Frogs in free throw shooting at 74% and Chuck O’Bannon, Jr. is second in the TCU rotation at 69.8%.

Sending TCU to the free-throw line serves two purposes for Arizona, it takes advantage of one of their opponent’s weaknesses, it also allows them to use their size and length on the boards to snatch up the likely misses that would result. Good teams make inferior teams do things that make them uncomfortable, and shooting free throws is that thing for TCU.