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

Turn TCU into a jump-shooting team

The second key for Arizona, if they hope to beat TCU and move on to the Sweet 16, is to keep the Horned Frogs out of the paint and force them to initiate their offense from outside the line. As with most teams the further they get from the basket, the more difficult it is for them to score, and that is the case for the Horned Frogs.

They rank 42nd in field goal percentage on shots near the basket but get them outside of the lane and there is a stiff drop-off. TCU’s mid-range game is average, they rank as a middle-of-the-pack team in mid-range percentage and shoot just over 50% on their two-point shots. This is really bad news for TCU because Arizona is not only 2nd in the country when it comes to two-point percentage defense at 41.7%, they are the nation’s best team in defending the mid-range as well.

Things don’t get much better for TCU when they go outside of the arc. The three-point shot isn’t a huge part of Jamie Dixon’s team. The long ball accounts for just 24% of the Horned Frogs’ offense, and when they do shoot it, they only make 30% of their shots. Even though Arizona allows opponents to shoot 32%, forcing TCU out to the perimeter should prove advantageous for the Wildcats.