Arizona Basketball: 3 keys to beating Houston in Sweet 16 matchup

Force Josh Carlton to play defense early

The first area the Wildcats need to key in on isn’t an area per se but a specific cougar. Josh Carlton the 6’11 UConn transfer had the unenviable task of matching up with Illinois’ All- American Kofi Cockburn. The senior held his own holding Cockburn under his season averages. It would behoove Arizona to attack Carlton early and often in this game.

Even though Houston has an active swarming defense, Carlton is the only one on their roster that is taller than 6’8. Making Carlton work defensively and trying to get him into foul trouble, whether that’s with the likes of Koloko and Azuolas Tubelis, or attacking the rim with Benedict Mauthrin and Dalen Terry, putting pressure on Carlton defensively early will be key. Doing this accomplishes a couple of things.

First, it forces Kelvin Sampson to decide if he wants to try and match size with size, which would likely involve playing guys out of position, creating mismatches elsewhere. Second, he would have to figure out how to defend the Arizona length with albeit ultra-athletic but shorter players. Either way that would seem to be an advantage for Arizona.

Both teams are amazingly athletic and match up extremely well. If Tommy Lloyd’s team can exploit this area as early as possible where they have a depth advantage, it should benefit them as the game wears on.