The NCAA Tournament begins in just a little over a month.
Can we fast forward?
The Arizona Wildcats team that we’ve seen in the past three weeks – the one that handed Oregon its first home loss of the season, the one than delivered Utah its first home loss, the one that smacked down Colorado for its first home loss, the one that flattened Arizona State in a 45-point home victory Saturday night – is ready.
There are still three weeks of the regular season to navigate – Wait. Only three weeks? Where has the season gone? – and then the final Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas. (Insert salute emoji. Or crying emoji, depending on your mood.)
But, this fifth-ranked Wildcats team, right now … what more could you want to head into the NCAAs?
“Maybe there’s a little more sense of urgency,” coach Tommy Lloyd said of the Wildcats’ three-game winning streak that followed the team’s midseason lull.
“Seasons are long, and you’re going to have some ups, you’re going to have some downs, and you got to make sure you’re trying to hit it right at the right time. I think we’re trying to do that right now. We know we’re in a hard-fought battle for a regular-season, championship-type chase down the stretch, so you need to show up and play well every day.”
A little bit about the Wildcats vs. ASU:
Arizona matches up so well against the Sun Devils.
- The Devils don’t have the interior size to stop Oumar Ballo and the Wildcats’ inside-outside game.
- They don’t have the 3-point shooting to stay in the game and pull off a miracle (see, 2023’s matchup in Tucson).
- Since they aren’t good in the half-court, they thrive on live-ball turnovers to create easy offense in a chaotic, fast-paced game, which plays right into Arizona’s hands.
Let’s see how the Wildcats handled all that: Ballo had his fifth consecutive double-double and the Wildcats had a 52-16 edge in points in the paint. ASU shot 36.2 percent for the game, and just 6 of 24 (25 percent) from 3-point range. Arizona committed only five turnovers, so no easy buckets for you, ASU.
The result was a 105-60 pedal-to-the-metal victory that represented the largest margin of victory in the history of the series.
So, once again, ASU is NOT closing the gap and, ahem, we just witnessed the real Guard U.
Let’s jump off from there.
Starting point guard Kylan Boswell is shaking off a midseason slump, has hit multiple 3-pointers in four consecutive games, and has reached double-digit points in the past three. His confidence and shooting will be key to make defenses pay if they prefer to pack it in against Ballo and crew. From here through whenever the season ends, he’s as big an X-factor as there is on the Wildcats.
Caleb Love is Caleb Love. The alpha. The lead dawg. Big-shot taker. Fearless. Your Pac-12 Player the Year. Amen.
Pelle Larsson is the do-it-all wing. Can score 27 as he did at Utah and/or help shut down the opposition’s engine, as he did defending ASU point guard Frankie Collins.
Where Arizona really begins to separate is at the first substitution of the game.
Hello, Jaden Bradley and KJ Lewis.
When opponents are turning to inferior players to give their starters a rest, Arizona is putting in its sixth and seventh starters. You may have seen a lot last week from Evan Miyakawa, a college basketball analytical guru. Bradley and Lewis rank high nationally in “glue guy” ratings, as seen here:
And Miyakawa later said that Arizona and Auburn have the best seventh men in the nation.
Bradley has had his two best scoring games back-to-back – 14 at Colorado, 21 vs. Arizona State – and hasn’t committed a turnover since the first half of the Oregon game. That spans 122 minutes and five full games. The best back-up point guard in America?
“I’m really proud of Jaden. He’s a really good player, and he’s been patient with me,” Lloyd said after the ASU game.
“He’s really making a huge impact. He has all season, but you’re seeing it more and more. My biggest challenge for him has been to create repeatable habits. You even saw it on a couple of finishes late there; he probably got a little a little too fancy for my liking.
“But he had some great just simple layups early in the game, or just a jump stop, shot fake, shot fake, layup. I think he can be really, really elite at that. And to see his buy-in on that is huge, and I think that’s going to be really encouraging for the development in his own career and it’s going to be great for our program.”
And Lewis, of course, is another elite defender with a lottery-pick body.
(Another point regarding the guards: What does it take to be an initial member of the Conrad Martinez Fan Club? Asking for a friend. OK, asking for me.)
So, it’s February 18 and all is well. The Wildcats are elite. Hang on, though. A lot can happen between now and the NCAA Tournament. Just a month away.
But I do wish the dance started this week.
Because the Wildcats are ready.
Top photo: Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley drives to the basket against the Arizona State Sun Devils (Zachary BonDurant-USA TODAY Sports)
