What Arizona's sweep of UCLA and USC indicates

Perhaps no top 10 basketball team in the country went into this past week’s games with more scrutiny than the Arizona Wildcats.

Sure, Arizona had a really nice win against Illinois in Champaign earlier in the season, but the Illini were also without one of its best players.

The two other current top 25 teams Arizona played, the Wildcats lost to, and, quite frankly, the loss to UCLA in Pauley Pavilion was a beat down.

Individually, a lot of questions were floating around going into the week.

Is point guard Kerr Kriisa good enough? Yes, he’s hit some big shots but he’s also thrown up some of the worst lead guard shooting percentages in the country.

Would Benn Mathurin rediscover the all-American form he flashed earlier in the season?

Would Arizona fans see the pre-ankle sprain version of power forward Azuolas Tubelis?

Would center Christian Koloko continue to struggle offensively against good teams?

All these questions were on the table as the number 3 ranked UCLA Bruins and 19th ranked USC Trojans journeyed into McKale for a Thursday and Saturday showdown.

Within ten minutes into the rematch against UCLA one thing was readily apparent: whether it was lethargy or taking a national title contender too lightly, the Wildcats were not going to make the same mistake they did in Pauley Pavilion.

Arizona jumped out to a big lead and pushed that margin into the mid teens by the second half.

But, as usually happens with teams of UCLA’s pedigree, the Bruins made a run to close the gap to three.

And with Arizona’s two best players, Tubelis and Mathurin continuing to struggle it was fair to wonder where the closing points would come from.

Sophomore wing Dalen Terry emerged as a big time threat but scoring certainly isn’t his forte to this point.

As he’s done at other points throughout the season, Kriisa stepped up to the plate with a dagger three pointer to send the Cats out victorious.

The following game against USC was the same result but in a different manner.

With Mathurin continuing to struggle and Koloko absent for much of the game, the Wildcats held the Trojans at arm’s length until a big run by USC found the Trojans up six points with roughly six minutes to play.

A Tommy Lloyd time out, and multiple Azuolas Tubelis finishes around the basket combined with more timely Kriisa shooting and Koloko blocks and alterations secured another signature win for the Cats in McKale.

Generally a team with multiple question marks —that sweeps two top 25 teams, including one ranked third —probably ended the homestand with questions answered.

And some concerns certainly were rebutted: Terry has carved out a role as one of the best utility players in the country, while Tubelis put forth his best performance in weeks while Kriisa did nothing to dispel the notion that he will continue to shoot poor percentages while making big shots.

The huge concern for Arizona is the continued struggles of Mathurin. In recent weeks, Mathurin’s shooting, defense and decision making have come into scrutiny.

And there’s no sign of these issues slipping into the rear view.

But, even with the its best player sliding through uncharted waters, the Wildcats were able to beat the number three and 19 ranked teams in the country, showcasing a margin for error that few, if any teams, in the nation possess.