Arizona is playing in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament for the fourth straight year under head coach Tommy Lloyd. The Wildcats travel to Seattle to play the Akron Zips on Friday.
In its inaugural season in the Big 12, Arizona went 14-6. It was a hot start for the Wildcats that ended in some struggles. However, they made it to the Big 12 tournament championship, showing great toughness. That characteristic is something Arizona is going to need to take into the tournament.
Here are three things Arizona is going to need to do to be successful in the NCAA tournament, as well as three things it can’t do.
Do these:
Get into the paint
Arizona teams under Lloyd have always had a specialty in producing inside with their big men. In order for the Wildcats to make a deep tournament run, they will need to follow that same trend.
In the Big 12 tournament, Arizona was successful when they were able to get shots inside the arch. Against Kansas, it scored 46 of its 88 points in the paint. Against Texas Tech, it had 40 of its 86 points in the paint.
It was a similar story against Houston, where the Wildcats scored 36 of its 64 points inside. However, it was the final five minutes where Arizona could not score at all, let alone the paint.
In fact, the last made field goal for Arizona was a second-chance layup by Tobe Awaka that gave Arizona the lead. Every possession after that ended with a missed three point shot.
“We had a lead there, under four minutes to go, and we gave ourselves a chance,” said Lloyd after the Houston game. “We just didn’t get it done.”
Force turnovers
When Arizona is playing at its best, it is usually because it is creating turnovers. Being able to create turnovers allows Arizona to do what it does best: get out in transition.
In the Big 12 tournament, Arizona had 29 fast break points. In total it forced 28 turnovers.
On the season the Wildcats average 11.8 turnovers per game. They are going to need to reach that mark in all games moving forward to end with winning results.
For the most part, Arizona has been a good defensive team for most of the year, it has only tailed off towards the end of the season and Lloyd is not blind to that.
“We had a moment when we were the top defense in the country and now I don’t know, we’re a little bit below that,” Lloyd said.
One of the defensive leaders for Arizona is Jaden Bradley who has 60 steals on the season. Right behind him is KJ Lewis who has 47 steals.
Both are going to need to be the defensive anchors for the Wildcats throughout the tournament.
Have a surprise x-factor
Some of the best teams that make a deep run in the NCAA tournament tend to have a player who comes out of nowhere to have a once in a lifetime performance.
This a player that may not have produced a lot in the regular season but stepped up when his team needed him to.
Arizona is going to need to have a player that has amazing performances to advance round by round. A couple candidates include: Trey Townsend, Anthony Dell’Orso, or even Conrad Martinez.
Both Townsend and Dell’Orso had zero points in the Houston game. In the two games prior, Townsend had 16 points against Kansas, and 12 against Texas Tech.
Arizona is going to need similar performances in the tournament from Townsend. For Dell’Orso, he does not need to provide much. A couple baskets here and there will make the difference for Arizona.
However, if either of the two can have a career performance in the tournament, it will help the Wildcats win a game that maybe wouldn’t go their way without a career performance.
Even Martinez had some surprise moments. Against Texas Tech, he had a steal and fastbreak layup. Those are two more points that Arizona was not expecting to have.
Similar plays like that can end up being the difference for Arizona.
Don’t do these
Go on scoring droughts
It took Arizona nearly five minutes to make it on the scoreboard in the Houston game. That very well may have been the difference for the Wildcats.
Nevertheless, this has been a trend for Arizona all season long. Having 3-5 minutes without hitting a field goal or scoring has led to leads being blown and subsequently games being lost.
Credit to Houston, the Cougars are an overall great team. Regardless of who Arizona plays, it cannot be subject to having an inability to score.
One of the reasons Arizona goes on long scoring droughts is due to shot selection. For example, the final five minutes of the Houston game resulted in Arizona only shooting three point shots.
On the season, Arizona is a 32.4 percent three point shooting team. It does not make sense for UA to only shoot three point shots in those final five minutes.
The Wildcats needed to find a way to get to the paint or to the line. If they can only hit a select few shots from three, they need to know when to pick and choose the right time to take those shots.
Turn the ball over
Another trend that has hindered the Wildcats this season is turning the ball over. On the season, they average 11.5 turnovers per game, which has led to an average 14.3 points off those turnovers.
It was evident early in the Houston game that Arizona could not hold onto the ball, and it was repeatedly being knocked loose from its hands.
“You gotta be tough,” Lloyd exclaimed to his team in a huddle. “You gotta be tough. They’re gonna go for the ball, they’re gonna go for the ball. Then squeeze it, keep it high, and they got nothing.”
Turnovers are a part of the game, and the Wildcats cannot have perfect games. However, if Arizona can keep the turnovers down, it provides opponents with less opportunities to capitalize off of mistakes.
Arizona’s season low in turnovers was against Arizona State in the home finale, where it only committed six turnovers. Similar games like that will lead to success on offense.
Get in foul trouble
Being able to have options late in games is something that Arizona is going to need throughout the tournament. If players get into foul trouble, it will hinder the Wildcats ability to have options.
On the season both Henri Veesaar and Awaka average 2.5+ fouls per game, usually leaning more towards three fouls per game.
If the Arizona big men cannot be an option late in games, it forces Lloyd to put Townsend or even Carter Bryant as the five.
Possibly in a dire situation, Lloyd may have to consider putting in an inexperienced Emmanuel Stephen in, which is not ideal.
It is not something Arizona should have to worry about but it is something that could come into play if the Wildcats get into foul trouble.
Bryant was the last time a Wildcat fouled out of a game, and that came in the Texas Tech Big 12 tournament game.
That game also included Caleb Love, Awaka, Bradley, and Veesaar having three or more fouls. Arizona must avoid excessive fouls in order to be successful in the NCAA tournament.