Matthew Goetzfried
The stage is set and the fans are ready, ESPN’s College Game Day will invade Tucson this weekend to cover the Arizona vs. Washington matchup. Coming off a nice win against Stanford and win vs. Arizona State, Washington looks to snatch their third straight victory. The 13-7 (6-2 in conference) Huskies will go into a zealous McKale center where they are 6-27 all time. Both of these teams are looking to make a move towards the top of the Pac, but which will prevail; Cats vs Dogs.
This is a Husky club which is second in the conference in scoring at 77.1 a game, and the best rebounding team in the conference working the glass for 40.4 boards a game which is 9th in the country.
Not to mention they have one of the best freshman in the country, Tony Wroten. Wroten is second in the conference in scoring with 17.1 ppg and second in the conference in steals 2 per game. This UDub team has won 5 of its last 6 games with Wroten scoring 21 or more point in three of their last five. The 6’5 Wroten is powerful and explosive, he’s a big guard who has no problem getting to the line. As if his point and steal production wasn’t enough, he also snags 4.6 boards a game in addition to dishing out 3.3 dimes. Wroten is a fun player to watch, he is super athletic and maneuvers around the basket in a silky smooth fashion.
Terrence Ross and Aziz N’Diaye are among the top 6 in the Pac-12 for rebounding. Ross is a player who was just awarder Pac-12 player of the week a short time ago. He has proved he is capable of taking over a game such as when he did in the comeback victory against Washington State where he had 26 of his 30 points in the second half. The 6’6 sophomore is averaging 15.1 points to go along with 6.6 boards and 1.8 assists per game. Teammate Darnel Gant and Abdul Gaddy joke around about Ross saying the only way to stop him is by leaving him open; he can’t hit an open jump shot, he needs a hand in his face. Regardless of their opinion I would still prefer a man on him at all times.
C.J. Wilcox is a 6’5 guard who is another offensive threat for the Wildcats. Wilcox has had a very productive year this season and can light it up from outside. Wilcox is averaging14.8 points 3.3 boards and 1.3 assist per game. Although he has recently sat out due to injury he returned for their most recent game against Arizona State but played limited minutes. He is expected to see much more action against our Wildcats. Aziz N’Diaye is nearly averaging a double double at 8 and 8 and Darnell Gant and Abdul Gaddy have combined for nearly 16 points and 8 boards a game.
Although Washington has been a potent offense and has had vigorous rebounding one thorn in their side has been their free throw shooting; they shoot 61 percent from the line which is second to last in the Pac. This is a stat that will be vital as they try to make their way to the head of the conference. With the White Out, College Game Day and coming off a lights out three point shooting performance, the aura is right in Tucson. This is a big time game for us and I want to see leadership from Solo and Fogg. I will be looking for Josiah Turner to have a nice outing; he has been criticized so much this year by the national media, it’s time to show them how much he has improved since the beginning of the season. My prediction; Arizona 75-73
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