Utah @ Arizona preview
McKale Center
Last Meeting ( Feb 14, 2019 ) Arizona 76, Utah 83
Utah and Arizona opened Pac-12 Conference play with impressive double-digit wins. But both have since suffered consecutive defeats, and now they pit those skids head-to-head Thursday night when the Wildcats host the Runnin’ Utes.
Arizona dominated rival Arizona State 75-47 in its conference opener Jan. 4, but the ensuing trip to Oregon failed to produce a victory as the Wildcats followed up a 74-73, overtime loss at No. 8 Oregon with a disappointing 82-65 defeat at Oregon State three days later. Tres Tinkle and Ethan Thompson combined for 38 points and 15 assists in the Beavers’ victory, which dropped Arizona to 0-3 in true road games this season. “So much of it was just, I’d use the word ‘outclassed,’ ” Wildcats coach Sean Miller said following the defeat. “We just weren’t able to match up with the players they had.” Utah, meanwhile, tipped off Pac-12 play with an 81-69 win over those same Beavers but followed up with a 69-64 home setback versus Oregon and an uncompetitive 91-52 road loss at No. 21 Colorado last Sunday.
TIME: 8:30 p.m. ET. TV: Pac-12 Network
ABOUT UTAH (10-5, 1-2): To be fair, the Utes are in the midst of a brutal schedule stretch in which they’re facing five out of six opponents (12-4 Oregon State being the lone exception) who are ranked or have been ranked in the last two weeks. But that does little to ease the pain of Sunday’s loss in Boulder in which Utah was outrebounded by 18 and failed to have a player score in double figures in matching its lowest scoring output of the season. Included was sophomore forward Timmy Allen, who still leads the Pac-12 in scoring at 20.2 points per game despite failing to reach at least 14 points for the first time this season with his seven-point, five-rebound outing on 2-of-11 shooting Sunday.
ABOUT ARIZONA (11-5, 1-2): The Wildcats, who pace the conference with 81.3 points per game, were held below 70 for only the third time in this season in the loss in Corvallis as they continue their overall struggle (only two wins in their last seven games) since getting off to a 9-0 start and climbing as high as 11th in the coaches poll before dropping out completely. But like the Utes, a rugged schedule has taken its toll as the Wildcats have lost to three teams (Baylor, Gonzaga and Oregon) currently ranked in the top eight during that seven-game span. Big man Zeke Nnaji (16.5 points) and guards Nico Mannion (14.3) and Josh Green (13.0) are Arizona’s leading scorers, but they all are true freshmen who have struggled at times against some of the better teams on the schedule.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Arizona has dominated the series of late, winning 13 of the 15 matchups since Utah joined the Pac-12 in 2011. There was a split, though, a season ago with the Wildcats winning 84-81 in overtime in Tucson and the Utes prevailing 83-76 in the rematch in Salt Lake City.
2. The 6-11, 240-pound Nnaji leads the Pac-12 in field-goal percentage (66.2) and ranks sixth in rebounding with a team-most 8.5 per game while Mannion paces the conference in assists with 6.3 per outing.
3. Guards Both Gach (12.5 points) and Rylan Jones (10.6) also average double figures for Utah, which leads the Pac-12 in team free-throw percentage at 74.8 but is surrendering a conference-most 70.7 points per game.
PREDICTION: Arizona 82, Utah 70