Deep Dive Thread for Arizona

Gameday Poster Courtesy of AlabamaMBB

The Wildcats are coached by Tommy Lloyd, who is in his 5th season in Tucson. Lloyd looks to take his team back to the second weekend, a place they have been 3 of his first 4 seasons. The Wildcats come into this game undefeated, boasting huge wins over Florida, UCLA, Auburn, and at UConn. This team boasts a solid mix of freshmen and experience.

Arizona is led in scoring by freshman phenom 6-8 Koa Peat. Peat is averaging nearly 16/5.5/3, on very efficient shooting. He loves to play downhill with the ball in his hands but is not afraid to post up and use his size for success around the rim. Peat is one of the most athletic bigs in the country and will be a tough matchup all game.

Their starting PG is a guy Alabama fans should know well in 6-3 Jaden Bradley. The former Alabama transfer has really grown as a player over the past 3 seasons. Bradley is still an elite defender at the PG position and loves to get downhill and use his physicality at the basket, but he has also been solid on catch-and-shoot 3s this season at 58% on just 12 attempts. Bradley will look to cause issues on defense to get them running in transition.

Another guy Alabama fans may be aware of is freshman 6-4 Brayden Burries. Burries is a guy Alabama recruited hard before he ultimately decided to stay closer to home at Arizona. Burries is averaging 11/3/2 per game this season. He has taken the most attempts from 3 on the whole team for Arizona, but is shooting just 30% so far this season. He is a skilled physical guard who has played well in the system.

Their starting center is 7-2 Montiejus Krivas from Lithuania. Krivas averages just under 10/8 and is a presence in the paint. He is skilled enough to pass out if need be, but is very efficient with the shots he takes around the rim. He's also top 25 in the country in offensive rebound rate, so keeping him off the glass will need to be a key.

Their last starter is another freshman, this time from Germany in 6-7 Ivan Kharchenkov. He is capable of scoring, averaging around 7.5 per game but is much more of a defender on this team. He additionally is shooting around 35% from deep so Alabama will need to not lose him behind the arc.

Though not a starter, one of Arizona’s most impactful players is 6-8 Tobe Awaka. Awaka Alabama, should be very familiar with him from his time at Tennessee, but he is the best rebounder in the entire country. Averaging 10 per game and top 3 in both offensive and defensive rebounding rate, Awaka is an animal on the glass, and keeping him from dominating will need to be a key for Alabama to stay successful in this game.

Arizona’s last 2 rotation players are 6-6 Anthony Dell’Orso and 6-8 Dwayne Aristode. Dell’Orso has averaged more minutes and points this season with solid assists and scoring numbers but both guys are shooting over 40% from 3 on over 25 attempts each. These are their statistically best shooters and the guys most likely to step back on this team.

Arizona is an elite team with a very unique play style in today's game of college basketball. They score almost 60% of their points from inside the arc and are 3 worst in 3pt rate as a team. They are fairly efficient when they do shoot from deep, but they just do not do it very often. They are additionally an elite rebounding team, especially on offense, where they are 8th in the country, so I expect rebounding to be the name of this game.

Both teams will want to play with alot of pace in this game, they will just look to play with different styles in the halfcourt. Arizona will look to score inside the arc and paint, while Alabama will look to get clean looks from deep. This game will come down to Alabama’s ability to finish the defensive possession with a rebound and how well they shoot from behind the arc.

My players to watch are Taylor Bol Bowen, Aiden Sherrell, and Keitenn Bristow. I named 3 for this game because no matter how Alabama plays in the backcourt, if they can’t match the physicality and rebound down low, it may not matter. Nate has said he expects Taylor and Keitenn both to play and Alabama will need all 3 of these guys to play hard and well to have success in this game

Alabama looks to play its 5th elite team this season. So far, they are 2-2 in those games. The 2 they won, they were able to rebound the basketball; the 2 they lost, they got bullied in the front court. The question is which Alabama team will we get tonight? I think Alabama can win this game, but due to Arizona’s ability to rebound, I have to pick the Wildcats until Alabama shows they can not get bullied down low.

Prediction: Arizona 89 - Alabama 86

I broke down this game in more detail over on YouTube. Check it out and subscribe for more Alabama Basketball coverage. https://youtu.be/DD4I8CLCKgE