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WHAT IS PRODUCTIVITY RATING?:
PP: Productivity Points (Points, assists, rebounds, steals, blocked shots, FGs made, FTs made added together and then subtracted by missed FGs, missed FTs, personal fouls and turnovers)
MIN: Minutes played overall
PR: Productivity rating per minute played (Productivity points divided by minutes played)
ARIZONA OVERALL PRODUCTIVITY RATING
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.@dennisdoddcbs on Bo Ryan, KenPom http://t.co/o8lQGi4agM The next band I play in will be named The Snobby Bloggers.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 29, 2014
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Tip: 5:49 p.m. MST
Television: TBS (Marv Albert/Steve Kerr/Craig Sager)
Radio: Arizona IMG Sports Network (Brian Jeffries/Matt Muehlebach)
National Radio: Sirius 94; XM 193 (Westwood One broadcast – Ted Robinson/Bill Frieder)
Rankings: Arizona – 4 (AP)/5 (Coaches); Wisconsin – 12 (AP)/15 (Coaches)
WISCONSIN HAS POTENT OFFENSE BUT NOT COMPARABLE TO UCLA
Ben Brust
Some national announcers have made it a point to compare Wisconsin’s offensive capability to that of UCLA. While the Badgers can score, they are not UCLA good in that category. The Bruins averaged 81.2 points a game compared to 73.8 points for Wisconsin. The Bruins were effective against Arizona especially in the first half of the Pac-12 tournament championship game because they were aggressive to the basket. That is not entirely Wisconsin’s style. The Badgers have attempted 753 three-point attempts in 36 games. UCLA attempted 150 fewer at only 603 in 37 games. Wisconsin runs screens and extends 7-footer Frank Kaminsky to open driving lanes for the Badgers’ playmakers to either go to the hoop or kick it out for a three-pointer. Wisconsin has five players with at least 83 three-point attempts (led by Ben Brust’s 234 attempts, with 92 conversions for 39.3 percent). Arizona has only three players with at least 83 three-point attempts. Brust’s attempts are 68 more than Arizona’s leader, Nick Johnson, who has tried 166 threes and made 61 for 36.7 percent.
SMARTEST TEAM WINS
Kaleb Tarczewski
Wisconsin does not beat itself. The Badgers have endured only four foul-outs this season compared to 10 by Arizona, including Kaleb Tarczewski’s disqualification from Thursday’s Sweet 16 game against San Diego State. The Wildcats go a solid six deep while Wisconsin runs eight deep so the Badgers have more fouls to draw from. The Badgers also average only 8.1 turnovers per game. What happened against Gonzaga (21 turnovers against Arizona in the third round) should not happen against Wisconsin. Arizona must match Wisconsin’s efficiency in its decision-making with how it defends and takes care of the ball. Tarczewski commented in Friday’s press conference that Wisconsin is good at pump faking and drawing a foul off the jump. Arizona can ill-afford costly fouls like that especially beyond the three-point line. Five Wisconsin players have attempted at least 127 free throws. Arizona has only four with at least 132. The player with the fifth-most attempts is Brandon Ashley with 74, but he has missed the last 15 games with a season-ending foot injury.
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ON THE DEFENSIVE
Nick Johnson
Wisconsin has lost only two of its last 14 games with those setbacks coming against Nebraska and Michigan State. The Cornhuskers shot 52 percent in a 77-68 victory on March 9. The Spartans shot 56.9 percent in a 83-75 win on March 15. A lot of talk from media pundits is Wisconsin’s defense matching that of Arizona. Not close. Those loses prove Wisconsin’s defense can be vulnerable. Wisconsin’s opponents shoot 42.8 percent from the field and 33.8 percent from three-point range. Arizona’s opponents shoot 38 percent from the field and only 31.9 percent from three-point range. The defensive matchup to watch is Nick Johnson against Wisconsin’s Traevon Jackson on both sides. Jackson does not force things and can break down an opponent’s defense. Another player Arizona must keep an eye on: Freshman reserve forward Nigel Hayes, who can be a game-changer with his ability to draw fouls. Despite not starting once this season, Hayes has made defenders foul him enough to attempt a team-high 164 free throws. He has made only 96, however, for 54 percent.
TOP TEN ARIZONA REBOUNDING TEAMS
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NICK JOHNSON CAREER POINTS RANKING
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ARIZONA FRESHMAN REBOUND RECORD
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ARIZONA SCHEDULE/PRODUCTIVITY RESULTS
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.COM publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He also writes articles for Bleacher Report and Lindy’s College Sports.
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