[tps_title]Bench play will be a difference[/tps_title]
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Texas A&M’s reserves outscored Gonzaga’s bench 13-7 in the Aggies’ close win over the Bulldogs last week.
A lot of that has to do with how the Aggies played defense and the fact that Gonzaga coach Mark Few basically goes only seven deep.
With Kaleb Tarczewski out with a left foot injury, Sean Miller goes about eight players deep. That’s not including freshman center Chance Comanche, who should play more than his average of 3.6 minutes a game to help combat Gonzaga’s size.
How Arizona’s bench performs in relation to any foul problems with its starters is another important factor in this game.
Depending on whether Miller starts Dusan Ristic, Allonzo Trier or Mark Tollefsen, the responsibility falls on players like those three, Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Elliott Pitts to make the most of their minutes.
The Zags, who feature 6-11 center Domantas Sabonis off the bench, are 5-0 when outscoring the opposing bench with the only loss to the Aggies.
Miller hopes he can count on this production: The Arizona bench has outscored opposing benches in all seven games this season by a margin of 171-97, an average advantage of 10.5 points per game. The Wildcats’ bench has not outscored their opposition in seven consecutive games to start a season in 19 years.
If Arizona makes it eight tomorrow, the Wildcats will be right there at the end.
In case you’re wondering, the 1995-96 Arizona bench outscored opposing benches in its first nine games.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He has also written articles for Bleacher Report and Lindy’s College Sports.[/tps_footer]
