Arizona Basketball

Three things to watch: Arizona Wildcats vs. UCLA Bruins

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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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ArizonaLogo logo.UCLA

Tip: 3:02 p.m. MST
Television: Fox Sports 1 (Aaron Goldsmith/Sean Elliott)
Radio: Arizona IMG Sports Network (Brian Jeffries/Matt Muehlebach)
National Radio: Sirius 157; XM 190

CAN ARIZONA WIN GAME IN THE 70’S?

Nick Johnson's offense will be as important as his defense against UCLA

Nick Johnson’s offense will be as important as his defense against UCLA

Arizona has shown they can win most challenges. They preserved 72-70 at Michigan on Dec. 15. They beat UCLA 79-75 on Jan. 9. Both games were on the road. Arizona coach Sean Miller prefers that the Wildcats limit UCLA’s scoring opportunities, but if the Bruins are able to score at a rate not to his liking, Arizona has the firepower with Nick Johnson, Aaron Gordon, Gabe York and ever-improving scorer T.J. McConnell. Arizona leads the Pac-12 allowing only 57.6 points a game while UCLA leads the league averaging 82 a game. This is the kind of opponent Arizona will welcome as a challenge. Arizona followers would have been more concerned if Arizona was playing a low-scoring offense with defensive principles.

WHAT ARE THE MOST INTRIGUING MATCHUPS?

UCLA's Kyle Anderson presents matchup challenges with his size

UCLA’s Kyle Anderson presents matchup challenges with his size

Because of Kyle Anderson’s size advantage over McConnell (6’9″ vs. 6’1″), it will be interesting to see if Miller extends Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (6’6″) to Anderson. Norman Powell against Gabe York will be a key matchup of two athletic players with different styles. Powell is more of a slasher. York has a perimeter presence. York will also draw Bryce Alford. A lot of switching will happen. Miller will likely match Johnson with Jordan Adams, UCLA’s most significant offensive threat, particularly from the perimeter. Expect Arizona to go inside often with Kaleb Tarczewski and Aaron Gordon going against the Wear twins (David and Travis) and Tony Parker

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EXTENDING DEFENSE TO THREE-POINT LINE KEY

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Arizona will be tested by Adams, Alford, Powell and Anderson from three-point range. UCLA is shooting 39.2 percent from beyond the arc. They have attempted 543 shots from there (making 213). Arizona has attempted 60 fewer. The Wildcats’ defense through the first 33 games have allowed opponents to try 14.1 shots from three-point range. UCLA is attempting 16.5. Look for Miller to try to limit UCLA’s open looks with switching defenses off ball-screens. Arizona will be put to the test more than what it saw from Utah and Colorado here. Limiting UCLA to 35 percent from the field will be as impressive as the field goal percentages Arizona allowed Utah (25.5) and Colorado (29.4 percent).

PAC-12 RPI (ESPN.com)
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TOP FIVE 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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