Arizona Wildcats Productivity Report: Zeus yields his power around the hoop

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Kaleb Tarczewski posted his first double-double since the season-opener last night at Oregon (YouTube video screen shot, click on photo to access video)

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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 80, OREGON 62
PRODUCTIVITY RATING
* — STARTERS
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PAC-12 RPI RATING
Present RPI ranking of the Pac-12.
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ARIZONA 80, OREGON 62

The last time Kaleb Tarczewski played a road game against UNLV he sported a slightly bruised right eye, a painful reminder of the Wildcats’ first loss of the season.

UNLV’s long and athletic frontcourt combination of Goodluck Okonoboh, Rashad Vaughn and Christian Wood were too fast and difficult to stop around the basket. The 7-foot Tarczewski, nicknamed “Zeus”, literally had to fight and claw to establish a presence inside.

Tarczewski made four of five shots from the field in the game but was limited because of four fouls. The physical game caused Tarczewski to go to the locker room briefly because he was bleeding. He could never get on track.

On the road again last night, faced with the prospect of playing another athletic frontcourt with none of Oregon’s players taller than 6’7″, Tarczewski knew once again that he must establish a presence.

That happened immediately as Tarczewski took control of the paint in the first five minutes of the game, scoring six points with five rebounds. A fire was definitely lit under him because Tarczewski looked more intense and determined than ever.

Tarczewski finished with his first double-double (11 points and 10 rebounds) since the season-opener almost two months ago against Mount St. Mary’s.

“He did a great job of being aggressive on offense,” Arizona senior captain T.J. McConnell, a catalyst with 21 points, told Bruce Pascoe of The Arizona Daily Star. “They were going under the ball screen against him and he really made them pay for that.”

Sean Miller credited Tarczewski for setting the tone of the game early with his aggressive play around the basket. Size overcame speed for Tarczewski, who has a history of playing better when another big post player is matched against him.

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HOW ARE THEY DOING?
Present RPI ranking of Arizona’s non-conference opponents. Arizona is No. 9 with a strength-of-schedule ranking of No. 85.
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Arizona also made more of a concerted effort of getting him the ball after he only took nine total shots at UTEP and UNLV. Against ASU and Oregon, he’s tried 14 shots and made eight of them.

Oregon State, which hosts Arizona on Sunday, has more height than Oregon, but the Beavers are wiry. Tarczewski will likely start against junior post player Olaf Schaftenaar, who is 6’10” and 225 pounds. Tarczewski weighs in at 245. He has the bulk to establish positioning inside against Schaftenaar and power forward Daniel Gomis (6’10” and 224).

The Beavers play a 7-footer off the bench, Cheikh Ndiaye, but he averages only 7.5 minutes a game.

KO'Neill @Pac12Networks: "Tarczewski has 10 points and they haven't really gone to him. … He can't be guarded one-on-one w/Oregon's size."

— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) January 9, 2015

If Arizona can continue to execute the inside-outside game of McConnell and Tarczewski with Stanley Johnson, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Brandon Ashley extending the defense, Arizona will be tough to beat in any game.

Hollis-Jefferson and Johnson had two of their better games against Oregon starting together on the perimeter for the first time this season. They combined for 46 productivity points in 52 minutes (.885 productivity rating).

The Wildcats dominated Oregon and won by 18 on the road despite McConnell, Tarczewski, Johnson and Hollis-Jefferson being the only standout productivity players.

Look for Ashley, who posted a productivity rating of only .310 against the Ducks, to come out intense Sunday like Tarczewski was Thursday night. Good players are tough to keep down.

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SEASON PRODUCTIVITY RATING
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ARIZONA PAC-10/12
PLAYERS OF THE YEAR:
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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 has also written articles for Bleacher Report and Lindy’s College Sports.