Arizona Basketball

Notebook: Arizona Wildcats at Stanford

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— Arizona coach Sean Miller has never lost to Stanford’s Johnny Dawkins, a 10-0 run that includes a 5-0 record at Maples Pavilion. The average margin of victory in those five games is 6.8 points, a comfortable separation when considering the many battles Lute Olson and Mike Montgomery waged at the 46-year-old gym starting when Monty was hired in 1986-87. Olson lost his first three games against Montgomery at Maples before winning six straight from 1990 to 1995. Olson then went 6-5 there against Montgomery and Trent Johnson through his last season of 2006-07. Overall, Olson was 13-10 at Stanford. Dawkins won his first game against Arizona at Palo Alto 76-60 in the 2008-09 season against a Russ Pennell-coached team while Olson was on his second year of leave of absence before retiring.

— After getting swept by the narrowest of margins at UCLA and USC when is the last time Arizona has lost three straight conference games on the road? It actually happened between the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. Arizona lost its last two games in 2011-12 at Washington and ASU and the first conference road game in 2012-13 against Oregon. In the same season, a three-game conference road losing streak has not happened since Miller’s first season of 2009-10 when the Wildcats lost consecutively at Washington, Washington State and Cal.

— Arizona has been mostly a second-half team this season, mirroring the performance of its top player, Ryan Anderson. As the game goes on, Anderson seems to gain his rhythm. The same goes for Arizona and the numbers bear it out. The Wildcats are shooting 56.8 percent from the field in the second half as opposed to 49.7 in the first half. They have attempted 74 free throws in the second half (making 57) as compared to only 40 attempts in the first half (making 28). The Wildcats also have fewer turnovers (24) in the second half than the first (37) but have only 37 assists to their 46 in the first half. The reason for that is Arizona going to the line a lot more after halftime.

— Stanford is definitely battle tested to this point. The Cardinal has played the fifth-toughest schedule in the nation, according to ESPN’s Daily RPI. Arizona is Stanford’s sixth consecutive opponent that is receiving votes or ranked in the top 25 of either the Associated Press or USA Today Coaches national poll. The Cardinal’s first 17 opponents have totaled 198 wins (11.6 average) through Jan. 18. The six teams Stanford has lost to – SMU, Villanova, Saint Mary’s, Texas, Colorado and Oregon – are a combined 87-18 through Jan. 18.

— Stanford sophomore power forward Michael Humphrey of Phoenix Sunnyslope narrowed his choices to the Cardinal and Arizona before circumstances involving the Wildcats’ recruiting efforts made him decide to play for Dawkins. Humphrey was part of the Class of 2014, which included Arizona’s signing of Dusan Ristic. If Ristic did not show up on the radar for Arizona from Serbia it is likely that Humphrey would be playing for Arizona. Humphrey reportedly took UCLA off his list of finalists to concentrate on Arizona’s recruitment of him. Humphrey ranks seventh in the Pac-12 in blocked shots (1.7 a game) and is 13th in rebounding (7 a game). Humphrey, who is also averaging 10.8 points overall, is scoring 13.3 points per game and 7.6 rebounds a game in his last eight starts. He has played in place of starting forward Reid Travis, who is out indefinitely with a stress reaction in his leg.

— Arizona point guard Kadeem Allen is only 6’3″ but he can block shots with the best of them. He is averaging almost 1.0 block per game. He leads Arizona with 17 blocked shots, topping frontcourt players Ristic (15), Mark Tollefsen (13), Anderson (10) and Tarczewski (seven). Allen’s 17 blocks are the most by any player 6’3” or shorter in the Pac-12. He has seven more blocked shots than last year’s Pac-12 defensive player of the year, 6’3″ guard Gary Payton II of Oregon State. Allen’s athleticism, timing and awareness set him apart from other defenders when an opposing player is driving to the basket. He also leads the Wildcats with 25 steals. Not bad for a player who was known as mostly only a scorer coming out of Hutchinson (Kan.) Junior College.

— Stanford senior forward Rosco Allen is another one-time Arizona recruiting target out of Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High School. Allen has evolved into an All-Pac-12 type of player leading the Cardinal with 14.6 points per game. He is also averaging 6.2 rebounds a game. Allen presents a difficult test for Tollefsen on the perimeter and in the lane. Nearly half of Allen’s field goals (32-of-72) have come from three-point range. The senior ranks 10th in the Pac-12 in three-point field goals per game (2.0). He has recorded multiple three-pointers in 11 games with at least three, six times. He has totaled 24 in the last 11 games.

— Add Tollefsen: He is returning to his roots of northern California this weekend, having played at San Francisco the first three seasons of his career. The current starting lineup of Allen, Gabe York, Tollefsen, Anderson and Tarczewski is 5-0 this season. If you’re into superstition, Arizona has yet to lose with Tollefsen in the starting lineup (7-0 overall). Tollefsen is averaging 8.8 points and 3.4 rebounds after posting 14 and 5.4 last season with the Dons. Tollefsen, however, is shooting 54.6 percent from the field, an improvement from 53.5 a year ago. He is also shooting better from three-point range (38.6 percent to 37.8) and at the free-throw line (82.1 percent to only 64.6 last season).

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NO. 12 ARIZONA (14-3, 2-2) VS.
Stanford (9-7, 1-3)

Tip Time: 9:06 p.m. MST
TV: Pac-12 Networks (Ted Robinson/Bill Walton)
Radio: Arizona IMG Sports Network (Brian Jeffries/Jeff Dean)

THE SERIES
Overall: Arizona leads 59-29
At Palo Alto: Arizona leads 22-18
Current Streak: Arizona won 11
Last Meeting: Arizona won 91-69 in Tucson on March 7, 2015
Sean Miller vs. Stanford: 10-0

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)

SEASON PRODUCTIVITY RATING
[table “” not found /]

PRODUCTIVITY REPORT
ARIZONA PAC-10/12
PLAYERS OF THE YEAR:
[table “” not found /]

Previous result:
ARIZONA 90, WASHINGTON STATE 66
PRODUCTIVITY RATING
* — STARTERS
[table “” not found /]

ARIZONA’S TOP SCORING CENTERS
Rank: Overall school ranking.
[table “” not found /]

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HOW ARE THEY DOING?
Present RPI ranking of non-conference opponents Arizona has played according to KenPom.com. The Wildcats’ rating is No. 16.
[table “” not found /]

PAC-12 POMEROY RATINGS
Present RPI ranking of Pac-12 teams according to KenPom.com.
[table “” not found /]

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THREE-POINT FIELD GOALS CAREER
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ARIZONA SCHEDULE/PRODUCTIVITY RESULTS
*-John Wooden Legacy in Fullerton/Anaheim (Calif.)
[table “” not found /]

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.

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