The mind can be much more of a factor than the physical attributes for Arizona going into a crucial home weekend like this one for the Wildcats.
Playing unranked USC first tonight, Arizona must guard against thinking ahead to No. 5 UCLA and ESPN’s College GameDay in town on Saturday, right?
Has history suggested playing UCLA first would be better because the Bruins are usually rated higher than the Trojans? That way Arizona could focus its undivided energy on UCLA first and worry about USC later?
No. History says otherwise.
Since the Pac-10 formed in 1978-79, Arizona is 7-6 against UCLA when playing the Bruins first during a home weekend against the Los Angeles schools. When playing the Bruins in the second game at McKale, mostly on Saturdays, Arizona is 17-6.
ARIZONA RECORD IN USC-UCLA HOME WEEKEND SINCE PAC-10 FORMED in 1978
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The Wildcats have as many losses playing the Bruins on Thursday than in the second game, although Arizona has played the Bruins 23 times in the second game as opposed to only 13 times in the first game. Arizona and UCLA are usually scheduled second for made-for-TV matchups on the weekend.
The scheduling historically is a non-factor when it comes to Arizona looking ahead mostly because of the coaching of Lute Olson and Sean Miller through most of those years.
Olson was 15-4 against UCLA when the Bruins followed USC as the home opponent and 4-5 against them in the Thursday game.
Miller is 2-0 against the Bruins after playing USC at McKale and 3-1 against them in the first matchup.
So if history is any indication, the way the schedule is set for this weekend is more of a help for the Wildcats than a hinderance.
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
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PRODUCTIVITY REPORT
ARIZONA PAC-10/12
PLAYERS OF THE YEAR:
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PREVIOUS GAME
ARIZONA 76, WASHINGTON 68
PRODUCTIVITY RATING
* — STARTERS
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ARIZONA SCHEDULE/PRODUCTIVITY RESULTS
*-Honolulu
**-Las Vegas
***-Los Angeles
****-Houston
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
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