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
AllSportsTucson.com graphic
[table sort=”desc”]
Opponent,1st game,Pct.,2nd game,Pct.,Opponent,1st game,Pct.,2nd game,Pct.
UCLA,7-6,.538,17-6,.739,USC,19-4,.826,11-2,.846
[/table]
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
[table sort=”desc”]
Player,Pos,G,S,PP,MIN,PR
Lauri Markkanen,PF,28,28,693,858,.808
Allonzo Trier,SG,9,3,186,263,.707
Dusan Ristic,C,27,27,461,654,.705
Rawle Alkins,SF,28,28,454,806,.563
Chance Comanche,C,28,1,266,532,.500
Kadeem Allen,SG,25,24,375,756,.496
Kobi Simmons,SG,28,19,352,800,.440
Parker Jackson-Cartwright,PG,22,9,222,537,.413
Keanu Pinder,PF,27,0,124,338,.367
AVG 5-9.9 MIN,,,,,
None,,,,,
AVG 1-4.9 MIN,,,,,
Kory Jones,G,3,0,5,6,.833
Tyler Trillo,G,7,0,-1,29,-.034
Jake DesJardins,G,6,0,-2,11,-.182
Paulo Cruz,G,7,0,-5,20,-.250
TOTAL TEAM,,28,,3116,5600,.556
[/table]
PRODUCTIVITY REPORT
ARIZONA PAC-10/12
PLAYERS OF THE YEAR:
[table sort=”desc”]
Name (Year),G,S,PP,MIN,PR
Derrick Williams (2011),38,38,1190,1141,1.043
Sean Elliott (1989),33,33,1128,1125,1.003
Chris Mills (1993),28,28,838,870,.963
Sean Elliott (1988),38,38,1167,1249,.934
Damon Stoudamire (1995),30,30,964,1092,.883
Mike Bibby (1998),35,35,905,1124,.805
Jason Terry (1999),29,29,877,1107,.792
Nick Johnson (2014),38,38,848,1254,.676
Total,269,269,7917,8962,.883
[/table]
PREVIOUS GAME
ARIZONA 76, WASHINGTON 68
PRODUCTIVITY RATING
* — STARTERS
[table sort=”desc”]
Player,Pos,PP,MIN,PR
*Lauri Markkanen,PF,47,35,1.343
*Allonzo Trier,SG,27,33,.818
*Chance Comanche,C,20,32,.625
*Parker Jackson-Cartwright,PG,14,38,.368
*Rawle Alkins,SF,0,26,.000
Kobi Simmons,SG,-4,27,-.148
LESS THAN 10 MIN,,,,
Keanu Pinder,PF,-2,9,-.222
TOTAL TEAM,,102,200,.510
[/table]
ARIZONA SCHEDULE/PRODUCTIVITY RESULTS
*-Honolulu
**-Las Vegas
***-Los Angeles
****-Houston
[table sort=”desc”]
Date,Opponent,W/L,Score,PR,Productivity Leader,Pos,PP,MIN,PR
11/11,*Michigan St,W,65-63,.395,Kobi Simmons,SG,22,26,.846
11/15,CS Bakersfield,W,78-66,.560,Lauri Markkanen,PF,48,36,1.333
11/18,Sacred Heart,W,95-65,.805,Dusan Ristic,C,31,22,1.409
11/21,N. Colorado,W,71-55,.565,Parker Jackson-Cartwright,PG,35,34,1.029
11/24,**Santa Clara,W,69-61,.510,Keanu Pinder,PF,12,12,1.000
11/25,**Butler,L,69-65,.390,Lauri Markkanen,PF,17,21,.810
11/30,Texas So.,W,85-63,.705,Lauri Markkanen,PF,35,29,1.207
12/3,***Gonzaga,L,69-62,.420,Dusan Ristic,C,17,23,.739
12/6,Cal-Irvine,W,79-57,.635,Dusan Ristic,C,32,30,1.067
12/10,at Missouri,W,79-60,.556,Rawle Alkins,SF,27,37,.730
12/14,Grand Canyon,W,64-54,.450,Dusan Ristic,C,19,31,.613
12/17,****Texas A&M,W,67-63,.545,Dusan Ristic,C,27,26,1.038
12/20,New Mexico,W,77-46,.680,Chance Comanche,PF,25,23,1.087
12/30,California,W,67-62,.410,Dusan Ristic,C,27,28,.964
1/1,Stanford,W,91-52,.725,Rawle Alkins,SF,36,29,1.241
1/5,Utah,W,66-56,.530,Dusan Ristic,C,29,26,1.115
1/7,Colorado,W,82-73,.580,Lauri Markkanen,PF,28,22,1.273
1/12,ASU,W,91-75,.765,Lauri Markkanen,PF,42,30,1.400
1/19,at USC,W,73-66,.490,Lauri Markkanen,PF,34,35,.971
1/21,at UCLA,W,96-85,.735,Kobi Simmons,SG,34,33,1.030
1/26,Wash.St.,W,79-62,.640,Allonzo Trier,SG,26,25,1.040
1/29,Washington,W,77-66,.575,Dusan Ristic,C,19,24,.792
2/2,at Ore. St.,W,71-54,.545,Allonzo Trier,SG,25,28,.893
2/4,at Oregon,L,85-58,.365,Rawle Alkins,SF,27,28,.904
2/9,Stanford,W,74-67,.575,Allonzo Trier,SG,38,33,1.152
2/11,California,W,62-57,.420,Kobi Simmons,SG,18,23,.783
2/16,at Wash. St.,W,78-59,.565,Lauri Markkanen,PF,36,33,1.091
2/18,at Washington,W,76-68,.510,Lauri Markkanen,PF,47,35,1.343
[/table]
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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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