For the first time in a few weeks, No. 2 Arizona was at full strength with the return of forwards Koa Peat and Dwayne Aristode, which seemed to give the Wildcats an added spark at the start of the game against No. 14 Kansas on Saturday afternoon at McKale Center at ALKEME Arena.
Although the Jayhawks cut the lead to a one possession game 49-47 with just over 12 minutes left, Arizona (27-2, 14-2 Big 12) was able to respond and put the game on ice thanks to an impressive 16-0 run, which led to the WIldcats’ 84-61 win over Kansas.
With the win and an Iowa State loss, the Wildcats have clinched a share of the Big 12 regular season title with Arizona leading Houston and Texas Tech by two games with just two games left.
When looking at previous games this season and Arizona’s wins over major opponents, this win over Kansas might be the most complete game the Wildcats have played all year. Arizona dominated in points in the paint, rebounds, fastbreak points and other categories.
Outside of the Jayhawks creeping back into the game for a short amount of time, Arizona controlled the game from start-to-finish and led for 94% of the time.
Now with the game in the books, we at All Sports Tucson have come up with our three takeaways from the Wildcats’ win over Kansas as it now heads into playing No. 6 Iowa State at 7 p.m. at McKale (televised by ESPN).
The Brayden Burries Effect
One thing that has been clear about star guard Brayden Burries from the start of the season is that he has an elite scoring ability and can hit from all three levels making him extremely dangerous.
“He’s a great combo guard. He can score, he’s physical, he’s fast, he can get downhill,” said Kansas coach Bill Self on Burries. “I think he’s terrific. We did a really poor job in getting back in transition early on and let him see a big basket. But, I think he’s a great guard, a great guard.”
Throughout the course of the season, Burries has proven to be much more than a scoring guard and has affected the game on the defensive side of the court and on the glass.
Against Kansas, Burries not only dropped 20 points while going 6 of 10 from the field, but he managed to collect a game-high 12 rebounds.
The effort on the glass was a major part of Arizona crushing the boards 48-26 over the Jayhawks. As a team, the Wildcats scored 16 second-chance points, which didn’t allow Kansas crawl back into the game.
When you have a guard like Burries rebounding the ball the way he has been able to do this season by averaging 4.9 a game, it elevates a good rebounding team to one of the best nationally.
Right now, Arizona is averaging 43.3 rebounds a game, which is No. 2 nationally only behind the Florida Gators.
Elite Defensive Performance
One thing that may get overlooked in the Wildcats’ 23-point win over Kansas is the defensive effort by forward Ivan Kharchenkov, who took on the assignment of guarding the potential future No. 1 NBA Draft pick in guard Darryn Peterson.
When you look at the boxscore and see Peterson had 24 points, your initial reaction may be that he had a good game and Arizona had some issues with him. However, when taking a deeper look, he scored those points on 21 shot attempts.
Peterson went an underwhelming 8 of 21 from the field and for most of the game, it was Kharchenkov who was on him everywhere he went.
On the defensive side of the court, it was Kharchenkov who set the tone early in the game and really seemed to get his teammates locked in on defense.
Arizona is No. 10 nationally in field goal percentage defense allowing teams to shoot 39% from the field this season. Also, the WIldcats are No. 3 in adjusted defensive efficiency, which measures how many points a team allows per 100 possessions.
“I mean, Ivan’s a consummate professional. I mean, the guy plays extremely hard,” said Lloyd. “He takes scouting reports really serious. He takes guarding a guy and his individual tendencies extremely serious. Yeah, he’s just a winner. He’s a winner and he’s really grown into that role.”
Yes, the Wildcats might have the best low-post defensive player in center Motiejus Krivas but Kharchenkov is proving to be one of the top on-ball defenders nationally.
Peat’s Performance
Like we stated at the top of the story, this was Peat’s first game back playing since getting shut down at the half against Texas Tech in a game the Wildcats lost 78-75 in overtime. He managed to play 23 minutes in his return.
“It felt great to be out there again with my brothers and just compete at a high-level and play against a really good team in Kansas,” said Peat. “It was really special to be out there, especially to come back and play at McKale.”
Although he has had better games, Peat scored 12 points and collected seven rebounds while going 4 of 9 from the field. Just the presence of having him on the court gave the Wildcats needed depth and a boost.
Now, is he back to 100%?
That is something that only time can answer. It is clear that Arizona goes from a very good team to an elite national title contender with Peat on the floor.
Arizona has earned a share of the Big 12 title and is one win away from clinching its first ever regular-season title in the Big 12. The Wildcats have games against No. 4 Iowa State and at Colorado on Saturday to close out the season.
Recommended for you
