Washington State-Arizona: Game Preview

After a brief stint at home, Washington State takes their hoops show on the road once again this week. They travel to the Grand Canyon state to take on Arizona and Arizona State.

First up will be the Wildcats in Tucson this Thursday evening.

Fans of both Arizona and Pac-10 basketball were taken by surprise when head Coach Lute Olson opted to take a leave of absence this season. His likely successor, Coach Kevin O’Neill, has not only been handed the reins of Wildcat basketball, he’s managed to tweak their style of play.

Under Coach Lute Olson, Arizona has dominated opponents by running them off the court with scoring and depth. That used to be a winning formula in the Pac-10, but UCLA Coach Ben Howland and WSU Coaches Dick and Tony Bennett brought about a new way to win. Defense. The winning formula in the Pac-10 now is tenacious, smothering defense designed to wear down the opponent, then rotate in players that can put up some quick points off the bench.

Sounds simple, but execution is another thing. If your offensive specialists sputter, that formula isn’t likely to produce anything more than boredom for fans.

VS

Site: McKale Center Tucson, AZ

Tipoff: 5:30pm

Television: Fox Sports Net

Online: Gametracker

As much as Coach O’Neill loves hard nosed defense, his Wildcats are still lighting up the scoreboard this season. They are led by freshman Jerryd Bayless (a McDonald’s All American last year and rated as the No. 3 guard prospect coming out of high school up the road in Phoenix) who is pouring in a little over 19 points a game.

The kid can play. Period.

He’s knocking down 42 percent of his three-point attempts. Sophomore Chase Budinger is having another outstanding season, once again scoring at a 17 point-per-game clip. The Wildcats other consistent scorer is sophomore Jordan Hill with around 14 points.

Where Arizona has faltered this season is lack of depth off the bench. The team is 12-6 overall, but a surprising 2-3 in conference play. Though their defense has improved over last season, they still are giving up 66 points a game.

Obviously changing the team’s personality is a work in progress.

Don’t spend much time feeling sorry for Arizona. They have all the talent to win with their starting five. They are a young team. As the season has progressed, the bench players are improving. Taking on the Wildcats in their house is always a tremendous challenge.

Make no mistake about it, they are a good basketball team that plays great in their house.

It’s a short week for the Cougs. They took Monday off after defeating Oregon on Sunday. Hopefully a trip to relatively warmer climate will suit them. There is a report that Kyle Weaver is still suffering from flu-like symptoms. He’s a gamer though and will be ready to go by tipoff time.

This game promises to go right down to the wire, something Cougar fans and the team are accustomed to.

Prediction: WSU 71 - Arizona 66

GO COUGS!!!