Arizona’s lack of offense shows against Oregon
The Wildcats remain one of the nation’s toughest defenses, but will their limited offense hurt them in the tournament format of March Madness?
Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports
Arizona's loss to Oregon on Saturday didn't display the Wildcats' true acumen on either side of the floor. They simply ran into a team that hit 10-of-19 from three behind a 4-for-5 effort from sharpshooter Jason Calliste, who has hit 14 of his last 21 attempts from behind the arc. What the game did reveal, however, is how vulnerable Arizona is in a tournament format that could see a team go off the way the Ducks did.
College basketball stat-cruncher Ken Pomeroy rates Arizona’s defense as the best in the country, just ahead of Ohio State. Sean Miller’s squad takes pride in grinding out opponents in the second half, wearing on the other team’s primary scorers. But what Calliste and the rest of the Ducks did is hard to counter for a team that relies on that grind on both offense and defense.
When star forward Brandon Ashley went down for the season with a broken foot, the Wildcats appeared to go through an adjustment period on offense. Miller toyed with starting explosive sixth man Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and sharpshooter Gabe York. With RHJ in as the starter and playing 45 minutes, Arizona lost a heartbreaker to Arizona State on Valentine's Day. In that 50-minute contest, York played 14 minutes and the Wildcats scored just 66 points.
With that unacceptable result in the books, Miller began riding York. With the sophomore as part of a three-guard lineup, the floor opened up for versatile big Aaron Gordon and seven-footer Kaleb Tarczewski. From then on, the Wildcats' scoring totals increased and the team got new life as a national title contender.
That brings us to Saturday’s game against Oregon. The Ducks, despite their hot shooting, scored just 64 points. But it was the 57 scored by Arizona that was unsettling. York missed all three of his shot attempts, including a pair from downtown. Leading scorer Nick Johnson was just 4-for-12 from the field, totaling just 11 points. Gordon had 21 points and eight rebounds, but shot well below his season average of 49 percent.
The NCAA champion is the team that can win six games in a row against a mix of styles and personnel that are as diverse as any sport in the country. Arizona, with its great defense, has as good of a start as any team in the field. But waiting in the wings are teams like Duke and Oregon. Teams that can shoot the lights out on a given night can keep even the best defenses on their heels. The Wildcats will need to be able to counter if they can’t stifle.
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