Washington Huskies (22-10, KenPom #15) vs. Arizona Wildcats (27-6, KenPom #26)
Pac-10 Tournament Championship Game
Staples Center, Los Angeles, Calif.
Saturday, 3 p.m. PST
TV: CBS
Radio: 950
Well, we’re in now. No more of this “And you gotta think, if they can win today, they’ll definitely be in.” We’re in. Regardless of Saturday’s outcome, the Washington Huskies will play in the NCAA tournament for the sixth time in eight years.
Saturday’s contest still stands between now and then, however. The Dawgs will face Arizona in hopes of defending their conference title after Friday’s complete victory over the Ducks of Oregon.
Arizona is tough. The Huskies split this season’s series with the Wildcats, each team winning on their home floor. Washington laid a resounding smack on the Cats at Hec Ed in January, leading nearly the entire game en route to an 85-68 victory. Arizona needed a last-second block to win 87-86 in Tuscon on Feb. 19.
It’s easily inferred by that last paragraph that Washington has a distinct advantage on a neutral floor. Momentum, however, bears noting. Throw out a really (really, really) bad weekend in LA, and the Wildcats are 12-0 since losing at Washington. The Huskies, by contrast, stumble in, winners of only seven of their last 13.
Arizona forward Derrick Williams is easily the Pac-10's best player. It's not just the gaudy numbers (19 points, 8 rebounds, 34/53 3ptFG) but the consistency with which he puts them up. Yesterday was the 15th time Williams has gone for 20 points; the only time he was kept out of double figures (Feb. 24 @USC), he collected 11 rebounds.
Williams’ unbelievable season-long three-point shooting performance paces the Wildcats’ prowess from three, which is the stat that jumps out most readily at an observer. EVERYONE WHO PLAYS CAN SHOOT IT. Even more striking is that the arc dominance occurs on both sides of the ball. They are the nation’s 10th-most accurate three-point shooting team at 40.1 percent AND their three-point percentage against is only 28.5 percent, the best defensive mark in the country.
Experience is ostensibly Washington’s biggest advantage in postseason play. Arizona’s lone senior, forward Jamelle Horne, is a great athlete and capable defender but is prone to mental lapses and as a result has seen his minutes diminish this season. Williams is a sophomore, as is point guard MoMo Jones. Forward Jesse Perry is a transfer in his first season playing D-I basketball. Shooter Kyle Fogg is a junior and starters Solomon Hill and Kevin Parrom are sophomores. The remainder of the minutes—hopefully you’re getting a sense of Arizona’s great depth by this point—go to freshman Jordin Mayes, junior Brendon Lavender and 6’11 sophomore Kyryl Natyazhko.
Only Fogg, Horne and Lavender remain from the Wildcats’ 2009 Sweet Sixteen run; those players are the only ones with NCAA tournament experience. It remains to be seen how second-year coach Sean Miller handles the Cats’ youth as they face the battle-scarred Dawgs.
Most assumed that Washington would follow their dramatic WSU victory by facing UCLA on Friday, a notion precluded by Oregon’s absolute stomping of the Bruins on Thursday. The Huskies were able to avoid a letdown game, however, as they took care of business against an Oregon team that does not have quite the talent or record that UCLA carries.
That speaks volumes to me about this team’s focus. They found balance amid the swirling emotions of the weeks past. Secondary scorers picked up after Isaiah Thomas and Matthew Bryan-Amaning’s poor shooting performances. Darnell Gant had 10 rebounds. The Dawgs are rolling, and they want to hoist the trophy for a second straight year.
UW knows how to beat Arizona. Huskies, 79-70.
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