Despite a second place finish in the Pac 12 and a semi-final
exit in the conference tournament the Wildcats somehow still wound up ranked in
the AP top 25 and perhaps even more surprisingly found themselves with a 6 seed
in the NCAA tournament.
Yet over the first two tournament games Arizona looked as
good as they have all season posting two wins by a combined 40 while in the
process keeping their last 5 opponents to less than 70 points.
In fact their present level of defensive play has been at a rate
Arizona have strived for all season and something Coach Sean Miller has tried
to inject into the program since taking over five seasons ago.
Ironically it’s a fundamental he was indoctrinated into by
his opposing coach in tomorrow’s Sweet 16 match up against Ohio State, having worked
as Thad Matta’s assistant for five years when he was at the helm at Xavier.
Arizona will start underdogs against Ohio State, themselves
one of the hottest teams in college basketball at the moment, however the match
up in Los Angeles could work as a de facto home match for the Wildcats owing to
its relatively close proximity to Tucson.
Meanwhile Ohio State doesn’t necessarily boast the kind of
offense which is likely to give Arizona too much concern.
Arizona this season has a 23-1 record when they’ve kept opponents
to 69 or less and which is a mark the Buckeyes have failed to break in 20 of
their 36 total matches. In simple terms, if the Wildcats can keep Ohio State
out of its rhythm, this game could well work in their favour.
Should Arizona defeat Ohio State, an easier match against
either Wichita State or La Salle awaits for a battle to qualify for the Final
4.
With Centrebet offering odds of $26 about the Wildcats
winning the whole shebang (as opposed to Sportsbet’s $13), Arizona might make
for a wise investment and certainly qualifies as the best value still floating
around.
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