Arizona loses to Oregon St., but no need to panic.
by uofafanatic on Jan 3, 2011 5:48 AM PST
in Arizona Wildcats Basketball
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PrintThe same questions that dogged the Arizona Wildcats football team in 2010, are following the basketball team into 2011. How good are they? Are the Wildcats able to beat the good teams, or just the teams that they're 'supposed' to beat? These questions will likely be repeated over and over in the next month or so, but I for one am not too concerned.
Clearly the Wildcats didn't play to their potential last night. However, that is less a function of a 'good, but not great' team than it is a function of a very young team. This very talented group of players will get better as the season moves forward, but there will be hiccups along the way. Don't focus on the loss here, focus on the positives. Most notably, Momo Jones. He had a great night against the Oregon Beavers, and if he had received more help from the rest of the team, it would have likely been a comfortable Arizona win.
I'm not going to bash on the gameplan, or on any particular player here. I just want to point out the leap forward Momo made last night. He curbed the selfishness, and played Arizona Wildcat basketball, not the selfish street ball that leads to more turnovers than buckets. If Momo can maintain this level of play moving forward, the 'Cats will surely make it to the NCAA tournament and you will be able to look to the Oregon St. game as the turning point.
As the fervor of the usual 'just win, baby' mind set seems to be kicking in across Wildcat nation, keep in mind that this is only year two of the Sean Miller era. Just the second year of a major rebuilding project. Coach Miller has done an amazing job so far, and all signs point to increased success in the very near future.
So cheer up, Wildcat fans! The ending may have sucked, but the game as a whole serves as an indicator of good things to come.
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the game was lost at the charity stripe
granted MoMo’s choice of shot at that moment wasn’t the best option but in his defense, he had been one of the few offensive catalysts during the game. I could also understand the timing since the Cats have been somewhat less than optimal with executing their offense at the end of first half of play and perhaps that could have figured into the decision as well. The real killer was the lack of focus at the free throw line, Arizona shoots its average, that’s a W leaving Corvallis instead of an L.
I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused....
The game was not lost at the charity stripe
That would be ignoring all the other issues like offensive rebounding, perimeter shooting, and of course turnovers. Momo was a big part of the last problem, too – 5 turnovers, 1 assist. 20 points overshadowed the issues he and our guards had as a whole. We need better play from all of them.
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