Ah how refreshing it is to see Arizona looking how Arizona should look. U of A will advance to the second round after a 84-71 victory over the Utah Utes. The Wildcats came out to a great start with a full court press and the Utes just couldn't manage to get anything started, only scoring 4 points in the first 7:37 of the game.
One of Joe's biggest keys to the game was for Jordan Hill to beat Luke Nevill and fortunately he didn't really have to. Nevill got in foul trouble early after a quick 2 fouls and he was unable to play any defense thereafter. Ironically he never fouled out in the game, but the constant foul trouble limited the 7'2" center to only 27 minutes and a lack of any defensive presence inside. As a consequence, the Wildcats dominated the paint the entire game and Chase Budinger drove to the basket many times to build up a 20 point performance.
Joe's other key was that the Cats needed to have a 4th man step up and they got that today from Kyle Fogg. The freshman shot 60% from the field to add 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and a block. If Arizona plays like this in the second round they could be a very dangerous team for their next opponent. That team will be the winner of the Wake Forest/ Cleveland State matchup that just started.