Gamethread: Arizona faces Bryant Bulldogs

Maybe the fact that I haven't finished my Christmas shopping has got me a little sidetracked in thought. I don't know what to say about the Arizona Wildcats' game against the Bryant Bulldogs other than it's -- duh -- a must-win.

I do know that Arizona lost to Seattle Pacific in the preseason, so you never know what can happen. Quickly, let's recap what's happened since then:

Arizona has so-so victories against a very young though athletic St. John's squad and a lower-tier ACC squad in Clemson. The Wildcats also nearly stunned the Florida Gators on their own court, so there's been obvious improvement.

Then again, there's not one signature win for the Wildcats as of yet. They lost to tournament-bound Mississippi State in New York and got clobbered -- for the most part -- against another tournament team in Gonzaga. Their first lost in McKale in more than a year came against a revamped San Diego State team.

Is their last victory, against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, the best win of the season? Perhaps. As young as this team is, Arizona must put away Bryant and have momentum going into the Arizona State contest. The Wildcats need every easy Pac-12 victory they can get to not only work on their NCAA tournament seeding, but to reach the tournament period.

Here's a scouting report on the Bryant Bulldogs from the Arizona Daily Star.