Bear Down Wildcats

Baylor is one of the best offensive rebounding teams in America

Puerco wrote:The only team I'm worried about before Wisky is Baylor and only because of the zone. IMO, the zone gives an inferior team a better chance to win if the superior team has an off night. We play any better than below average and we win that one going away.

inferior team playing zone beats superior team, what are the chances of that happening again? Coaching geniuses Wayne Tinkle and Herb Sendek say hello

im more looking forward to a Wisky rematch, in fact Im salivating at the thought of it because 1) our defense is just as good as last year 2) Ashley is back and at his best and 3) we have Stan who is fearless when it comes to taking the big shots.

Here in the bowels of the Midwest, no one is giving Arizona a chance. The local talking heads have been going on and on about all of the Chicago talent and how the Big10 was brutal and Wisconsin tamed it with ease. As for a potential match-up with Arizona, Wisconsin won last year so they'll definitely win this year too. Probably by a lot more. Everyone has Wisconsin repeating as the West Final Four representative and they're talking about taking on Kentucky for payback for last year.

Yawn...

ASUHATER! wrote:Baylor is one of the best offensive rebounding teams in America

So is UCLA. Didn't work out too well for them either time.

ASUHATER! wrote:Baylor is one of the best offensive rebounding teams in America

All the more reason to hit the boards.

Baylor is the weakest of the 3 seeds and they're not a vintage Baylor team. They only go 6'8" at center. They're a good offensive rebounding team and they spread it out and shoot it but I think TJ's going to tear their zone apart (with all appropriate caveats "if we make it that far"). And, of course, Scott Drew.

They're really not a good offensive team, and they're certainly not a great defensive team. All they do is shoot threes and offensive board, which (defensive rebounding) just so happens to be our ultimate strength. If they get hot from three anything is possible but you could say that about any team.

As far as anyone making comparisons to UCLA and the zone they threw at us, they have more length and talent. Oh, and we still won both of those games.

Chicat wrote:Here in the bowels of the Midwest, no one is giving Arizona a chance. The local talking heads have been going on and on about all of the Chicago talent and how the Big10 was brutal and Wisconsin tamed it with ease. As for a potential match-up with Arizona, Wisconsin won last year so they'll definitely win this year too. Probably by a lot more. Everyone has Wisconsin repeating as the West Final Four representative and they're talking about taking on Kentucky for payback for last year.

Yawn...

ASUHATER! wrote:Baylor is one of the best offensive rebounding teams in America

So is UCLA. Didn't work out too well for them either time.

Out East, its a little less myopic. The generally consensus is that among the contenders, Arizona is the Dark Horse candidate if they can (ahem) shake off offensive struggles of the past and get hot. UNC is not really thinking about us, they are worried about getting out of their end of the bracket this weekend, and the rest (Duke NC state, G-twn, Villanova) are really happy that they don't have to worry about us till a potential FF.

Everyone is hoping for a Arizona Wisky rematch as, and I quote, "It will be a war".

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

rgdeuce wrote:Need York to show up for that Baylor game. And the way bash has been playing, I want him in the middle of that zone and have Zeus and Rondae on the low blocks.

If we rebound effectively, we can hammer Baylor. The only times we've had an issue with zone (first OSU, UCLA) it's been coupled with poor rebounding. Zone gives you a chance to get on the offensive glass. TJ and Stan are the big ones to knock it down to spread the D, imo. Better to have your regular guys bust the zone than rely on a zone buster.

Not saying you are wrong, but why rely on those two from outside? Down the stretch Bash has shown he is a guy who finally is being what he should be, a cold-blooded triple-threat weapon on offense. Start early with him. He knocks down a few mid-range shots where he is automatic. They collapse on him, we are going to have the guys you mentioned even more open, or two solid (well two if he catches the pass) finishers down low.

And I want to keep Bash on this hot streak. Ride the hot hand.

rgdeuce wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

rgdeuce wrote:Need York to show up for that Baylor game. And the way bash has been playing, I want him in the middle of that zone and have Zeus and Rondae on the low blocks.

If we rebound effectively, we can hammer Baylor. The only times we've had an issue with zone (first OSU, UCLA) it's been coupled with poor rebounding. Zone gives you a chance to get on the offensive glass. TJ and Stan are the big ones to knock it down to spread the D, imo. Better to have your regular guys bust the zone than rely on a zone buster.

Not saying you are wrong, but why rely on those two from outside? Down the stretch Bash has shown he is a guy who finally is being what he should be, a cold-blooded triple-threat weapon on offense. Start early with him. He knocks down a few mid-range shots where he is automatic. They collapse on him, we are going to have the guys you mentioned even more open, or two solid (well two if he catches the pass) finishers down low.

And I want to keep Bash on this hot streak. Ride the hot hand.

I don't think we should rely on them, I think they are the ones who determine whether we can spread the D. Ashley is basically automatic from 15-18, but TJ and SJ have ups and downs from three. If they get the stroke going, we are well situated to spread Baylor out.

If we have to rely on reserves like York to break it, we are in a worse place bc Baylor only plays zone.

I haven't been this excited/confident at the start of the tourney since '01.

We are playing at our peak, with confidence. Completely focused. Really no weakness at all. The offense is the best it has ever been under Miller and very unselfish. Bench play solid, depth if we need it. Incredible will to win. It has all come together with perfect timing...and we are a f*cking bulldozer.

Holy shit is it Thursday yet?!

ASUHATER! wrote:Baylor is one of the best offensive rebounding teams in America

They score 1 point fewer than us every hundred possessions, but they allow the other team to score 9 more than we do.
They're the 5th best offensive rebounding team in the nation, but the 75th best defensive rebounding team.
Arizona rebounds the ball on 56.6% of its chances (2nd best in the country after Quinnipiac), Baylor on 55.2%.
We score 4 more points per game from free throws than they do.

threenumberones wrote:I haven't been this excited/confident at the start of the tourney since '01.

We are playing at our peak, with confidence. Completely focused. Really no weakness at all. The offense is the best it has ever been under Miller and very unselfish. Bench play solid, depth if we need it. Incredible will to win. It has all come together with perfect timing...and we are a f*cking bulldozer.

Holy shit is it Thursday yet?!

For us being a #1 last year and a #2 this year, I feel much, much better about how we are playing this year. We had blips, but overall, our offensive production is night and day vs last year.

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

threenumberones wrote:I haven't been this excited/confident at the start of the tourney since '01.

We are playing at our peak, with confidence. Completely focused. Really no weakness at all. The offense is the best it has ever been under Miller and very unselfish. Bench play solid, depth if we need it. Incredible will to win. It has all come together with perfect timing...and we are a f*cking bulldozer.

Holy shit is it Thursday yet?!

For us being a #1 last year and a #2 this year, I feel much, much better about how we are playing this year. We had blips, but overall, our offensive production is night and day vs last year.

Last year I felt like we earned that #1 based on a really long streak at #1 and on who we beat with Bash. The losses later without him were forgiven and there weren't a ton of other teams that had the resume to slide into our slot.

This year I feel like we earned a #1 seed on the court, but that there are just a couple of other teams with resumes slightly better than ours. Any other year and we would have been a #1 going away. This team is peaking at the right moment as threenumberones mentioned. I will be absolutely shocked if we don't make the Final Four.

threenumberones wrote:I haven't been this excited/confident at the start of the tourney since '01.

We are playing at our peak, with confidence. Completely focused. Really no weakness at all. The offense is the best it has ever been under Miller and very unselfish. Bench play solid, depth if we need it. Incredible will to win. It has all come together with perfect timing...and we are a f*cking bulldozer.

Holy shit is it Thursday yet?!

I don't know, nobody could have told me that 2002-2003 team was not winning it all. I agree though, this is the best shot we have had for a while. And we have firsthand experience with Mr. Kaminsky.

Chicat wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

threenumberones wrote:I haven't been this excited/confident at the start of the tourney since '01.

We are playing at our peak, with confidence. Completely focused. Really no weakness at all. The offense is the best it has ever been under Miller and very unselfish. Bench play solid, depth if we need it. Incredible will to win. It has all come together with perfect timing...and we are a f*cking bulldozer.

Holy shit is it Thursday yet?!

For us being a #1 last year and a #2 this year, I feel much, much better about how we are playing this year. We had blips, but overall, our offensive production is night and day vs last year.

Last year I felt like we earned that #1 based on a really long streak at #1 and on who we beat with Bash. The losses later without him were forgiven and there weren't a ton of other teams that had the resume to slide into our slot.

This year I feel like we earned a #1 seed on the court, but that there are just a couple of other teams with resumes slightly better than ours. Any other year and we would have been a #1 going away. This team is peaking at the right moment as threenumberones mentioned. I will be absolutely shocked if we don't make the Final Four.

After Ashley got hurt, things were falling apart as we were trying to hold them together. This year, things are coming together.

dcZONAfan wrote:Baylor's zone doesn't scare anybody? It's our biggest weakness and they have it perfected. It's not like UCLA who threw together a zone and almost beat us with it. Fuck, I really didn't want that matchup. Thankfully their offense isn't very good and their biggest strength, offensive rebounding, should be negated by our rebounding

I think it was more of a problem in the beginning of the year. Arizona has pretty much been able to handle zones other than the first half against UCLA which was a different type of zone then usually seen (3-2) and UCLA had some big guys in front. Also TJ had a spectacularly bad first half.

“We were a No. 1 seed last year,”

“We were a bounce away from the Final Four."

"Right now we’re playing better than we were playing last year.”

Sean Miller

Daryl Zero wrote:

dcZONAfan wrote:Baylor's zone doesn't scare anybody? It's our biggest weakness and they have it perfected. It's not like UCLA who threw together a zone and almost beat us with it. Fuck, I really didn't want that matchup. Thankfully their offense isn't very good and their biggest strength, offensive rebounding, should be negated by our rebounding

I think it was more of a problem in the beginning of the year. Arizona has pretty much been able to handle zones other than the first half against UCLA which was a different type of zone then usually seen (3-2) and UCLA had some big guys in front. Also TJ had a spectacularly bad first half.

We saw a lot of zones this year. We played teams who exclusively ran a zone and teams that switched back and forth between styles. Nothing Baylor throws at them will be a surprise. Just have to make the plays that are available.

97cats wrote:“We were a No. 1 seed last year,”

“We were a bounce away from the Final Four."

"Right now we’re playing better than we were playing last year.”

Sean Miller

If Miller feels good, so do I. He's no sunshine pumper.

Plus, all those statements are dead on.

Chicat wrote:

Daryl Zero wrote:

dcZONAfan wrote:Baylor's zone doesn't scare anybody? It's our biggest weakness and they have it perfected. It's not like UCLA who threw together a zone and almost beat us with it. Fuck, I really didn't want that matchup. Thankfully their offense isn't very good and their biggest strength, offensive rebounding, should be negated by our rebounding

I think it was more of a problem in the beginning of the year. Arizona has pretty much been able to handle zones other than the first half against UCLA which was a different type of zone then usually seen (3-2) and UCLA had some big guys in front. Also TJ had a spectacularly bad first half.

We saw a lot of zones this year. We played teams who exclusively ran a zone and teams that switched back and forth between styles. Nothing Baylor throws at them will be a surprise. Just have to make the plays that are available.

Yea and with Sun-Wed to prep for it I'm very confident that Miller can get us ready. It's an odd zone they call a 1-1-3 that we really haven't seen before I don't think. Closer to a 1-3-1 than a 2-3, but definitely a hybrid. Instead of packing it in they extend, and that's what we want. I can see point-wing-elbow-baseline dunk on that stuff all day long with how we are passing these days. Seems susceptible to weakside cuts and we are pretty good at that.

threenumberones wrote:

Chicat wrote:

Daryl Zero wrote:

dcZONAfan wrote:Baylor's zone doesn't scare anybody? It's our biggest weakness and they have it perfected. It's not like UCLA who threw together a zone and almost beat us with it. Fuck, I really didn't want that matchup. Thankfully their offense isn't very good and their biggest strength, offensive rebounding, should be negated by our rebounding

I think it was more of a problem in the beginning of the year. Arizona has pretty much been able to handle zones other than the first half against UCLA which was a different type of zone then usually seen (3-2) and UCLA had some big guys in front. Also TJ had a spectacularly bad first half.

We saw a lot of zones this year. We played teams who exclusively ran a zone and teams that switched back and forth between styles. Nothing Baylor throws at them will be a surprise. Just have to make the plays that are available.

Yea and with Sun-Wed to prep for it I'm very confident that Miller can get us ready. It's an odd zone they call a 1-1-3 that we really haven't seen before I don't think. Closer to a 1-3-1 than a 2-3, but definitely a hybrid. Instead of packing it in they extend, and that's what we want. I can see point-wing-elbow-baseline dunk on that stuff all day long with how we are passing these days. Seems susceptible to weakside cuts and we are pretty good at that.

We definitely are. If you allow Rondae and Stanley to cut through the top of the key with room to maneuver, they'll pick you apart attacking the rim or dishing down low to Ashley and Zeus. We saw a good amount of that in the Oregon game.

also, Ashley operating at the free throw line extended against the zone has been a thing of beauty.

threenumberones wrote:

Chicat wrote:

Daryl Zero wrote: I think it was more of a problem in the beginning of the year. Arizona has pretty much been able to handle zones other than the first half against UCLA which was a different type of zone then usually seen (3-2) and UCLA had some big guys in front. Also TJ had a spectacularly bad first half.

We saw a lot of zones this year. We played teams who exclusively ran a zone and teams that switched back and forth between styles. Nothing Baylor throws at them will be a surprise. Just have to make the plays that are available.

Yea and with Sun-Wed to prep for it I'm very confident that Miller can get us ready. It's an odd zone they call a 1-1-3 that we really haven't seen before I don't think. Closer to a 1-3-1 than a 2-3, but definitely a hybrid. Instead of packing it in they extend, and that's what we want. I can see point-wing-elbow-baseline dunk on that stuff all day long with how we are passing these days. Seems susceptible to weakside cuts and we are pretty good at that.

Our high pick and roll zone action should work against Baylor trying to extend. Having TJ with RHJ or BA rolling to the elbow was our best look in the Pac tourney.

97cats wrote:also, Ashley operating at the free throw line extended against the zone has been a thing of beauty.

With the way he's been playing, if you run zone I would strongly suggest using a Box and 1 on Ashley and packing it in to make the rest of the team jump shooters and just hope and pray that York, Pitts, and TJ are having off shooting nights.

Its too bad that Ashley's ideal shot is about 1 step inside the 3 pt line. If he shot as well from 3, he would be hitting about 50+% or so.

97cats wrote:also, Ashley operating at the free throw line extended against the zone has been a thing of beauty.

Wait a god damn minute! I thought we only made baskets from the lane?

Chicat wrote:

97cats wrote:also, Ashley operating at the free throw line extended against the zone has been a thing of beauty.

With the way he's been playing, if you run zone I would strongly suggest using a Box and 1 on Ashley and packing it in to make the rest of the team jump shooters and just hope and pray that York, Pitts, and TJ are having off shooting nights.

The problem with any defense tilted to stop/slow Ashley is that he has such a diverse skillset, he can be moved around the floor and is dangerous from everywhere. It's hard to emphasize him because he can quite literally play anywhere and get his.

It's why we missed him so much last year. Having a guy with such a broad set of skills lets you have a fluidity with offense because he can blend with anything else you put out there. When he's on and aggressive, we are really difficult to scheme.

You need a guy like Rondae to stop Ashley right now. Unfortunately for America, there's only one Rondae.

Chicat wrote:Here in the bowels of the Midwest, no one is giving Arizona a chance. The local talking heads have been going on and on about all of the Chicago talent and how the Big10 was brutal and Wisconsin tamed it with ease. As for a potential match-up with Arizona, Wisconsin won last year so they'll definitely win this year too. Probably by a lot more. Everyone has Wisconsin repeating as the West Final Four representative and they're talking about taking on Kentucky for payback for last year.

Yawn...

Arizona will have the psychological advantage in the rematch. I didn't want Wisconsin at first because we don't have anyone who can check Kaminsky, but I'm liking our advantage in the other positions. AG ate them up, and if Arizona hits Free Throws, we win. Stanimal, Bash and RHJ will tear the Badgers apart offensively.

Chicat wrote:You need a guy like Rondae to stop Ashley right now. Unfortunately for America, there's only one Rondae.

You mean Gary Payton Jr.?

Gotta like our matchups defensively sans the Kaminsky matchup. Bash and Rondae on Dekker and Hayes, Rondae being able to move over and guard Dekker while Bash rests and Stan moves to Hayes. Both their guards are 6'3, TJ wont have any issues obviously and Stanley is going to have a huge size and strength advantage over the other guard. York and Pitts off the bench will be good too.

How do we spell Zeus? I think Dusan is a sitting duck against Kaminsky and can only get minutes when Kaminsky if resting. Move Bash to Kaminsky, Rondae to Dekker and Stanley to Hayes? We stay out of extreme foul trouble to multiple guys I think we have a very clear advantage.

I'm definitely feeling better after reading your takes in this thread. I am so bored by Baylor that I don't actually ever watch them so, while I knew they play zone, I didn't really know what type of zone it is. I am just so ready to get this thing started that the anticipation is killing me. So happy we are playing early Thursday. I would die if I had to wait until Friday night!

Let's BTFD and take care of business.

Wisconsin doesn't get called for fouls...like ever. It will be a miracle if we even get 10 free throw attempts. Unless we get Pac 12 refs

ASUHATER! wrote:Wisconsin doesn't get called for fouls...like ever. It will be a miracle if we even get 10 free throw attempts. Unless we get Pac 12 refs

Hopefully Hayes doesn't get to hook the defender every ****ing time down the floor like last year. That's my dominant memory of reffing last year; Hayes hooking like he was in Pretty Woman.

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

ASUHATER! wrote:Wisconsin doesn't get called for fouls...like ever. It will be a miracle if we even get 10 free throw attempts. Unless we get Pac 12 refs

Hopefully Hayes doesn't get to hook the defender every ****ing time down the floor like last year. That's my dominant memory of reffing last year; Hayes hooking like he was in Pretty Woman.

'

I totally forgot all about that, you are right.

ASUHATER! wrote:Wisconsin doesn't get called for fouls...like ever. It will be a miracle if we even get 10 free throw attempts. Unless we get Pac 12 refs

What does it matter? Don't you have us losing by 10 to Texas Southern?

rgdeuce wrote:Gotta like our matchups defensively sans the Kaminsky matchup. Bash and Rondae on Dekker and Hayes, Rondae being able to move over and guard Dekker while Bash rests and Stan moves to Hayes. Both their guards are 6'3, TJ wont have any issues obviously and Stanley is going to have a huge size and strength advantage over the other guard. York and Pitts off the bench will be good too.

How do we spell Zeus? I think Dusan is a sitting duck against Kaminsky and can only get minutes when Kaminsky if resting. Move Bash to Kaminsky, Rondae to Dekker and Stanley to Hayes? We stay out of extreme foul trouble to multiple guys I think we have a very clear advantage.

I'd play the same way as last year. Kaminsky was great, and they only scored 54 in regulation. I can't imagine they could do much more this year. We locked Dekker down. Defensively, we did the job last year. Kaminsky can and will get his, but if we can stop the rest of their team, we just need to play better offense than last year.

in the last 5 games Wisconsin was called for a total if 45 fouls. Twice they had 7 or less. looking at the box scores of a lot of their big 10 games, in many of them there was no more than 20 total fouls called between both teams

"Take pride in knowing that right now, the other team should be on edge"

Chicat wrote:

ASUHATER! wrote:Wisconsin doesn't get called for fouls...like ever. It will be a miracle if we even get 10 free throw attempts. Unless we get Pac 12 refs

What does it matter? Don't you have us losing by 10 to Texas Southern?

I'd love to see where I said that.

ASUHATER! wrote:

Chicat wrote:

ASUHATER! wrote:Wisconsin doesn't get called for fouls...like ever. It will be a miracle if we even get 10 free throw attempts. Unless we get Pac 12 refs

What does it matter? Don't you have us losing by 10 to Texas Southern?

I'd love to see where I said that.

To correct Chicat, I believe ASUHATER had us losing by 10 to Texas Southern in overtime.

dcZONAfan wrote:I'm definitely feeling better after reading your takes in this thread. I am so bored by Baylor that I don't actually ever watch them so, while I knew they play zone, I didn't really know what type of zone it is. I am just so ready to get this thing started that the anticipation is killing me. So happy we are playing early Thursday. I would die if I had to wait until Friday night!

Let's BTFD and take care of business.

It's a bad type.

I want to see Rondae on Russell. I want Baylor to try to offensive rebound against the best defensive rebounding team in the nation. I want people to keep worrying about us in a zone while we cut them up from 15 and in. I want to see Frank get humbled. I want everyone to stop sucking UKs massive hype shlong. This is probably the best AZ team ever, and if you don't believe, look at the numbers. I would accept defeat to a superior opponent, but the only one that qualifies is UKS, and even then I think we're on the same level. This could be the best tournament in years, and we have a great shot of winning everything. Bear down.

ASUHATER! wrote:in the last 5 games Wisconsin was called for a total if 45 fouls. Twice they had 7 or less. looking at the box scores of a lot of their big 10 games, in many of them there was no more than 20 total fouls called between both teams

Greg Hansen tweated that Wisky has the least amount of turnovers in Div I, along with having the opponents shoot the least number of free throws.

That is some disciplined ball playing on both sides. Unless of course they get the Duke treatment from the refs.

Well, it sure looked like they got the Duke treatment at the end of regulation in the big 10 tournament championship. Either that, or the refs got caught in the moment of that last Wisconsin possession and/or didn't want to make a call that could decide the game. There were at least four obvious missed calls in that short stretch.

As for the lack of turnovers, they are well-coached and play smart, deliberate basketball. Very patient and I have rarely seen them force the issue.

rgdeuce wrote:Well, it sure looked like they got the Duke treatment at the end of regulation in the big 10 tournament championship. Either that, or the refs got caught in the moment of that last Wisconsin possession and/or didn't want to make a call that could decide the game. There were at least four obvious missed calls in that short stretch.

As for the lack of turnovers, they are well-coached and play smart, deliberate basketball. Very patient and I have rarely seen them force the issue.

Sounds familiar

I'd like to see Arizona get a 5-7 point lead in the final minutes. (assuming we play Wisc) If it's up to the refs, we may be looking at a 1-2 point game. Hate to see them decide the outcome. We've seen the poor quality of whistle play at the end of games...and it ain't pretty.

ASUHATER! wrote:

Chicat wrote:

ASUHATER! wrote:Wisconsin doesn't get called for fouls...like ever. It will be a miracle if we even get 10 free throw attempts. Unless we get Pac 12 refs

What does it matter? Don't you have us losing by 10 to Texas Southern?

I'd love to see where I said that.

I was asking.

We got one of Kaminsky's best games of last year and he's been playing at that level pretty consistently this year. Tarc really struggled, but so did AG.

Doubling the post against Wisconsin is problematic because Kaminsky is such a good passer and their perimeter shooting is so good.

It will be a tough matchup for us - I like us better when we play teams that funnel their offense through one or two players because our perimeter D is so good.

We are playing at a high level and Wisconsin should feel similar to AZ - it is a shame one of these teams will miss the FF this year.

I feel good ( I knew that I would). Wisky is the 3rd or 4th lowest #1, we are the 1st or 2nd highest second. No reason we shouldn't beat all of the lower seeds, and no reason that we shouldn't beat Wisky, if our guys are on top of things (I think they will be). And I don't think Kaminsky gets off on us like last year. We are playing our best ball of the season, and Bash has really gotten back into form the last few games.

I feel good!