It’ll be a battle for the ages this evening in the Valley of the Sun, as Arizona welcomes fifth-ranked Texas A&M this evening.
The two meet at 7 p.m. tonight in the opening act of tonight’s four-team Valley of the Sun Shootout, held at Talking Stick Resort Arena (home of the Phoenix Suns). The other teams playing are Grand Canyon University and St. John’s, who play in the 9 p.m. nightcap.
It should be a fun evening of fast-paced basketball, with the Wildcats entering on a bit of a high note after three-straight crushing defeats in last month’s Battle 4 The Bahamas tournament.
The Wildcats knocked off UNLV in the Sin City on Saturday, 91-88 in overtime, thanks to a monstrous effort by freshman center Deandre Ayton—who scored a team-high 28 points and 10 rebounds in the win.
Tonight’s matchup against the Aggies should be a track meet, with both teams averaging more than 80 points per game.
The Cats will be pressed to slow down the Aggies, who enter tonight’s clash with an unblemished 7-0 record, having beaten each of their last five opponents (Oklahoma State, Penn State, Pepperdine, USC and Texas-Rio Grande Valley) by an average of 15.6 points per game.
How to bet: The morning line from the boys in Vegas has Arizona as a one-point favorite, with the over/under at 146.5. Arizona is 2-5-1 this year against the spread
How to watch: ESPN2 will broadcast tonight’s game at 7 p.m. MST
Records: Arizona (5-3), Texas A&M (7-0)
This article appears in Nov 30 – Dec 6, 2017.
I was there and nothing you predicted was accurate. Ristic and PJC hurt us in so many ways. The new freshmen won the game. Sorry I send hoarse from yelling at the coach.
You’re wrong about that UNLV game, too–it was Trier who had the team-high scoring output with 29.
A&M had the 4th best D in the country coming in, so no surprise that they curbed Arizona’s offensive production. They were double-teaming Ayton all night, and Trier and Ayton combined for only 20 points. And the Cats had exactly two fast break points all night–NOT a track meet.
The Cats won that game because they finally played fairly consistent defense for the first time all year, and because other players besides Trier and Ayton stepped up. The Cats also double-teamed A&M’s excellent big man (Williams) and really shut him down.
Say what you want about PJC, but he had the huevos to very coolly hit the shot of the game that gave Arizona the winning advantage at the the end.
You’re wrong about that UNLV game, too–it was Trier who had the game-high scoring output for the Cats with 29.
A&M came in with the 4th best D in the country, so no surprise that they curbed Arizona’s offensive enthusiasm. They double-teamed Ayton all night, quite effectively. Trier and Ayton combined for only 20 points, and Arizona had exactly two fast break points all night–NOT a track meet.
The Cats won that game because they finally played a decent defensive game for the first time all year, and because other players besides Trier and Ayton stepped up.
Say what you will about PJC, but he had the huevos to hit the huge shot at the end that provided the winning advantage. I’ll take it.
PJC is the wrong person to inbound the ball. He is to short to get the visibility needed, then he inbounds it to some non dribblers (which he is good at), and they shoot free throws which he is better at. Even Walton commented “why is the shortest guy on the floor, inbounding the ball when he can’t see, and then he has to burn timeouts?”
The point that won last night’s game was made by anybody that scored one. That’s all it took to win. You can’t randomly select who to give that honor to.
Great game none the less. We made Texas look like a non #7. Much like everybody did to us in the Bahamas. Going to be a wild year. Glad we have Ayton!