What to look for when Arizona Wildcat’s men’s basketball visit byu

Arizona is back in the AP Top 25 and sits on top of the Big 12 position, no doubt its highest point of the season. Which would make right now a terrible time to stumble, but also so much Arizona.

Wildcats (15-6, 9-1) are ribbon to first place with Houston as the second half of the Big 12 season is underway and the last 10 match figure is significantly harder than the first. Seven of the UA’s remaining competitions are against teams within three matches of that in the position, starting with Tuesday’s visit to Byu.

Cougars (15-6, 6-4) have won four in a row and have only one loss at home, of five for the same Texas tech team that handed over Arizona its only big 12 setback. Wildcats have a tuft game with the 13th ranked Red Raiders on Saturday, but the focus can’t change to it.

Here’s what to look for when Arizona makes her first trip to Byu since 1998:

A 3-point barrier

BYU Average more than 28 3-point attempts per Battle and leads Big 12 in outside shooting at 38.2 percent. Four players shoot over 40 percent led by junior Richie SaundersThere are 49.2 percent shooting from 3 and 52.8 percent overall.

First -year coach Kevin YoungThere was an assistant at Phoenix Suns last season, brought with him an NBA mindset for his offense that makes a lot of choices and rolls with 6-foot-9 beginner Point Guard Egor Demin Running the floor. Byu has hit at least 10 3s in 13 of 21 games and drained 15 on four apartments including 15 of 24 against Cincinnati two weeks ago.

Arizona allows 31.4 percent from 3 in the BIG 12 game, but has shown that it can be rotated for oblivion and loses a guy or two on PNRs. The key will be to press demin that turns it over more than 25.5 percent of the time in league matches before he can get the offense created.

Byu will also try to get Arizona to shoot a lot from 3, part of its defensive plan but the goal will be to get similar Trey Townsend and Kj Lewis to take these shots instead of Caleb Love, Anthony Dell’orso and Carter Bryant.

A hostile environment

Arizona is 4-1 on the road in the BIG 12 game, but apart from Texas Tech, crowds have been pretty tame. West Virginia is ranked by Kenpom like having the best home advantage in the country, but snow -covered weather muted the crow Even to the arena called McKale North.

Byus Marriott Center is a step up in the atmosphere. At nearly 19,000, it has the 10th largest capacity in division in and is the fifth largest on the campus arena, and Cougars are on average close to 17,000.

There is a large (5,000) student section just behind the Arizona curve shoots in the second half, and apparently Provo has become a destination for random celebrities. MMA Star Connor McGregor Was at Cougars’ overtime gain over Baylor last week.

Come to the line

Arizona was 21 of 22 on free throw in Saturday’s 81-72 victory at ASU, including 13 of 14 in the second half against the “Distraction’s Curtain.” For the season, Wildcats shoot 76.4 percent on bad shots, 78.5 percent in the Big 12 matches.

Byu shoots 68.4 percent in league games, with only two regulars over 70 percent, and Cougars do not come to the line almost as much as Arizona, but tends to pour more often as they have a 9-man rotation and are not Concerned with bad trouble.

As Cougars get less than 45 percent of their score from the 2-point shot, Arizona’s most important bad trouble will be whistled on closeouts or reach in instead of beating the paint.