The Utes play the third of four games away from home against the Arizona Wildcats tonight in the McKale Center following a West Coast swing where they played Stanford and Cal.
Utah will look to build off strong performances in both of those games, especially against Cal when the Utes upset the then-No. 21 Golden Bears, 84-79.
Arizona currently sits near the bottom of the Pac-12 standings following a 1-2 start to conference play. After a fruitless road trip to the Pacific Northwest in which the Wildcats went 0-2 against Washington State and Washington, Arizona is glad to be back in the McKale Center, where the team has gone 7-1 on the season.
Coming off a week of rest and desperate for a win after dropping two straight games, the Wildcats will test Utah offensively. Arizona comes in statistically as one of the better defensive teams in the conference holding opponents to just 37 percent shooting on the season.
The Wildcats pride themselves on their defense and gritty style of play. According to wbbstate.com, Arizona plays the slowest pace in the Pac-12 and has the fifth best scoring defense, holding teams to just 0.80 points per possession.
In order to succeed against the Wildcats, the Utes will need to create scoring opportunities in transition. Arizona leads the conference in turnovers at nearly 17 per game. Attacking the Wildcats’ poor ball control and scoring in transition will allow the Utes to avoid facing Arizona where it shines — in a set, half-court defense.
“They’re doing well. They play really, really, really hard. A lot of pick and rolls [and] they’ve got a deep bench,” said Utah head coach Lynne Roberts in an interview with ESPN 700 of the Wildcats’ play this season.
Following a week of rest and a quick home stint, the Utes will look to build on the progress they’ve made in the first four games of conference play. While Utah may not pop off of the page when viewing many traditional statistics, it is currently the third best true shooting percentage team in the conference according to wbbstate.com.
True shooting percentage weighs field goals, three-pointers and free throws and boils them all down into one statistic to accurately reflect how efficiently a team scores the ball. Utah ranks just behind Oregon and Oregon State with a true shooting percentage of 54.2 percent.
Watch as the Utes look to earn their fourth conference win against the Wildcats this Friday at 7 p.m. MST.
@westinjay