Arizona and UCLA have a history.
Two years ago, Arizona took UCLA to triple overtime before losing 98-93.
Last year, both teams were undefeated coming into their first meeting at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA dominated the third quarter en route to a 70-58 win.
The second time around at McKale Center, it was the Wildcats’ turn. The UA put together what might have been its best 40 minutes of the season to upend the Bruins 92-66.
On Friday, the teams will enter a new era. The 7 p.m. game between the seventh-ranked Wildcats and ninth-ranked Bruins will mark a rare early December conference game. Neither team will be in midseason form; they’ve played just one nonconference game apiece.
“I think we’re both trying to figure things out,” UA coach Adia Barnes said. “They have more starters returning. I think they have a little bit more of advantage or a little bit more cohesiveness. We have two new starters in the lineup. But I think it’s going to be a great game. We both are competitive, but we’re both adjusting early in the season. I’m curious to see how the basketball is going to look, but definitely the competition and, I think, the motivation for both teams is there.”
The game will mark an early test for a UA team that’s never been ranked this high before. Barnes said the Wildcats will play like they have a lot to prove, even though they’re the higher ranked team.
UCLA boasts two of the conference’s better players. Reigning Pac-12 player of the week Charisma Osborne scored 31 points in UCLA’s season-opening win over Cal State Fullerton. The Wildcats are familiar with Osborne. She sparked the Bruins’ big third quarter in the teams’ first meeting last season with a big offensive rebound, an assist and eight of her 10 points. In the second game, she scored 14 points.
Preseason AP All-American Michaela Onyenwere, meanwhile, put up double-doubles in both matchups against the UA last season. She scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds at Pauley Pavilion and put up 17 points and 12 rebounds in McKale Center.
The Bruins are always a tough out — especially with Onyenwere on the floor.
Of course, the same can be said of Arizona’s own preseason All-American, Aari McDonald.
Barnes thinks the key to winning comes down to performances from UA returners Cate Reese and Sam Thomas.
UCLA has only eight players available to play and has changed its system a little as a result, although Barnes doesn’t think there will be much difference from last year.
“I think the only difference is they’re running Michaela a little bit at the three, but they’re playing the same. Lauryn Miller is stepping outside a little. To me, (it) doesn’t look any different,” Barnes said. “I think that the thing that can be a challenge for them with eight players is their style of defense. They’re aggressive and they get up in the passing lanes. That’s probably hard to sustain with the small (numbers) or if someone gets a foul trouble. I think that’s a big disadvantage for them. I think that’s why you’ll see them play more zone. I’m anticipating probably, at least 40% zone. … I think that those things you can kind of conserve a little bit.”
Rim shots
- The lack of fans was noticeable in Sunday’s season-opening win over NAU, but it really hit home when Barnes reviewed film from last year’s games against UCLA.
“The crowd was amazing. It has such a difference,” she said. “I was like, ‘Oh, I miss that.’
“I felt like that was two years ago. It’s such a different vibe. It does not feel like a game in the game. There’s no one there. You don’t feed off the crowd. Here, we feed and we get energy off of our sixth man, which is our crowd. I think all the players are adjusting to all that — it’s very different. It’s more like high school. We didn’t have that here. I’m curious to see how we’re going to respond after our first game and got the jitters out. We’re definitely getting better this week. We’re working hard.”
The UA is still working on filling out its nonconference schedule, and UNLV is a possibility. Thomas’ two sisters, Bailey and Jade, play for the Runnin’ Rebels.
“It would mean a lot,” Sam Thomas said. “(My sisters) always mess with me for not going to UNLV — not being the third sister to complete it. But it would be fun to play them. Obviously, it stinks that there are no fans and my parents couldn’t go, but just playing against them … it would be fun, it would be competitive. … I’m sure the fans would love to see it as well.”
Guard Bendu Yeaney missed more time than anybody due to contact tracing during a rash of false positive COVID-19 tests. It seems as if Yeaney was always in the wrong place and the wrong time.
“It was hectic, really. I mean, I had to just be flexible, because I know our doctors and trainers are trying to make sure everybody’s healthy,” Yeaney said. “I was just trying to stay patient. I wanted to practice with my team. But I’d rather have us all be safe than sorry at the end of the day. It was difficult, but now I’m good.”
What was Barnes’ message to Yeaney during this time?
“She was like, ‘Stay home,’” Yeaney said. “The thing is I was always home. It’s just that I would go hang out with one of my teammates and they would end up testing a false positive — I would be the one having to sit down again. We’re not having those scares anymore — so we’re good.”
