If they keep building on their 5-0 start, the Arizona Wildcats wonβt be able to stay under the radar much longer.
Already Monday, signs of outside respect were emerging: Arizona guard Jemarl Baker was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week after his 33-point effort against NAU on Dec. 7, while the Wildcats picked up their first votes of the season in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
Arizona received the 37th most points in AP voting, fourth among teams in the Pac-12.
There are no longer any Pac-12 teams in the Top 25, after then-No. 23 ASU lost to San Diego State and barely beat Grand Canyon, but Oregon (31st most points), ASU (34) and UCLA (35) also received votes.
So the Wildcats may not always be the βunderdogsβ that Arizona guard Dalen Terry spoke of on Dec. 5, after they beat Eastern Washington at home, 70-67, when teammate Terrell Brown also indicated some edginess.
βWe want to prove a lot of people wrong,β Brown said then. βWe donβt want to lose any games. We have a chip on our shoulder to show everybody.β
In media voting for the Pac-12 awards, Baker beat out Oregonβs NβFaly Dante, who had a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds in the Ducksβ win at Washington and 22 points on 10-for-10 shooting at home against Florida A&M.
But Baker hit the first seven 3-pointers he took against NAU and wound up scoring the most points of any UA player under Sean Miller, with 33 against the Lumberjacks.
In three games overall on the week, Baker averaged 19.7 points on 64.7% shooting while making 10 of 20 3s. He also averaged 2.0 assists, 2.0 turnovers and 1.0 steals.
Mathurin earns praise
Arizona nominated wing Bennedict Mathurin for the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week award, but it was given instead to USCβs Evan Mobley, who had 22 points and 11 rebounds in the Trojansβ home win over UC Irvine.
Mathurin averaged 13.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and shot 57.1% in UAβs three home wins, earning praise from teammate James Akinjo after the Wildcats beat UTEP on Saturday at McKale Center.
Arizona freshman Bennedict Mathurin had an impressive week, averaging 13.0 points.
βBennedict is my guy,β Akinjo said. βI think his confidence is growing, and as we play every game we get more confident in him. Running the lane the way he does and him finishing the way he does really helps me, and he can step out and make 3s, so he helped me space the floor.β
Center Christian Koloko and Miller also have recently complimented Mathurin, although Miller took him out against with 10:40 left against UTEP, shortly after his fourth turnover, and did not return him to the game.
βBenn is really rebounding the ball and was for 5 for 7 from the floor,β Miller said Saturday. βWe didnβt play him a lot the second half because his turnovers were really tough turnovers. They were passes to the team in orange, catch-it-go-the-length-of-the-floor and score, and those turnovers against zone defenses, they almost donβt allow you to win.
βSo one of the things he has to improve on is his dribbling, his passing, decision making, as he sees different types of defenses. Heβll improve that.β
Cardinal stays nomadic
Because a Santa Clara County health order is prohibiting games or practices through at least Dec. 21, Saturdayβs Arizona-Stanford game was expected to move to Santa Cruz, California, last week.
The relocation to at Kaiser Permanente Arena, home of the Warriorsβ G League team, was made official Monday. The game is scheduled to tip at 6 p.m. Saturday and be shown on Pac-12 Networks.
Since leaving last month to play in the relocated Maui Invitational at Asheville, North Carolina, Stanford hasnβt been able to return home. It also played North Carolina A&T, then worked out at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, before flying to Southern California to face USC in a scheduled game Sunday..
When the Trojans backed out of that game because of COVID-19 issues, the Cardinal practiced at Cal State Northridge on Sunday and then arranged a last-minute game against the Matadors that is scheduled for Tuesday at 2 p.m. That game will be streamed on ESPN3.
Wildcatsβ SOS could rise
If the Wildcats and Cardinal manage to get in Saturday nightβs contest, it could begin an upward rise in Arizonaβs strength of schedule.
Arizonaβs schedule strength so far is ranked just No. 283 by Kenpom and 290 by Sagarin out of 357 Division I teams.
Since UA and Gonzaga mutually agreed to postpone a Dec. 5 game at Spokane β which would have been canceled anyway after the Bulldogs ran into COVID issues that day β the Wildcats have no currently ranked teams on their schedule.
But the Wildcatsβ Dec. 2 game against Colorado was postponed until Dec. 28 and the Cardinal is ranked No. 31 in Kenpom.
