Not surprisingly for a 19-year-old whose talents are expected to make him a millionaire in about four months, Bennedict Mathurin carries a notable focus about him. Maybe even a seriousness.
So sometimes it falls to UA coach Tommy Lloyd to loosen him up just a bit. Like just before Arizonaโs ESPN-hyped game with Oregon on Saturday.
โI told Benn right after the national anthem, โBenn, smile. Smile today. Have fun. Enjoy this moment. Thereโs no pressure on you,โ โ Lloyd said. โI think heโs just kind of found the joy in the game again. Nothing great in life can be accomplished without enthusiasm and joy. So thatโs been my message to him.โ
The Wildcatsโ Canadian wing responded with 24 points, seven rebounds, five assists โ and no turnovers against the swipe-happy Ducks โ to lead the Wildcats to an 84-81 win. Combined with a 20-point, five-rebound effort two days earlier against OSU, Mathurin picked up his third Pac-12 Player of the Week award Monday.
Mathurin also might have reestablished himself as a frontrunner for the conferenceโs player of the year award. Averaging 17.5 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting 47.2% in conference games, Mathurin has been returning to his December dominance.
During six games in December, he averaged 22.7 points, winning the Pac-12 Player of the Week award on Dec. 6, after scoring 29 points in UAโs 90-65 win at OSU, and on Dec. 13, after scoring 30 in the Wildcatsโ 83-79 win at Illinois.
Mathurinโs shooting and scoring numbers dipped somewhat after a 27-point explosion against Washington on Jan. 3, with Mathurin shooting 2 of 16 at UCLA and combining for just 19 total points in home games the next week against UCLA and USC.
But Mathurin has scored 18 or more points in the Wildcatsโ last five games, averaging 21.4 points over that span. With the Wildcats locked in a tight game against Oregon on Saturday, Lloyd said he didnโt have to tell Mathurin to take over, that he just told Mathurin to โplay within the framework of the team.โ
At the same time, Mathurin started seeing ways to cut the Ducks apart.
โI feel like the defense started playing me a little bit differently, so I knew what to do,โ Mathurin said, adding that the UA coaches suggested some ways to score.
Not only did it work out pretty well for the Wildcats, but also Lloyd said there were some lessons that could help make Mathurin even more effective.
โThereโs also some great (video) clips ... of those penetration things where heโs getting a little bit deep and kind of pushed off the angle,โ Lloyd said. โBut Bennโs a really good player and when heโs locked in like he has been.
โHeโs special. Heโs a joy to coach and Iโm happy that heโs having this success that he is.โ
Among other candidates Mathurin beat out for the weekly Pac-12 honors included Coloradoโs Jabari Walker, who averaged 17.7 points and 11.0 rebounds over three road wins; and UCLAโs Jaylen Clark, who averaged 21.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals in the Bruinsโ home wins over WSU and Washington.
Gonzaga, Arizona Nos. 1-2
Arizona moved up one spot to No. 2 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll Monday, while Gonzaga became a unanimous No. 1 pick, meaning Lloydโs old program and new old one are 1-2 atop the college basketball world.
After then-second-ranked Auburn lost at Florida on Saturday, Lloyd was asked if that possibility might feel weird, cool or funny.
โProbably all those things,โ Lloyd said. โItโs weird, cool, awesome. Iโm proud of those guys. Theyโve got a great team. Theyโre family and I think theyโre happy for us. So weโve just got to take care of business as they got to take care of business and weโll see how long it plays out.โ
The Wildcats havenโt been ranked No. 2 since Nov. 20, 2017, the poll released before they lost three games in the Battle 4 Atlantis event. They havenโt been No. 1 since they held the top spot for eight weeks during the 2013-14 season, when they started 21-0 before losing 60-58 at Cal in a game when standout forward Brandon Ashley suffered a season-ending foot injury.
Meanwhile, UCLA (to No. 12) and USC (to No. 16) each moved up one spot after both teams swept the Washington schools at home.
Slight slippage at the line
After making just 11 of 19 free throws Saturday against Oregon, gaining only one more point from free throws than the Ducks despite shooting eight more times, the Wildcats are shooting 67.1% from the line in the month of February.
As a result, Arizonaโs season free-throw shooting has dipped from 73.3% to a 71.7% mark that is roughly in the middle of all Division I teams.
Asked after Saturdayโs game if that was a concern, Lloyd shook it off.
โYou guys drill this down way too simple for me,โ Lloyd said. โListen, thereโs a lot of concerns. I wouldnโt say free throws. I trust the guys making free throws and weโve just got to step up and make them. Our percentage overall is pretty good all year.โ
