LAS VEGAS β The Star's Bruce Pascoe breaks down the starting lineups, storylines and stats as the top-seeded Arizona Wildcats face Colorado in the semifinal round of the Pac-12 Tournament.Β
What: No. 4 seed Colorado (21-10) vs No. 1 seed Arizona (29-3); Pac-12 Tournament semifinal
Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
When: 7 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Radio: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM
Social media:Β @TheWildcasterΒ on Twitter /Β TheWildcasterΒ on Facebook
PROBABLE STARTERS
ARIZONA
G Justin Kier (6-4 senior)
G Dalen Terry (6-6 sophomore)
F Bennedict Mathurin (6-6 sophomore)
F Azuolas Tubelis (6-11 sophomore)
C Christian Koloko (7-0 junior)
COLORADO
G Julian Hammond (6-3 freshman)
G Nique Clifford (6-6 sophomore)
F Tristan da Silva (6-9 sophomore)
F Jabari Walker (6-9 sophomore)
C Evan Battey (6-8 senior)
HOW THEY MATCH UP
Colorado forward Jabari Walker celebrates after drawing a foul on Arizona center Christian Koloko, front, as Colorado guard KJ Simpson and forward Tristan da Silva, right, help him up.
How they got here: Arizona went 18-2 to win the Pac-12 regular-season title by three games and earn the Pac-12 Tournamentβs No. 1 seed plus a first-round bye, then beat Stanford 84-80 in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Colorado went 12-8 in league play to finish in fourth place and receive the Pac-12 Tournamentβs final first-round bye, then beat Oregon 80-69 in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
The season series: Arizona and Colorado split a pair of games, each winning on its home court. The Wildcats beat the Buffaloes 76-55 on Jan. 13 at McKale Center while shooting 50.9% from the field and having four players scoring 12 or more points. Azuolas Tubelis led Arizona with 14 points and eight rebounds. Former Wildcat signee K.J. Simpson had 17 points to lead the Buffs but Colorado shot just 32.8% overall.
But Colorado flipped things around on Feb. 26 in Boulder, handing UA its worst loss of the season, 79-63. The Wildcats shot just 39.2% and committed 16 turnovers that led to 21 Colorado points. Christian Koloko had just four points, five rebounds and three turnovers over 22 minutes while struggling with foul trouble.
Pac-12 Tournament history: Arizona is 5-1 against Colorado in Pac-12 Tournament play and is 5-0 in conference tournament games in Las Vegas. The Buffs' only win over the Wildcats was a 53-51 victory in the championship game of the 2012 Pac-12 Tournament in Los Angeles.
Series history: Arizona leads Colorado 22-16 overall and has won six of the past nine games in the series.
Arizona guard Bennedict Mathurin, left, goes up for a basket as Colorado forward Tristan da Silva defends in the first half of Saturday's game.
Whatβs new with the Buffaloes: Colorado might be arguably the hottest team in the Pac-12, having won eight of its past nine games, including the win over Arizona on Feb. 26. The only loss over that span was a surprising 82-65 loss to ASU just two days before the Buffs beat Arizona.
After committing 14 turnovers in its loss to ASU, Colorado has not had more than nine in the three games since then. Colorado shot only 40.5% against Oregon on Thursday but outrebounded the Ducks 55-42 and committed just eight turnovers.
KEY PLAYERS
COLORADO: Jabari Walker
Arizona Wildcats guard Dalen Terry (4) can't swipe the rebound out of the hands of Colorado Buffaloes forward Jabari Walker (12) in the second half of their Pac 12 basketball game at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., January 13, 2022.
The Buffaloesβ first-team all conference pick has become a double-double machine, with eight in his last 10 games. The big, athletic sophomore had 15 points and 14 rebounds on Feb. 26 against Arizona and is coming off a 18-point, 16-rebound performance against Oregon on Thursday.
ARIZONA: Justin Kier
Arizona Wildcats guard Justin Kier (5) comes off the floor to the cheers from the crowd in the final moments against the California Golden Bears at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., March 5, 2022.
The veteran guardβs start against Cal last Saturday was ceremonial for Senior Day but much more is likely on the line Friday, if sophomore guard Kerr Kriisa is unable to play with a sprained right ankle. Kier had four points with two assists to one turnover against Stanford on Thursday but averaged 11 points over his final three games entering the Pac-12 Tournament.
SIDELINES
The seed game
Arizonaβs 84-80 win over Stanford may have all but ensured the Wildcats will go into Selection Sunday as a No. 1 seed and, as a bonus for UA coach Tommy Lloyd, they'll avoid playing in the same region as likely No. 1 overall pick Gonzaga.
But Lloyd wasnβt about to go there after Thursdayβs game.
Arizonaβs Christian Koloko (35) and Arizonaβs Dalen Terry (4) guard Stanfordβs Spencer Jones (14) during the second half of Thursdayβs game. Jones scored a career-high 28 points.
"I think the media narrative is the (No. 1) seed is secure and the coaching narrative is I really don't care,β Lloyd said. βI mean, I think weβll get a decent seed and the NCAAs thing on it is it's probably not secure. There's just a lot of speculation out there."
But "I'm a competitor and I want to just win the next game. I love these tournaments.β
Lloyd said it is also different this week after spending 22 years at Gonzaga, which competes in a West Coast Conference tournament that typically finishes even before the Pac-12 Tournament begins.
βI have had to recalibrate because I'm used to being at Gonzaga, being at home today, watching this game on TV team, the team resting, coaches kind of tinkering with what's coming next or βwhat do we need to work on,β β Lloyd said. βYou almost get like a four or five day training camp with your team to kind of clean things up. So this is different and I'm going to learn as much as I can.β
Buffs on bubble (maybe)
The Pac-12βs perceived relative weakness this season could be hurting Colorado more than anybody at this point.
Coloradoβs 80-69 win over Oregon put the Buffs at 21-10 overall but still on what appears to be on the outside of the NCAA Tournament bubble entering Fridayβs game.
Colorado coach Tad Boyle watches the first half of Saturday's game.
βIβm a little disappointed finishing fourth (in the Pac-12) and weβre not even in the conversation,β Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. βBut the only way you get there is by winning the next game.
βI hope the committee is smarter than that, but I canβt sit here and pound the table for Colorado because we had 10 losses. But if you look at this Colorado team today relative to November and December, if you donβt think weβre one of the best 68 teams, youβre sorely mistaken.β
Of course, Colorado can fix all that by beating Arizona on Friday again for the second time in 13 days, but Boyle indicated a repeat would hardly be easy.
βTheyβll be ready. Theyβll be emotionally ready, and I know Tommy Lloyd, heβs a competitive dude,β Boyle said. βBut weβre gonna be ready too. Thatβs what makes this time of year so fun.β
Wildcats will skip Boulder trip in 2022-23
The Pac-12 announced that Arizona will play at Utah and host California next December as the added-back portion of its 20-game conference schedule.
That means the Wildcats will receive a break in not having to play at Colorado, where they are just 2-7 since the Buffs joined the Pac-12 in 2011-12, including a 79-63 loss on Feb. 26 this season. Arizona will also miss a home game with Stanford in 2022-23.
The Wildcats' game at Utah is set for Dec. 1 while UA will host Cal on Dec. 4, with the remaining 18 games to be played after Christmas.
The standard 18-game portion of the Wildcats' 2022-23 Pac-12 schedule is expected to be announced in late summer, sometimes with the weekend pairs announced earlier in the offseason.
The Pac-12 has continued its 18-game rotation every season but, since moving to 20 games overall in 2020-21, adds back one road game and one home game that would have been missed in an 18-game schedule.
The other set portions of Arizonaβs 2022-23 schedule so far include a Nov. 7 opener with NAU at McKale Center, a Nov. 10 home game against Southern that is part of the Pac-12βs HBCU initiative and participation in the Nov. 21-23 Maui Invitational. The Maui bracket is not set but also includes Arkansas, Cincinnati, Creighton, Louisville, Ohio State, San Diego State and Texas Tech.
Lloyd named COY semifinalist
Arizona's Tommy Lloyd was named one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Coach of the Year award.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd motions towards the court during the first half of Thursdayβs Pac-12 quarterfinal win over Stanford.
The others named included Mark Adams of Texas Tech, John Calipari of Kentucky, Ed Cooley of Providence, Scott Drew of Baylor, Steve Forbes of Wake Forest, Greg Gard of Wisconsin, Matt McMahon of Murray State, Bruce Pearl of Auburn and Kelvin Sampson of Houston.
Lloyd will earn another $20,000 for winning a national coach of the year award on top of the $20,000 he earned Tuesday for being named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year, according to his UA contract.
Numbers game
50.0 β Coloradoβs winning percentage in the Pac-12 Tournament when it is the lower seed (7-7).
64.0 β Coloradoβs winning percentage overall in the Pac-12 Tournament since joining the league in 2011-12 (16-9).
85 β Minutes played all season by UA freshman Adama Bal, who may be needed for more if the Wildcats are without point guard Kerr Kriisa.
