BOULDER, Colo. — When Arizona flipped its relatively low preseason expectations into a 12-3 start two weeks ago, one of the most commonly cited reasons was team chemistry.
The guys were coachable. They liked each other. They worked hard.
UA coach Sean Miller told everyone these things over and over … until Thursday night at Utah.
In the Wildcats’ 73-58 loss, Miller found himself dispirited. Things didn’t get any better when he watched the game video Friday morning before he began preparing for UA’s game at Colorado on Saturday.
“The two things that always go when a team loses its togetherness and chemistry (are) your offensive rebounding and your defense in general — because they’re the easiest things to give in to,” Miller told the Star on Friday.
“When you’re really a connected group, sometimes your offense doesn’t go your way — maybe we had a lot of turnovers or missed a lot of free throws — but you can really see effort level in our attitudes with defense and offensive rebounding, and against Utah neither really showed up.
“I was more sure of that this morning than I would have been after the game last night. I felt that way last night, but at that point you’re just kind of going on what you felt you saw. You don’t always see it for what it is.
“But once you really go through it, you kind of know what you did or didn’t do well and there’s no doubt that this was our worst performance of the year, maybe our worst in a couple of seasons.”
Freshman forward Azuolas Tubelis also called UA’s defense the worst of the season. The statistics indicate UA’s 87-73 home loss to USC on Jan. 7 was the most comparable.
The Wildcats allowed Utah to shoot 50.9% overall and hit 8 of 15 3-pointers, with the Utes shooting 57.7% as they pulled away in the second half.
Only USC (58.5%) and Stanford (52.7% in the first UA game on Dec. 19) have shot better than 50% overall against Arizona. But while Arizona outrebounded Stanford by an average of three in their two games, the Wildcats were even at 32-32 with both USC and Utah.
Miller expressed the most frustration during and after Thursday’s game with freshman wing Bennedict Mathurin. He expressed anger at him during a timeout late in the first half and started Dalen Terry in Mathurin’s place for the second half.
“Benn has to have a great attitude and has to play with a total effort towards winning the game, both on defense and on offense, and his body language has to be great,” Miller said after Thursday’s game. “He has to give us everything that he has. And when he does that, he’s a very, very good player. But I didn’t like the way he played.”
But on Friday, Miller indicated that just about everyone except center Christian Koloko and possibly reserve guard Kerr Kriisa, who was making his collegiate debut, performed below expectations defensively on Thursday.
Arizona guard Kerr Kriisa, left, drives against Utah guard Rylan Jones during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)
“I didn’t think Benn’s attitude was good, but I don’t know if our team’s overall attitude was good,” Miller said. “One thing I’ve learned about a college basketball season is you can have really great chemistry but you can lose it within one game. You can lose it in a given week and then it becomes how to repair it, how to fix it, how to bounce back.
“That’s what we’re trying to do but this will not be easy. Based on our performance last night, we played with very little effort. We had a hard time helping each other. We had a hard time running back. When we subbed, other than Kerr, I don’t know if anybody really came in off the bench and gave us great energy. … We just struggled, really, in every facet on defense.”
While Arizona’s defense broke down particularly inside in losses to USC, UCLA and Stanford (on Jan. 28), the Wildcats had problems all over the court on Thursday at Utah.
They gave up layups, 3s and midrange shots almost equally, allowing the Utes to put five players in double figures, predictably with versatile small forward Timmy Allen leading the way with 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting.
They had problems on the perimeter, inside, on the ball and off it.
You name it. Miller certainly did.
“We had a hard time guarding the matchup in front of us, just guys driving,” Miller said. “You know, sometimes it’s not just that one player. There’s help, guys being in the right position to use off the ball. But even off the ball, if you’re not locked in, you’re slow to where you’re supposed to be. And we were continuously slow to get to where we were supposed to.
“We really struggled mightily. The score could have been worse. Sometimes we’ve fought and lost at the last second but it was our fight that kept us in the game. I wouldn’t call last night’s game hard-fought. I would just call it a very disappointing loss.”
So how do they repair things, and, well, right now?
Arizona had all of about 42 hours (minus sleep) to prepare for a revenge-minded and well-rested Colorado team.
Not only did Arizona beat the Buffaloes 88-74 on Dec. 28 at McKale Center, but CU is trying to position itself for an NCAA tournament berth and point guard McKinley Wright is in the mix for Pac-12 Player of the Year honors.
The Buffs have had the entire week to prepare since Arizona State pulled out of its scheduled game Thursday to pause again for COVID-19 reasons.
History doesn’t bode well for the Wildcats either. They’re only 2-5 at Boulder in the Pac-12 era.
Miller started the task of trying to repair things Friday by showing his players video of the Utah game, the evidence of which might be stronger than any of his words.
“There are no excuses when the film is shown,” Miller said. “It’s cut and dry. You either did it or you didn’t. You either made the correct play or you didn’t.
“It’s being able to learn through film but I think sometimes when it comes to the situation we’re currently in, it’s rekindling the fight and having a group of guys who play hard.
“Sometimes when you say ‘play hard,’ you’re asking each individual to give more. But really, what you’re asking is for them to play for each other. To play with great energy and play as a team. You’re not doing it for yourself.”
