Arizona Wildcats (13-8, 4-4) vs. No. 16 West Virginia Mountaineers (16-3, 6-2) | 6:30 p.m. Saturday | McKale Center | ESPN+ | 1400-AM
He said it
UA assistant Salvo Coppa on West Virginia: βThey're a great team. Their strength is the defense. They start everything with that defensive pressure, with their full core press. They force turnovers, and they become dangerous when they keep turning over the opponent and go for easy layups, and they keep setting up that press, and they keep scoring. They were able to have multiple runs, for example, with Colorado. They had a 14-0 run, if I'm wrong, then a 10-0 run, and Colorado was in the game. This is what we want to avoid.
βWe want to be able to score like we did against Kansas and Cincinnati and being able to get stops. Also, get stops to not let them set up their press. Itβs not only important to get going and playing offensively like we did but being more consistent defensively. β¦ We have to continue with our game plan, keep denying, keep applying ball pressure without thinking too much.β
Arizona guard Skylar Jones (4) shifts her shot to get around Cincinnati center Delaney Snyder (33) in Tucson on Jan. 22, 2025.
On the sidelines
Throwback:Β Skylar Jones scored 16 pointsΒ β all coming in the second halfΒ β leading the Wildcats to its first Big 12 home victory Wednesday night. Afterward, she said that her coach, Adia Barnes, lit a fire under her butt to get her going, as she was coming off a four-game slump. It turned out to be that something Barnes, herself, experienced a lot of when she was a Wildcat player.
βThe funny thing is Coach B (Joan Bonvicini) used to do the same thing to me,β Barnes said. ββ¦ You donβt really understand a lot of those lessons until youβre older. Then, youβre like βAha, I know why they did thatβ or when youβre a mom. (Jones is) growing and sheβs getting better. Sheβs growing in so many ways right now.β
Jones said that when she was on the bench in the first half, she saw her teammates sharing the ball and taking good shots. She also saw that the scoring lanes were open. Once she got into the game, she followed suit.
βWeβre the best when we pass the ball and everybody scores,β Jones said. ββ¦When we pass the ball to Breya (Cunningham), we split, cut and we move. β¦ I didnβt want to come in and mess up that rhythm. I was just trying not to rush anything or force any shots and just go with the flow of the game.β
Racking up one more: Lauryn Swann earned the Allstate bench performance of the week for her efforts in the first half of Wednesdayβs win over Cincinnati. As a reserve, she came into the matchup in the first quarter and scored on a mid-range jumper, then a 3 and added five more points in the second quarter. Swann, who is a shooter, was definitely feeling it. This wasnβt a one-off, as in Big 12 play, she was averaging 12 points coming into the Cincinnati game and put up 17 points against Kansas on Sunday.
This is Swann's third Big 12 honor of the season. She has earned Big 12 Freshman of the Week honors twice.Β
Unfortunately, Swann was injured at the end of the first half on an elbow to her ear that left her wobbly walking off the court with assistance. She didnβt return to the court but was on the bench in the second half. Swann was evaluated on Thursday, but it is not known yet whether she will be available for Saturdayβs game.
Moving on up: Itβs time to start paying attention to NET rankings, which are part of the formula the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee uses to determine who makes the field. Prior to Arizona spending the week in Kansas, the Wildcats NET was No. 83. After the split and finishing with a win over Kansas, their NET climbed up to No. 68. And, after beating Cincinnati, the NET rose again, this time to 63rd.
If the Wildcats can stay on this trajectory for the last six-plus weeks of the season, they would be on track to make the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive year. However, a lot has to happen between now and March, especially winning.
Arizonaβs opponent on Saturday, West Virginia, has a NET of No. 11 and has stayed steady from last week as it has won three straight games. The last time the Mountaineers lost was on Jan. 11 to Oklahoma State, which just beat No. 9 TCU on Wednesday night and has a NET of 28th.
Arizona assistant coach Bett Shelby calls in some help to the Wildcat offense in the third quarter against Cincinnati at McKale Center Jan. 22, 2025.
Connections: Isis Beh will be facing a former teammate, roommate and good friend in senior guard J.J. Quinerly on Saturday. Quinerly is fourth in the Big 12, averaging 19 points per game and shooting 43% from the field.
Another connection is UA assistant Bett Shelby. She was an associate head coach for the Mountaineers for three seasons and coached former UA standout Esmery Martinez, Beh, as well as Quinerly at West Virginia.
In addition, former UA assistant Erin Grant is in her second season at West Virginia.
By the numbers
27.6: West Virginia is tied for seventh in the country in scoring margin, scoring an average of 27.6 points more than its opponents. On Wednesday, the Mountaineers outscored ASU by 30 points, 89-59.
2:Β West Virginia is second in the nation and first in the Big 12 in steals per game, with nearly 15 per game. Arizona is second in the Big 12 with 10.5 per game.
2: Arizona shot 50% in two consecutive games against Kansas and Cincinnati. In both games, the Wildcats shot a higher percentage in the fourth quarter. Against Kansas, they shot 67% in the final frame and against Cincinnati it was 57%.
