The Tommy Lloyd era in Arizona has brought consistent success and tournament appearances. His wildcats made the tournament like a top-two seed in each of his first three seasons. But Arizona did not find a way about the bump, which last season and in 2023 held in the Sweet 16.
Arizona did not play as well this season as in Xthe Past, ending with their lowest victory Total (20-11) in the Lloyd office. They still have to appear in the big dance; ESPN -Bracketology She currently has a five -seed. Let’s discuss three keys for the hope of Arizona to make a deep tournament
Arizona must find offensive consistency
Despite their overall attacking success, the Wildcats did not introduce a consistent offensive product throughout the season. On some nights, Arizona’s attack is a Buzzsaw, illustrated by their 113-100 victory over Arizona State on March 4. On others, such as their losses for Texas Tech and Houston, they look like an incompetent unit.
The wildcats will probably be confronted with a few fantastic defensive teams if they make a deep tournament run. They need their makers of the circumference to perform and score efficiently. Teams that can force Arizona from the paint can slow them down, because their three top -perimeter options (Caleb Love, Jaden Bradley and KJ Lewis) are all inefficient scorers.
However, we have seen that Caleb Love dominates the tournament earlier. Love has proven to be as fleeting as he is enormous scoring games during his term of office in North Carolina. The wildcats must see the best version of love if they want to make it after the second weekend.
Henri Vesar is at X-Factor
An injury in the early season for Center Motiejus Krivas opened the road for Junior Big Henri Veesaar to play big minutes for the Wildcats. He seized this opportunity and ran with it, playing as the most consistent impactful player of his team during the season. Veesaar is on average less than 10 points per match, but his impact goes much further than the box score.
Veesaar anchores the defense of Arizona and leads the team in blocking (6.8%). His mobility stands out for a seven-footer, because Veesaar has the foot speed to move in space and defend himself beyond the hoop. This versatility helps him excel in a number of different matchups against different attacking styles.
He is not a scorer with a high volume, but Veesaar is the most efficient scorer from Arizona (66% real shooting). Veesaar’s versatility stands out again; He is a dominant interior scorer (78.2% on close 2-Pointers) and can be taken open three. Although he will not lead his team in scoring, Veesaar’s two -way impact will be necessary if Arizona hopes to win in March.
Offensive rebound and size will be crucial
Arizona’s attack is not consistently able to generate simple recordings, but according to Bart Torvik they have still succeeded in arranging as a top 15 attack this season. Much of that success stems from their fantastic attacking rebound. The Wildcats are in 14th place in the country in the offensive Rebound rate (36.5%), complain rebounds and create second chance opportunities.
Even if the wildcats are not a particularly efficient team – they place 97th in effective field target percentage (52.6%) in the country – they will certainly score with two or three chances per possession. Big men such as Veesaar, Carter Bryant and Tobe Awaka all swallow attacking shelves.
Awaka earns specific recognition here and leads the wildcats in offensive rebound percentage (17.4%). He is in third place in the nation in offensive rebound percentage, dominating on the glass with his strength and physicality. Arizona can be a challenging matchup for smaller teams that cannot keep the wildcats off the glass.
