Arizona Basketball This Week (17-2, 5-2 Pac-12)
Jan. 24 L, 73-84 vs. UCLA
Jan. 26 W, 74-50 vs. USC
This Week
Jan. 31 at Washington (6 p.m. PST, ESPN)
Feb. 2 at Washington State (7 p.m. PST, Pac-12 Networks)
Player of the Week Nominee
Nick Johnson, G, 6-3, 200, So., Gilbert, Ariz. (Findlay Prep [Nev.])
Johnson helped Arizona split a pair of games this week by averaging 18.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game, while shooting 63.0 percent (17-of-27) from the field and 75.0 percent (6-of-8) from the line to go with two assists. He equaled a career high against UCLA with 23 points, including a UA season-high with nine field goals made, while adding five rebounds, two assists and two steals. He followed that up with an efficient 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field to go with two blocks and two steals. Arizona stands at 17-2 on the season (5-2 Pac-12). On the year, Johnson averages 13.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game to go with a .475 field goal percentage.
Notes
** Arizona split a pair of games this week and stands at 17-2 overall and 5-2 in Pac-12 action. If the Wildcats win its next game, it would mark the 10th time in program history that UA has started 18-2 or better through its first 20 games of the season. Since 1928-29, the first time Arizona played more than 20 regular-season games, Arizona has posted a 19-1 record twice (1946-47, 1987-88) and an 18-2 record seven times (1928-29, 1931-32, 1942-43, 1949-50, 1988-89, 1992-93, 2002-03).
** The Wildcats built as much as a 34-point lead in Saturday's win over USC, which was the third time this season that Arizona has held as much as a 30-point lead. UA's largest lead of the season came on Dec. 1 at Texas Tech, when the Wildcats led by 36 points (81-45) with 4:10 remaining in the second half. Through 19 games, Arizona currently holds a +13.5 scoring margin over the opposition.
** With just two games remaining in the first half of the Pac-12 slate, it's worth noting that Arizona's 12 non-conference opponents have a cumulative overall record of 142-87 (.620) as of Jan. 27, and have combined for a 59-24 (.711) record in conference play. In fact, six of those 12 opponents (Charleston Southern; Long Beach State; Southern Miss; Florida; Oral Roberts; Miami, Fla.) currently lead or are tied for the lead in their respective conferences.
** Arizona did a better job of converting offensive rebounds into points this week than the opposition, as UA posted a cumulative 40-18 advantage in second-chance points against UCLA and USC. Despite holding just a combined 40-38 edge in offensive rebounds, Arizona converted those opportunities into 22 more points over the weekend. On average, Arizona collects 2.9 more offensive rebounds per game and scores 6.7 more second chance points than the opposition.
** The Wildcats held USC to UA opponent season-low totals of .281 shooting (18-of-64) and 50 points. It was the lowest opposing field goal percentage in a Pac-12 game since Feb. 4, 2012, when UA limited Stanford to .254 shooting (16-of-63) in a 56-43 UA win. It was also the third time this season that Arizona has held an opponent to 50 points with the last coming on Dec. 23 in a 69-50 win over Miami, Fla. Currently, UA opponents shoot 39.9 percent (421-of-1,054) from the field and 62.0 points per game.
** Led by Brandon Ashley and Kaleb Tarczewski, who pulled down seven boards apiece, Arizona outrebounded USC, 45-41, and has now outrebounded 15 of 19 opponents to date, including six of seven Pac-12 foes. Additionally, the Wildcats' 45 rebounds Saturday was its second-best effort of the season, topped only by its 46 rebounds vs. Miami, Fla., on Dec. 23. Arizona enjoys a +8.6 rebound margin overall and a +5.9 margin in Pac-12 games.
** The Wildcats jumped out to an 18-4 lead less than seven minutes into the contest. During that run, Arizona forced USC to miss 10 of its first 11 shots and into four turnovers in that span. Further, until the Trojans connected on five of its last six field goals and scored 10 points against UA's end-of-the-bench guys in the contest's last three minutes, UA's top-10 players limited USC to only 22.4 (13-of-58) percent shooting and 40 points to a club that had averaged 78.6 ppg in the three previous games under interim head coach Bob Cantu.
** UA held a +5 advantage (11-16) in turnovers in Saturday's win and improved to 11-0 this season when committing fewer turnovers than the opposition. The Wildcats have a +1.0 turnover margin this season.
** The Cats held a 39-20 halftime lead Saturday, en route to the 74-50 win over USC. The 19-point halftime lead was UA's second largest of the season (21 vs. East Tennessee State) and also marked Arizona's first 20-point margin of victory in Pac-12 play this year. Additionally, the Wildcats are 11-1 this year when scoring 70 or more points.
** Freshman forward Brandon Ashley put forth a solid effort against the Southern California school this week, averaging 10.0 points, 7.5 points and 1.5 steals to go with a .500 (6-of-12) field goal percentage. The 6-foot-8 San Francisco, Calif., native knocked down a trey Saturday vs. USC and has now connected on all three three-point field goal attempts this season. Through 19 games, Ashley is averaging 8.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game to go with a .537 (51-of-95) field goal percentage.
** Forward Solomon Hill continues to display the poise of a senior, as he averaged 13.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in a pair of games last week. Thursday against the Bruins, Hill notched his first double-double of the season (13 pts./10 reb.) and added 13 points, five boards and four assists Saturday vs. the Trojans. The effort moved Hill into 30th place on Arizona's career scoring list with 1,219 points. On the year, Hill averages 13.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.
** Center Kaleb Tarczewski posted his second career game in double figures with 10 points against USC to go with a game-high seven rebounds. The other came in the Pac-12 opener vs. Colorado. While the 7-footer from Claremont, N.H., continues to develop his offensive game, he continues to be a force on the boards as he shares the team lead with a 5.8 rebounds per game average and ranks second on the squad with 13 games with five or more rebounds.
** Freshman reserve guard Jacob Hazzard saw three minutes of action Saturday vs. USC and managed to get three shots off in that span. Hazzard, a 5-foot-11 native of Los Angeles, Calif., and the grandson of UCLA All-American Walt Hazzard seems to have the family gift for shooting. In five career appearances covering 10 minutes of playing time, Jacob has hoisted six FG attempts, or one attempt every 1:40 of game time. The elder Hazzard (1962-64) took 1,176 shots in 87 games, or an average of 13.5 shots per game. Assuming Walt played 30 minutes per game (MPG is unavailable), he managed a shot every 2:13 of game time. The lone difference? Walt scored 1,401 points (16.1 ppg) in college, while Jacob has yet to drop one in.
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