Demarco 5 Dime - Arizona
Stanford is coming off back-to-back home routs of Oregon State and Oregon, beating the Beavers 59-35 and the Ducks 84-69. But tonight the Cardinal is not playing at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, it's on the road again where it's 0-6 in true road games and 1-1 in neutral court affairs.
Those six true road games? Only the last has even been close:
4-point loss at Washington State
33-point loss at Washington
26-point loss at Cal
13-point loss at Texas Tech
8-point loss at Northwestern
13-point loss at San Diego
This begins a brutal four-game stretch for the Cardinal on the road as it makes the Arizona/Southern California Pac-10 swing before returning home in two weeks.
Arizona isn't a great team, but it's a team that is maturing fast thanks in large part to a brutal non-conference schedule that was ranked second-toughest in the nation by the Sagarin Ratings.
FYI - In case you're on Jeopardy tomorrow, East Carolina's schedule was ranked the toughest. ECU? What are they doing down in Greenville when they're making the Pirates' schedules?
The Wildcats are coming off a 77-58 rout of arch-rival Arizona State in Tempe which capped a three-game road trip that began with a three-point loss at Oregon and was sandwiched around a 14-point triumph at Oregon State. For a team that's played 10 of its first 19 games on the road, a visit by the Cardinal in Tucson tonight is welcomed.
You might recall this Arizona program was left in shambles after Lute Olson's departure and the defection of numerous players to the pros. But first-year coach Sean Miller has surrounded senior sharp-shooting guard Nic Wise (15.3 ppg) and junior forward Jamelle Horne (11.2 ppg, 6.4 reb) with a talented freshman class led by forwards Derrick Williams (15.6 ppg, 7.1 reb) and Solomon Hill (7.1 ppg, 4.6 reb). And this team really started playing better when guard Kyle Fogg, who is coming off a 21-point game against Arizona State, was inserted into the starting line-up prior to the LA Tech game December 9, which coincidentally is the other time this season I backed the Wildcats. Fogg is hitting 47% from three-point land while contributing 10.8 points a game.
Speaking of that Arizona State game, one more thing to note: The Sun Devils had been allowing a national-low 54.7 points a game thanks to a tough zone defense, but Arizona scored 52 points in the second half of its 77-58 road win.
Normally I'd be a little concerned with a team coming off a big road win against an arch rival such as Arizona is, especially with a huge game against Cal next on the docket. But the victory against the Sun Devils came last Saturday and as noted earlier, it capped a grueling three-game road trip. Now back home at the McKale Center against a team that has struggled on the road all season, the Wildcats have a chance to make a statement while staying in the thick of the Pac-10 race.
Arizona takes it by 11.
Paid by Me. GOOD LUCK!!
Stanford is coming off back-to-back home routs of Oregon State and Oregon, beating the Beavers 59-35 and the Ducks 84-69. But tonight the Cardinal is not playing at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, it's on the road again where it's 0-6 in true road games and 1-1 in neutral court affairs.
Those six true road games? Only the last has even been close:
4-point loss at Washington State
33-point loss at Washington
26-point loss at Cal
13-point loss at Texas Tech
8-point loss at Northwestern
13-point loss at San Diego
This begins a brutal four-game stretch for the Cardinal on the road as it makes the Arizona/Southern California Pac-10 swing before returning home in two weeks.
Arizona isn't a great team, but it's a team that is maturing fast thanks in large part to a brutal non-conference schedule that was ranked second-toughest in the nation by the Sagarin Ratings.
FYI - In case you're on Jeopardy tomorrow, East Carolina's schedule was ranked the toughest. ECU? What are they doing down in Greenville when they're making the Pirates' schedules?
The Wildcats are coming off a 77-58 rout of arch-rival Arizona State in Tempe which capped a three-game road trip that began with a three-point loss at Oregon and was sandwiched around a 14-point triumph at Oregon State. For a team that's played 10 of its first 19 games on the road, a visit by the Cardinal in Tucson tonight is welcomed.
You might recall this Arizona program was left in shambles after Lute Olson's departure and the defection of numerous players to the pros. But first-year coach Sean Miller has surrounded senior sharp-shooting guard Nic Wise (15.3 ppg) and junior forward Jamelle Horne (11.2 ppg, 6.4 reb) with a talented freshman class led by forwards Derrick Williams (15.6 ppg, 7.1 reb) and Solomon Hill (7.1 ppg, 4.6 reb). And this team really started playing better when guard Kyle Fogg, who is coming off a 21-point game against Arizona State, was inserted into the starting line-up prior to the LA Tech game December 9, which coincidentally is the other time this season I backed the Wildcats. Fogg is hitting 47% from three-point land while contributing 10.8 points a game.
Speaking of that Arizona State game, one more thing to note: The Sun Devils had been allowing a national-low 54.7 points a game thanks to a tough zone defense, but Arizona scored 52 points in the second half of its 77-58 road win.
Normally I'd be a little concerned with a team coming off a big road win against an arch rival such as Arizona is, especially with a huge game against Cal next on the docket. But the victory against the Sun Devils came last Saturday and as noted earlier, it capped a grueling three-game road trip. Now back home at the McKale Center against a team that has struggled on the road all season, the Wildcats have a chance to make a statement while staying in the thick of the Pac-10 race.
Arizona takes it by 11.
Paid by Me. GOOD LUCK!!
