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Utah has the road split, at minimum, in their back pocket, the question is now can they get greedy and get the sweep? Doing that against a team they haven’t beaten on the road is a major undertaking. The good news is confidence is high for Utah after beating ASU in Tempe the other night, with Sedrick Barefield and Justin Bibbins confidence through the rough, well, hopefully for Barefield after being up and down this season. Utah’s been playing some really good ball the last two weeks, and it’s going to take their best effort to knock off the Wildcats this afternoon.
The Utes need to do a couple of things today, first rebound the ball. Arizona destroyed Utah on the boards at the Huntsman, and that can’t happen again today. The Utes need to stay out of foul trouble. The depth of this team isn’t great right now, so they need to keep it clean. Lastly, don’t dig a hole, because if they do, Arizona can run away from the Utes fast.
Here’s more info on Arizona from the official release:
Since losing three straight games very early in the season, Arizona has rattled off 13 wins in its last 14 games played. The Wildcats’ only Pac-12 loss came to the hands of the Colorado Buffaloes on the road. The Wildcats are a perfect 10-0 when playing inside the McKale Center, which includes a 3-0 mark against Pac-12 opponents. Arizona has won 17 of its last 18 home games against Pac-12 foes, with its only loss in that span coming to UCLA back on Feb. 25, 2017. The Wildcats have two players averaging more than 19 points per game, led by Allonzo Trier’s 19.8 points per game average. Deandre Ayton follows with 19.7 points per game and he also leads the team with 11.1 rebounds per game. Parker Jackson-Cartwright has dished out a team-leading 100 assists and has collected a team-high 32 steals on the season. Ayton leads all UA players with 35 blocked shots. Arizona shoots a league-best .503 from the field, which also ranks No. 12 overall in the country. The Wildcats are shooting .382 from three-point range and lead the Pac-12 with a .774 free throw shooting percentage. They pull down 36.5 rebounds per game and give up just 30.2 rebounds to opposing teams, which gives them a league-best 6.4 rebounding margin.
How to watch and listen:
GAME 21 | Utah (13-7, 5-4) at #11/12 Arizona (17-4, 7-1)
Date/Tipoff: Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018 | 3:30 p.m. MT
Location: Tucson, Ariz. (McKale Center)
Television: Fox // FoxSportsGo.com // Fox Sports Go mobile app
Radio: ESPN700AM // espn700sports.com // ESPN700 mobile app