For all the talk this season about the depth and talent in the Big East and the relative lack thereof in the Pac-10, both teams have just one team remaining in the NCAA Tournament. Those two teams- UCONN and Arizona- square off in the Elite Eight Saturday in Anaheim, Calif.
For sending a record 11 teams to the tournament, the Big East has been a disappointment thus far. Connecticut, which earned a three seed in the tournament after winning the Big East tournament, is the last team standing for the expert-proclaimed “best conference in America.”
However, the league’s failures are not indicative of the talent and potential UCONN possesses. Led by potential John R. Wooden Award winner- given to the national player of the year- Kemba Walker, the Huskies have been impressive thus far in the tournament, knocking off Bucknell, Cincinnati and San Diego State. Averaging 24.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, Walker paces a Connecticut offense that scores 73 points per game against some of the best statistical defenses in the country. At 8.7 rebounds per game, Alex Oriakhi leads the nation’s 11th best rebounding team- averaging 39.6 per game.
The Pac-10 regular-season champion Arizona Wildcats hit a speed bump in the conference tournament with an overtime loss to Washington. But since then, Arizona has proven that perhaps the Pac-10 was not as weak this year as its reputation would leave one to believe. After squeaking by Memphis in the opening round, the Wildcats beat Texas with the help of a controversial five-second violation at the end of the game. After barely getting by those games, however, Arizona dominated first-seeded and defending national champion Duke.
The Wildcats are led by likely lottery pick Derrick Williams in the post. Yet, the 6-foot-8 sophomore forward out of La Mirada, Calif. is not limited offensively to the low post. Williams shoots an incredible 60.3 percent from the 3-point line, knocking down treys at vital times for the Wildcats. Against the speed and athleticism of UCONN, Arizona will also rely on guards Lamond “MoMo” Jones, Kyle Fogg and Kevin Parrom to help stretch the Huskies’ defense. At 76.5 points per game, UA ranks 25th in the nation in scoring offense. That allows them to overcome often-sketchy at best low post defense by Williams, who frequently backs off of offensive players instead of drawing fouls. While the Wildcats would rather keep Williams out of foul trouble and in the game for his offensive prowess, teams that attack the post can find easy baskets available to them against Arizona.
The game tips off at 4:05pm pacific time from the Honda Center.
UConn is basically a one man team, even with the emergence of Lamb. They're also fighting history. Arizona has a habit of making deep tourney runs when no one expects them to. Then they usually don’t perform up to expectations in the seasons when they are expected to go deep in the tourney. This team’s run reminds me of the ’97 team that caught everyone by surprise. I feel bad for UConn; I think they have no answer for Arizona’s depth of talent.
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