Home Court... Hurts?

Is it possible that playing at home can negatively impact the home team? I'd like to say no, but I can't help but think yes. In college basketball, most any team can give another a scare and this season, most any team can pull off an upset. All AP top 10 teams have been upset at least once, most of which have come on the road; however, playing in front of the home crowd does not give a team that is picked to win the extra push necessary. Any basketball coach will tell you that it is difficult to win on the road and that they put in more preparation for road games. What a coach won't tell you is that the team will not focus as much for a game that has "already been decided". Oftentimes you will see a team not play as hard as they should and then receive a scare from lower competition. Other times, you may observe a team that is trying to impress the home crowd by playing a more stylish brand of basketball with no-look passes or alley oops. Sometimes, it doesn't work out and the away team will capitalize. Judging from the Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team today and other home games at the McKale Center, they haven't played the brand of basketball that they would like. Instead, there was a crowd watching their every move, just waiting to explode. That will oftentimes get you mixed results if the other team came to play. Either you will have a closely contested game that goes back and forth seeing the home team as the eventual winner, or you will see the away team come bursting out of the gates to quickly silence the home crowd and grind out a road win. Today, as the Wildcats played the Cal Golden Bears, there was no sense of urgency, especially at the start of the 2nd half, by the home team. Before fans could return from concessions to their seats, Cal had come bursting out of the gates to grab a 10-point lead. The crowd was stunned and the team never recovered as the Golden Bears pranced away with a 77-69 win over the 7th ranked Arizona Wildcats. With tickets had to come by in Tucson for these basketball games, each fan is waiting for a Mark Lyons trey, a Solo fade away, or a Nick Johnson alley oop that they see so often on TV. The players know what the fans want to see and every now and then, you catch them not prepared or trying to impress. In a season like this one, you cannot afford to do that.

Cats top the Bruins in the Pac-12 Tournament, 66-58

This is what I think of Ucla Basketball

The Cats went into the Staple Center at the start of the Pac 12 tourney as underdogs, since they were playing in the same arena that has served as the Bruin's den for most of the season. However, the Bruins were in for a rude awakening as the Wildcats came into the game and attacked all night long. The Cats went in and out, driving the lane and shooting the trey as Solomon Hill scored 25 points. UCLA would collect a total of 24 fouls with Joshua Smith and Travis Wear fouling out. The Cats will now wait to play either Washington or Oregon State.

Cats survive the Cougars in Pullman, 76-72

The Cats have been playing well by winning games, however they had to avoid another disastrous upset as they pulled away from the Washington State Cougars late in the game on Thursday night. The Cats would be closely followed by the Cougs for a majority of the game as the double-digit scoring efforts of Kyle Fogg, Solomon Hill, Jesse Perry, and Brendan Lavender were countered by a 21 point performance by Reggie Moore and a 28 point performance from the Pac 12's most improved player, Brock Motum. It took the enter game, but Jesse Perry would score two key buckets near the end of the game as the Cats hung on for a win in Pullman.

Wildcats come up short in the White Out, fall to the Huskies 69-67

When these two teams meet up, expect an exciting match-up. Nothing will be more memorable to a Cats fan than the epic block by Derrick Williams that secured the win in last years' White Out, but Cats fans will remember this game for the wrong reasons. It took Arizona a while to start clicking on offense, but they did once Kevin Parrom came into the game with 7 quick points. However, KP would injure his foot and leave the game at the end of the first half, but everyone in McKale was rejuvenated by a monster Solomon Hill put-back dunk at the buzzer. The Cats took a 32-29 lead into the locker room, but the Dawgs showed off their physicality as they muscled there way for offensive rebounds and the lead. The Cats would fall behind by 10 points as the game winded down, taking the crowd out of it. However Solomon Hill led a late rally for the Cats and he eventually tied the game with a trey with only 5.9 seconds left in the game. The Dawgs went up court in a desperate frenzy when CJ Wilcox ran into a set Solomon Hill. The referees hesitated but finally called a blocking foul on Solo. Wilcox would hit the free throws and UDub would go up by 2. Freshmen point guard Josiah Turner would take the ball to the basket with little time left, only to take a hard block by freshmen Tony Wroten. The ball popped out and freshmen guard Nick Johnson cleaned up with a putback jam, but it was 0.2 seconds late and the Huskies hung on for a key win. It's unfortunate to see the Cats get called for the foul after they fought so hard to tie the game. The Cats lose a crucial game on ESPN as they fall short in a game they could've had.

Cats fall to the Ducks at home, 59-57

I can not stress how important it is to win at home in the Pac 12. Going 9-0 at home then splitting games on the road can set you up with a decent record and possibly a spot in the NCAA Tournament; however, losing to a team like Oregon after you beating their more explosive rival school will get you nowhere in such a weak conference. Oregon dominated early offensively and their zone defense left the Cats scratching their heads. By the time Arizona could get something going, Oregon had jumped out to a 34-22 halftime lead. Though Arizona has always been a victim to sluggish starts but the benefactor of explosive second halves, something wasn't quite right. The Cats did end up having that great 2nd half run that we've grown accustomed to and they even took a one point lead, but the Ducks wouldn't stay flat-footed for much longer. Down the stretch, their guards and team leaders stepped up more that Kyle Fogg did for Arizona. Solo pushed the Cats within striking distance and the frosh took advantage, but the game boiled down to a late trey by Oregon and a missed buzzer-beater by Kyle Fogg.

Cats romp a sloppy ASU squad, 68-51

Take that ASU! Cats went into Pac-12 play as the favorites over an inferior ASU Sun Devil basketball squad and the Cats came out victorious with no letdown, whatsoever. ASU is a bad team, but they were awful as they had 13 first half turnovers and only 20 points in 20 minutes. The Cats didn't take advantage of the poor ASU team, but they didn't have to. The defense suffocated the Sun Devils and the offense started picking up late in the first half. The regulars for Arizona excelled (Solomon Hill, Jesse Perry), but the Frosh guards stepped up their game as Nick Johnson put up a few highlight dunks and 14 points against his dad's team and Josiah Turner was a spike in the Sun Devil's side as he came up with 5 steals. Cats go to the Honda Center next Thursday to take on a homeless UCLA Bruins team.

Arizona starts quick, hold off Oakland, 85-73

Laval Lucas-Perry's return to the McKale center did not go as he wished for two reasons: the Cats ran away with the game and Reggie Hamilton stole the show with a stellar shooting performance for the Oakland Grizzlies. Solomon Hill had a career high 23 points while Kyle Fogg had his 1000th career point. The achievement by Foggy came with his 17 point performance and in doing so, he has become the 46th Wildcat to score 1000 points in a collegiate career. The Cats were previously plagued with slow starts, but got off to q quick start tonight. The Grizzlies tried to crawl back but their sharpshooting only brought them within 4 at the half. Key buckets by Solo, Foggy, Perry, and Johnson put Oakland away for the ninth Arizona basketball win of the season.

Wildcats fall short against the Gators, 78-72 OT

These two teams had very similar styles coming into tonights match-up: they're both guard driven teams. The Gators have Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton while Arizona has Nick Johnson and Josiah Turner, problem is Turner was suspended from Wednesday's game. The Cats hung in the game as they closed out the dual threat of Florida guards, however Patric Young dominated the point with 25 points. After building up a lead that vanished in the last few possessions, the Cats had a chance for the buzzer-beater down by one, but Nick Johnson dribbled the ball off his foot. The Gators then went up by three, but they fouled Solomon Hill. Hill made all three free throws and the game went into OT. The Gators proved that playing OT in an opponents home-court is never easy as the Gators pulled away.