Losing Against Two Ranked Teams, What Can Arizona Do to Change Their Fortune?

The Arizona Wildcats have been going great in the Pac-12 conference. They stand on a 9-2 tally and have only lost two games- one against the Purdue Boilermakers, and the other against the Florida Atlantic Owls. While the Boilermakers trumped them by a 92-84 margin, the Owls had a neck-to-neck competition with the Wildcats. The game went into two overtimes which are rarely seen and finally, the Owls edged past their opponents by a 96-95 margin.

Despite their losses, the fans and critics expect the Arizona to come back tough in the next competitions and if they solve their two major issues then there is no stopping them.

How have the Arizona performed?

The Arizona occupy the fourth rank in the AP Polls and are a tough nut to crack. Their performances in both the games were good enough but unfortunately didn’t have the luck on their side on both days. There haven’t been major complications with the Wildcats who still stand as the favorites and will surely ring the right bells in the knockouts. 

The Boilermakers outfoxed the Arizona by a 92-84 margin riding high on the backs of their guards Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer, and center Zach Edey. For the Arizona their guard, Caleb Love stepped up to the occasion, basketing a game-high 29 points. He was assisted in efforts by their forward Keshad Johnson who potted 24 points in the process. However, their guard Pelle Larsson could only score 10 points as the Arizona failed to overcome the 11 points lead in the second half.

During the second loss against the Owls, the Arizona had cutthroat competition. They had outclassed the Owls in the first half while the second half saw a good comeback from their opponents. The match was so close that it stretched into two overtimes and unfortunately the Arizona lost it in the end. Love performed exceptionally well basketing 26 points but did not get the required support from  Larsson and Kylan Boswell who soused 15 and 12 points respectively. The numbers weren’t bad but also not good enough to help them win the match.

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This might be disappointing for fans, most of whom consider that the Arizona can turn it around easily if they follow some basics.

What can Arizona do next?

Going by the Arizona performances, all they need is their guards to perform consistently in big matches. They have already proven their mettle showing that they are great teams by upending the Alabama, the Wisconsin and the Duke Blue Devils.

They however need to come up stronger in clutch matches and give their best. Once they have consistency in the backcourt, they can easily notch up points and also defend tough against the big teams. This will help increase their points tally while limiting their opponents. 

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Another thing that can benefit them is having better team bonding. This will better their focus and also the coordination between team members. The Arizona have a long way to go in this season and will have to ensure that they are not victims of any kind of mental fatigue. If they get these two things right, then there is no stopping them.