Three-Game Road Trip Will Be Telling for Arizona
Arizona men’s basketball begins a crucial three-game road trip this Saturday when they visit rival Arizona State. The trip then moves to the Pacific Northwest with traditional Pac-12 Thursday and Saturday tips against Washington and Washington State, respectively.
The combined conference records of Arizona’s upcoming foes is just 7-11, but records in the Pac-12 this season are all but meaningless as everyone is taking turns bloodying the others. As things stand today, seven league teams are within two games of frontrunners USC and Stanford. Among these seven schools are Arizona, Arizona State and Washington State. Meanwhile, Washington has officially entered must-win mode.
The Wildcats (13-5, 3-2 Pac-12) will have something to prove.
Despite an impressive 3-1 record at neutral sites and a 10-1 record at home, Arizona has yet to win a true road game this season (0-3). Getting on the right side of true road victories is important for several reasons. Of course, the NCAA Selection Committee will consider Arizona’s success away from home when they determine tournament seeding. More immediate is Arizona’s chase for a regular season title and seeding in the Pac-12 conference. There’s no way the Wildcats can expect to win the league without winning on the road.
Arizona’s struggles on the road have been obvious. Aside from the 74-73 overtime loss at then ninth-ranked Oregon where two very good teams battled to the bitter end, Arizona’s road loss at Baylor and the team’s destruction at the hands of Oregon State in Corvallis illustrated some statistical deficiencies when playing away from home.
In Arizona’s three true road games, the Wildcats had a -7.7 scoring margin. Opponents averaged 73 points per game, while Arizona only averaged 65.3 points per game. Those numbers represent a significant change compared to the rest of the season. On the season, Arizona is averaging 81.6 points per game and allowing opponents just 65.7 points per game. This represents a +15.9 scoring margin.
Improvement on the road will be required in order for Arizona to survive its upcoming road trip, as none of these three games can be considered guaranteed victories.
ASU is 8-2 at home this year, with home losses to Colorado ( a team Arizona dominated) and Creighton. Outside of getting blasted by Arizona 75-47 on the road, the Sun Devils have had success against common opponents Utah and Oregon State. The Beavers handed the Wildcats their worst loss of the season, 82-65, while ASU actually took care of business in Corvallis and knocked off OSU 82-76. At home, both Arizona and ASU routed Utah, with the Sun Devils beating the Utes 83-64.
Washington is a riddle wrapped in an enigma. The Huskies are arguably the most athletic team in a wildly athletic Pac-12 Conference. Yet, the Huskies have just two conference wins. Still, Washington was owning Oregon at home for the first 35 minutes of a 64-61 overtime loss to the Ducks. Washington beat Baylor early in the season and lost to Gonzaga in arelatively similar fashion to how Arizona fell to the Zags. If the Wildcats face the Huskies team that had Oregon on the ropes, the Wildcats could be in trouble in Seattle against Washington’s athletic, size-intimidating defensive zone.
Washington State swept the Oregon schools at home, winning in convincing fashion against both schools. WSU upset Oregon in an 11-point win, while soundly defeating the Beavers by 13.
Indeed, Arizona will have its hand full. However, the stretch is doable. The Wildcats need to start winning away from home. To do so, the same offensive flow, defensive chemistry, and across-the-roster contributions that fans see from the Wildcats at McKale Center need to be on display at ASU, Washington, and Washington State.
Editor's Note: Originally published article stated Arizona State was 8-1 at home this season, with it's lone home loss to Creighton. A correction has been made to reflect an 8-2 home record with then-No. 20 Colorado and Creighton representing ASU's two home losses.