2 Important Notes as Arizona Prepares for Kansas State
For the ninth game in a row, the No. 1 Ranked Arizona Wildcats had five players score in double figures on the way to a convincing 97-78 victory over the Utah Utes in the conference opener at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, UT.
Arizona's latest dominating win was fueled by Tobe Awaka's double-double, in which he scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, going 6-for-7 from the field and knocking down two 3-pointers. The freshman phenom, Brayden Burries, scored 17 points and recorded the first double-double of his collegiate career, snagging 11 rebounds in 23 minutes of play.
Arizona will now be looking to continue its hot streak against a gritty Kansas State team that is coming off a loss to BYU. Before that, it had won four games in a row on the way to a 9-5 overall record. Before this Wednesday's game in the McKale Center, let's take a look at what both teams bring to the table.
A look at each team's top performers
The Arizona roster consists of a handful of players who can turn a game around with explosive scoring and defensive physcality that can suffocate the most electric of offenses the NCAA has to offer. The leader of the team, Jaden Bradley, had been a stalwart of the team since the beginning of the season. In the most recent game against the Utes, he scored 18 points in 32 minutes and dished out 5 assists.
Look for freshmen Koa Peat, Brayden Burries, and Ivan Kharchenkov also to have a big game against K State, as they all scored in double-digit figures in the victory over Utah. Tobe Awaka has been in a class all on his own when attacking the glass, as he leads the FBS in rebounding percentage with a 28.3% average.
Arizona will need to be mindful of K-State's P.J. Haggerty, who has averaged 23 points through 14 games and leads the team in both scoring and rebounds (5.2 per game). David Castillo is second on the team in points, averaging 13.3 points per game. Nate Johnson will need to be looked out for on the defensive side of the ball, as he has collected 31 steals and a team-leading 59 defensive rebounds.
Arizona's advantages
Arizona has overwhelmed its opponents with a formula of dominating in the paint, being physical on the glass, and limiting teams to subpar shots from the distance.
In K-State's last game, it shot a below-average 14% from that area in its loss to BYU, which Arizona should have no problem doing, given its air-tight defensive play.
Arizona will also need to clean up the glass on missed shots, which it has had no problem doing through the first 14 games of the season. Look for Motiejus Krivas and Tobe Awaka to have yet another big game under the glass against a K State team that is coming off a night where it had huge trouble getting the ball into the net.
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Nathaniel Martinez and a set of shoulder pads at 7 years old. He later graduated from Pima Community College in 2023, where he began writing for the Pima Post. He is working to achieve a Bachelor’s in Mass Communication and Media Studies.