40 minutes to a trophy.
The 28-5 (#2 seed) Houston Cougars will face the 31-2 (#1 seed) Arizona Wildcats in what should be an epic Big 12 Championship game Saturday evening. Back on February 21, the Wildcats earned the win at Fertitta Center in the only matchup between the two teams this season. Last night, the Coogs laid an absolute smackdown on the #3 seed Kansas Jayhawks, 69-47, while the Wildcats won an instant classic over Iowa State. Today’s head of the snake, Jaden Bradley, drilled a buzzer-beater to advance to the title game in an 82-80 win.
Tonight will be a heavyweight title fight. Ali vs Frazier. Tyson vs Holyfield. Lesnar vs The Undertaker (for all my wrasslin’ homies). Arizona is No. 2 in the AP, and Houston is No. 5. The game won’t have a significant impact on NCAA Tournament seeding, but I believe Houston could get the final No. 1 seed with a win and a Florida loss. But that’s out of UH’s control; ultimately, this one comes down to winning a conference title and adding ANOTHER trophy to the case. Both teams will leave it all on the floor. May the best cat win!!!
My Gameplan vs. Arizona
- REBOUND (on both ends of the court). The Coogs must limit Arizona to one shot. The trio of Awaka, Krivas, and Peat is as good as they come on the glass. Houston needs another huge game from Cenac and Tugler, but even more importantly, they need another massive rebounding night from their guards.
- Limit Zona’s shots in the paint. Arizona scored 38…THIRTY-EIGHT points in the paint on the Coogs in the Fertitta Center (they scored 38 in the paint last night against Iowa State, too). That can not happen again tonight. In the last three halves, the Coogs have been PHENOMENAL at clogging the lane and making life difficult for drivers and post players. If they can force Arizona to take contested jumpers outside the paint, I LOVE their chances.
- Protect the ball. Houston had an uncharacteristic game against Arizona, turning the ball over 12 times. Even worse, they were live-ball turnovers, which led to 16 points in Arizona’s 7-point win. I used to tell my players that I would rather have them punt the ball 50 rows into the stands than throw it to the other team and let them shoot a layup. The Coogs need to commit single-digit turnovers on Saturday.
- Win ALL hustle plays. This is what you came to Houston to do. You humiliated Kansas Friday night. There’s no reason not to be the first on the floor (made of wood), hit the glass as a unit, take care of the ball, communicate on defense, attack the paint, and do whatever it takes to get this win. Who will make THE Ramon Walker Jr. hustle play at Wichita State, to bring home another trophy??
Arizona Personnel (*Indicates likely starters)
*#0 – Jaden Bradley – 6’3″ – SR – Guard – (Alabama) – 13ppg, 4rpg, 5apg, 2spg.
(vs Houston on February 21: 17 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists)
- Big 12 Player of the Year;
- Head of the snake!
- Savvy/experienced point guard. He makes them go;
- Elite mid-range shooter off the pick and roll or dribble hand-off;
- Solid at getting all the way to the rim to draw a foul or score. Leads the team in free throw attempts (128-160, 80%);
- Doesn’t shoot a ton of three-pointers, but is effective when he does (21-55, 38%);
- Really tough defender.
*#5 – Brayden Burries – 6’4″ – FR – Guard – 16ppg, 5rpg, 3apg, 2spg.
(vs Houston on February 21: 7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists)
- Elite freshman scoring guard;
- Really good outside shooter (53-145, 37%). Leads the team in three-point attempts and makes;
- Makes extremely tough three-point baskets off the bounce, with just an inch of room;
- Doesn’t shoot a ton of mid-range shots. Most of his attempts are from beyond the arc or at the rim.
*#13 – Motiejus Krivas – 7’2″ – JR – Center – 11ppg, 8rpg, 2bpg.
(vs Houston on February 21: 4 points, 5 rebounds, 5 fouls)
- Really tall/elite defender and rebounder;
- Gets the majority of his points from offensive rebounding put-backs or duck-ins;
- Capable of scoring over either shoulder with his back to the basket;
- He is ranked 4th in the Big 12 in blocked shots with 59 on the season;
- Ranked 6th in the Big 12 in rebounds per game with 8. 3 of those are on the offensive glass;
- Not a major shooting threat.
*#8 – Ivan Kharchenkov – 6’7″ – FR – Forward – (Bayern Munich) – 10ppg, 4rpg, 2apg.
(vs Houston on February 21: 16 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists)
- Big time energy guy. Three-level scorer;
- Makes hustle plays for them that bring energy to the team;
- Has struggled shooting the three-pointer (28-89, 32%);
- Can drive using either hand, but seems to prefer going left off the bounce;
- Does a really nice job cutting to the basket without the ball.
*#10 – Koa Peat – 6’8″ – FR – Forward – 13ppg, 5rpg, 3apg.
(vs Houston on February 21: DNP: Lower leg injury)
- Strong freshman forward;
- Not a major outside shooting threat (6-19, 32%);
- Good finisher around the basket;
- Get’s to the free-throw line often, but struggles at times (73-123, 59%);
- Good defender;
#30 – Tobe Awaka – 6’8″ – SR – Forward – (Tennessee) – 10ppg, 10rpg.
(vs Houston on February 21: 7 points, 6 rebounds, 5 fouls)
- I said last year that he would be a great Coog. I still feel that way;
- Big/STRONG bully. Great motor;
- Unbelievable rebounder on both ends of the court; 5th in the Big 12 with 5.91 defensive rebounds per game and 2nd in the conference in offensive rebounds per game at 3.72;
- Doesn’t shoot many threes, but is more than capable (5-10, 50%);
- He’s not OVERLY talented on offense, but draws a ton of fouls in the post…oh no…
- Best on offense, when shooting the right-handed shot over his left shoulder.
#3 – Anthony Dell’Orso – 6’6″ – SR – Guard – (Campbell) – 9ppg, 2rpg.
(vs Houston on February 21: 22 points, 3 rebounds…that can’t happen Saturday!)
- Long/slender shooter off the bench;
- Lit the Coogs up earlier in the year, but has not been great from outside for the majority of the year (45-135, 33%);
- Very capable mid-range jumper and at getting to the rim;
- Rhythm shooter, who struggles if you can force him to miss his first couple of shots.
#2 – Dwayne Aristode – 6’8″ – FR – Forward – 4ppg, 2rpg.
(vs Houston on February 21: DNP: Undisclosed)
- Tall freshman shooter; “Three and D” guy;
- Three-point specialist off the bench (28-62, 45%);
- Looking to bring an offensive spark off the bench;
