Lipscomb (3-6) at Arizona (4-5)
Analysis by Javier Morales
Where: McKale Center
When: 7 p.m. (Tucson time)
Who’ll be there: Fox College Sports. The announcing crew will be Dave Sitton and Corey Williams. You can also listen to Brian Jeffries and Matt Muehlebach live on the radio on the IMG College/Wildcat Radio Network (which provides free access on Yahoo! sports).
Injuries: Freshman forward Kevin Parrom is out at least one more week with a stress fracture in his left foot. Sophomore guard Brendon Lavender (deep thigh bruise) and junior forward Jamelle Horne (ankle sprain) should be ready to play.
RPI implications: Arizona’s RPI according to CBS Sportsline improved from 103 to 84 although it has not played in nine days since the humbling loss at San Diego State. A victory over Lipscomb, the 291st team in the RPI, should not affect the ranking here. A loss, of course, would be devastating. The UA’s strength of schedule, at No. 8 overall, is a significant reason why the Cats are ranked higher than No. 100. Lipscomb, which has lost to Cincinnati, Ohio State and Vanderbilt, strength of schedule is still poor at 321 because its victories have come against the likes of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (twice) and Mercer. The Bisons have lost at home to Tennessee Tech and Elon.
Common opponents: Both teams have lost to Vandy. The Bisons opened their season with a 95-73 loss to its cross-town rival. Arizona lost to the Commodores 84-72 in the fifth-place of the Maui Invitational.
Gauge games: You can compare how the Cats fare against Lipscomb in relation to the Bison’s losses at Vanderbilt, Ohio State (84-64) and Cincinnati (80-52).
Scouting Report: Analysis by Bruce Pascoe of The Arizona Daily Star
Matchups
BACKCOURT
Lipscomb has one senior on its roster and it lost to Vanderbilt; that’s where the comparison with Arizona ends. Its backcourt includes junior guard Josh Slater and off-guard Brian Wright, a sophomore, who combined are impressive statistically: 23.5 points, 9 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game. Advantage: Nic Wise and Kyle Fogg have the experience and athleticism to play well against the Lipscomb duo, although Slater has shown a calm hand the last five games — 29 assists with only 13 turnovers. Look for Wise to try to put the heat on him.
FRONTCOURT
Brandon Brown (6-7) and Michael Teller (6-5) are interchangeable between the backcourt and frontcourt, but they pale in comparison to the rebounders Arizona played at San Diego State. The combine for only 7 boards a game. The Bisons’ biggest threat, literally, is junior center Adnon Hodzic, a junior from Bosnia. Hodzic has averaged 18 points a game versus the best teams Lipscomb has faced: Vandy, Cincy and Ohio State. Against those three, however, he tallied a total of 16 boards, only 5.3 a game. Advantage: This is a game in which Jamelle Horne get a double-double with ease or sit on the bench in the second half because the Cats are cruising to victory. If I’m Horne, Solomon Hill and Derrick Williams, I’m on a mission to get on track on the boards and exhibit energy. Their athleticism should be enough to overwhelm Lipscomb.
BENCH
This should be the role Lamont “MoMo” Jones revels in, coming off the bench and either providing a boost or continuing in what the starters started. He can influence the game with energy. Brendon Lavender should have a desire to show he is starter-worthy. Alex Jacobson and Garland Judkins? They should see playing time in this one. Motivation and skill for Arizona puts it over the edge here as Lipscomb goes only ab out six deep in terms of scoring.
COACHING
Arizona’s Sean Miller is doing all the right things, including how he is portraying this team to the media and fans. The players must take it upon themselves to show they are not “mediocre” as Miller says. He has the experience to handle the hardships of Arizona, although he’s has never been a head coach during a rebuilding year. Lipscomb head coach Scott Sanderson is the son of former Alabama head coach Wimp Sanderson, and he is not a bad coach. He has won 250 games in his career. Under Sanderson last season the Bisons started off the year 0-4, but ended up finishing at 15-16 on the year. At Lipscomb, Sanderson’s record is 163-141 and he is currently in his 11th season.
OUTCOME
Arizona will have to withstand Lipscomb’s barrage of three pointers — Slater and bench player Jordan Burgason shoot at a 48-percent clip from beyond the arc — and the muscle man in the middle (Hodzic), but more than anything, the Cats must prove to themselves how good they really are. They take a step in the right direction with a 20-point victory.
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Tags: Jamelle Horne, Nic Wise
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on Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 1:15 PM and is filed under Men's hoops 2009-2010.
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December 21st, 2009 at 3:56 PM
I vividly remember Wimp, plaid flannel (or was it polyester?) suits and all, coaching that ‘Bama team which featured PG Gottfried, who eventually became coach of the ‘Tide as well. Yep, the Wimp’s King Crimson eliminated Luther’s first ‘Cat entry into the Dance, I believe.
Fox College Sports – that’s the regular Fox Sporst Network in our area, right?
And anyone else see through this FSN Marques Johnson pretend to not love UCLA too much thing when he’s broadcasting, or trying (I’ll give him that but not much else) to be a broadcaster? Has it worn thin on anyone else? Longing for the days and nights of Bob Elliott again? I don’t know which is worse – Trojan Papadakis or this guy?
December 21st, 2009 at 6:21 PM
Unacceptable how fox-sports Arizona is tape delaying this, and all internet streaming is blocked.