The Oregon men’s basketball team defeated Washington State 82-80 last night and set the tone for what might be one of the most wide open Pac-10 tournaments in recent memory. The Arizona Wildcats will kick-off day two with their game against the UCLA Bruins.
UCLA will be looking for revenge after being swept by the Wildcats in the regular season. It’s no secret, both teams need to win the Pac-10 to get into the tournament. The game can be seen on Fox Sports Arizona at 1 p.m.
Last three games…
Arizona: (16-14, 10-8)
W 71-69 Stanford
W 78-73 UCLA
W 86-84 USC
UCLA: (13-17, 8-10)
L 68-70 Oregon
L 73-78 Arizona
L 46-56 ASU
1. Opposites attract
The Wildcats have been on a tear as of late, winning three in-a-row to finish the regular season. The Bruins on-the-other-hand have struggled recently, dropping their final three games. UCLA is one of three teams in the conference Arizona was able to beat twice (UCLA, Oregon and Stanford).
Will the Wildcats take the underachieving Bruins for granted? That is the question of the hour.
2. He’s baaaaaaack
Freshman guard Kevin Parrom should be in uniform when the Wildcats take the court. He missed the last four games with a stress reaction in his left foot, stemming from a stress fracture before the season which forced him to miss the first ten games.
Since his debut in late December, Parrom is averaging 4.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.3 blocks in 21 minutes a night. More importantly Parrom brought attitude and toughness to an undersized Wildcat line-up that desperately needed a mid-season spark. He may not be 100 percent for today’s game but a rusty Parrom is better than no Parrom.
3. Twenty-seven
Nobody was happier to see the Wildcats draw UCLA in the first round of the tournament than sophomore guard Kyle Fogg.
Fogg has scored a career high in points both times he faced the Bruins this season. First it was 25, then 26. UCLA has had no answer for Fogg thus far. He’s been unstoppable. It’s not unreasonable to think he may drop 27 this afternoon.
He probably won’t knock down 7/10 from beyond the arc like he did last Thursday but that doesn’t mean he can’t get 27. In their first meeting, Fogg sliced and diced the Bruins with his ability to drive, hitting on 8/11 attempts.
His versatility should keep UCLA guessing. The extra attention they show him should open up threes for the rest of the gang (Wise, Jones, Horne and Lavender).
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