During its 45 seasons in the Pac-10/12, Arizona took home the regular season title in men’s basketball 18 times. But it took a little while to get that first crown, in 1986, after eight years in the league.
Arizona’s ascension to the top of its current conference has had a much quicker timeline.
The second-ranked Wildcats (27-2, 14-2) have already clinched a share of their first Big 12 title, in their second season of competition, but can win it outright with one victory in the last two games. The first chance
comes Monday night when Iowa State (24-5, 11-5) comes to McKale Center at ALKEME Arena for the home finale.
“We’ve got a couple games down the stretch here to give ourselves an opportunity to do that,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said after Saturday’s win, which was the 139th of his career to tie Brad Stevens for most by a Division I head coach in his first five seasons. “Let’s focus on Monday and see if we can get it done on Monday. The Big 12 is a monster. We all know that. We know we have to earn our keep, and we know that we’re going to be given nothing, and I don’t say that in a bad way. We want to earn everything we get. So, if you can earn a conference championship, that’s a good first step.”
It will be Senior Night as well as a White Out, which Arizona also did last season when Iowa State came to town as the No. 2 team in the country and was witness to Caleb Love’s buzzer beater to force overtime and an eventual UA win.
“It’s gonna be another great atmosphere,” Lloyd said.
Here’s what to watch for when the Wildcats and Cyclones battle on Big Monday:
Peat’s progress
Koa Peat returned from a 3-game absence on Saturday, returning to the starting lineup and looking very productive when he was out there. He also looked winded at times to Lloyd, which likely contributed to Peat only playing 23 minutes.
“He was out there breathing a little harder a couple times, but he looked pretty good to me,” Lloyd said.
Peat, who was dealing with a muscle strain in his lower right leg, warmed up before the Baylor game but was not in uniform. If it were his call he would have played.
“I’ll go out there and play with a broken leg, but I was just listening to the trainers and just working with them and trying to figure out when I was going to come back,” he said.
Peat had 12 points, seven rebounds, five assists, a steal and no turnovers, making all four of his free throw attempts and finishing with a plus/minus of 29.
“It felt great to be out there again with my brothers and just competing at a high level,” Peat said. “It was really special to come back and play in McKale.”
Also returning against Kansas was Dwayne Aristode, who had missed four games with an illness. He played the final 2:59, recording a steal, and figures to see more time on Monday.
Defending the perimeter
Arizona leads the Big 12 in 3-point defense, holding opponents to 30.3 percent. ASU and BYU are the only teams in the league to shoot at least 38 percent from outside against the Wildcats, and those were in the first meetings, as the Sun Devils shot 33.3 percent and Cougars 26.3 percent the second time around.
Enter Iowa State, which as a team shoots 39 percent from the field to rank 8th nationally. In Big 12 play it’s 37.5 percent, second-best, and the Cyclones have five games in league action where they’ve hit at least 10 triples. They were 8 of 24 in Saturday’s home loss to Texas Tech, which eliminated them from the conference race.
Five of those 3s were by Milan Momcilovic, a 6-foot-8 junior who leads the nation in 3-point accuracy at 50.9 percent and he’s made 109 longballs. To put that in perspective, Arizona’s three most prolific perimeter shooters (Brayden Burries, Anthony Dell’Orso and Dwayne Aristode) have combined for 108 made 3s.
Iowa State is solid inside the arc, too, with forward Joshua Jefferson and point guard Tamin Lipsey dictating the offense. But it may be wise for Arizona to foul rather than give up an easy basket, because if there’s one thing the Cyclones are not good at it’s free throw shooting.
At 67.1 percent for the season they rank 339th out of 365 schools, that number dipping to a league-worst 65.5 percent in Big 12 play. They went 19 of 27 (70.4 percent) against Texas Tech on Saturday but have shot below 60 percent six times, including an 11-of-22 performance in a 3-point win over Houston two weeks ago.
Senior sendoffs
Arizona will honor five seniors before Monday’s game: Tobe Awaka, Jaden Bradley, Dell’Orso, Jackson Francois and Evan Nelson. It will be the 103rd game in a Wildcat uniform for Bradley, six behind Oumar Ballo and Pelle Larsson for most under Lloyd.
“It’s crazy, time flies,” Bradley said. “I was just a freshman, and I transferred in not long ago. I’m very thankful for Tucson and everything they’ve done for me, Coach Lloyd and everybody.”
Bradley has scored 1,096 points with Arizona, 4th-most of the Lloyd era, but he’s first in assists (343) and steals (147). Awaka is second to Ballo in rebounds with 563, and tops in 3-point percentage (.467) thanks to his seven makes in 15 attempts. Dell’Orso is fifth in 3s (86) but is coming off arguably the best month of his UA career with a pair of 22-point outings and 12 triples.
Monday will be the last time any of Arizona’s seniors play at McKale, but they’re not ready for their college careers to be over anytime soon.
“It’s time to take on the real challenge, the Big 12 Tournament, March Madness, and bring home a championship,” Bradley said.
