No. 1 University of Arizona men’s basketball team (23-1, 10-1 in Big 12) looks to bounce back from their first loss of the season against No. 16 Texas Tech University (18-6, 8-3 in Big 12) in McKale Center at ALKEME Arena on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 4:30 p.m.
Arizona key players
Freshman guard Brayden Burries is the lead for the Wildcats, averaging 15.7 points per game, 4.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists. Burries manages to hit the tough shots and helps the Wildcats keep the momentum from shifting too much. Burries is known for timely 3-pointers that can settle down an away crowd.
Next up is freshman forward Koa Peat who averages 14.3 points per game, 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists. When Peat can get to the rim and get his shots to fall, it spells trouble for the defense. Peat repeatedly uses his rebounding ability to help the game move faster and create shots for his teammates.
Texas Tech key players
Texas Tech is led by junior forward JT Toppin. Toppin is putting up an average of 21.5 points a game this season as well as 10.9 rebounds and two assists. Toppin is able to get his shots without forcing them as he leads the team in field goal percentage with .550.
Following Toppin is sophomore guard Christian Anderson. Anderson puts up 19.1 points, 7.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds. Anderson uses his passing ability to create the best shots for his teammates.
Keys to the game
For Arizona, the keys will be to control the rebounding game. They will need to do a better job at this than they did against the University of Kansas on Monday, Feb. 9. The Wildcats will need to force more turnovers as they lost the turnover battle 13 to 11 earlier in the week. Texas Tech will succeed by relying on its elite 3-point shooting, strong ball movement and defensive edge. Shooting 39% from deep with 10.6 3-pointers per game gives them a major advantage, while their 16.2 assists and solid assist-to-turnover ratio show they protect possessions. If they keep winning the rebounding and defensive battles, they’ll continue controlling games.
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