Ryan Anderson wins Pac-12 Player of the Week
Wildcats senior Ryan Anderson was named the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week on Monday after posting a dominant stat-line this past weekend against the Washington schools.
Anderson posted a 31-point, 12-rebound double-double in Arizona’s 79-64 win at Washington State last Wednesday before dropping 22 points and 15 boards against Washington on Saturday.
Anderson now has 12 double-doubles on the season — the second most in the conference.
“Much hard-earned and deserved,” Arizona head coach Sean Miller said at his weekly press conference on Monday. “Just the sheer numbers are really awesome.”
UA, USC set for Top-25 matchup
The latest AP Top 25 rankings came out Monday afternoon, and they assure that Arizona and USC will compete in a Top-25 matchup this Sunday.
The Wildcats moved up six spots to No. 17 in the country, while USC re-entered the rankings at the No. 23 spot.
With a 7-3 league record, USC sits a half game above Arizona in the Pac-12 standings. The Trojans are coming off an 80-61 home victory over crosstown rival UCLA, a game in which four USC players scored double digits.
At his presser, Miller vouched for USC to receive more national attention as he labeled the Trojans one of the best teams in the country.
“They deserve to be ranked from now until the end of the year,” Miller said. “They have tremendous talent. Andy Enfield, both him and his coaching staff, they bolstered the Pac-12 this year.”
No hard feelings between Miller and Tarczewski
When Arizona center Kaleb Tarczewski was asked Monday about his animated interaction with Miller during the Wildcats’ home-loss to Oregon, Tarczewski needed a second to recall the moment.
Video of Miller and Tarczewski getting into it on the bench may still be swirling around the internet, but the 7-footer is well past that situation.
“Basketball is an emotional sport and especially when you’re in a tough game like that,” Tarczewski said. “Sometimes your emotions come out in a weird way.”
Tarczewski added, “I would say one thing, and I’ve said it a million times—Coach Miller, he’s the best coach in the country. I would rather have him be my coach than any other coach in the entire country.”
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