Forget the storylines: Arizona vs. Xavier will be a basketball chess match

That coach Sean Miller will face his former team and former assistant Chris Mack in the NCAA Tournament is one storyline.

That Arizona defeated Xavier in the 2015 Sweet 16 is another.

Here they are again, in the 2017 round of 16 looking to put their ties aside for the right to live on.

“I think if this was the first time that this happened, it would probably be a more appropriate or bigger story,” Miller said at a press conference Wednesday. “I wish it was different. It isn’t.”

Miller is gunning for his fourth Elite Eight in seven seasons with Arizona. Beyond that, he’s searching for his first Final Four.

First, it’s about getting past the Musketeers, a team with the worst KenPom rating (30th) in the Sweet 16 but also a team that Miller calls one of the hottest due to its 11- and 25-point margins of victory over Maryland and Florida State to start the big dance.
What will be the keys for Arizona against Xavier?

Here are a few basketball-related things to know as the No. 2 seed Wildcats face the No. 11 seed Musketeers on Thursday at 7:09 p.m. MST on TBS.

LET LAURI LAUNCH

Freshman forward Lauri Markkanen closed the regular season on a dry spell from deep, then drilled four triples in each of his first two Pac-12 Tournament games against Colorado and UCLA.

Then, the bombs went silent again.

Markkanen only has taken two three-pointers in the past three games, making one. His interior plays has kept his scoring pace alive, but that mitigates his biggest, most unique strength.

“He’s been confident from day one and he remains confident right now,” Miller said Wednesday. “And one of the main aspects of him being such a confident player is although he is a phenomenal three-point shooter, it’s not the only thing that he does, and he really has tried to embrace the other aspects of the game, to add to what he’s always done well, which is shoot the three-point shot.”

That’s fine and dandy until realizing Arizona will probably need him to take aim from beyond the arc against Xavier.

Xavier’s rotation includes three centers who all stand around 6-foot-9 and 240 pounds in Sean O’Mara, RaShid Gaston and Tyrique Jones. That, not to mention Xavier’s use of zone, could clog the paint.

Will Markkanen get three-point looks? Probably.

Will he be aggressively hunting them and knocking them down? That’s what we won’t know until game time.

Arizona, which as a whole went 4-for-11 from three in each of its two tournament wins so far, might see fit to keep Markkanen as the power forward and keep Xavier occupied down low with center Dusan Ristic.

STOPS AND BOARDS

Xavier rebounds at the 16th-best rate in the country, though Arizona is even better at 10th.

On the boards, the Musketeers have bettered their opponents to start the tournament and done so despite those teams struggling to shoot better than 25 percent from three-point range. Of late, Mack’s team has turned to a mix of 1-3-1 zone, 2-3 zone and some man-to-man thrown in for good measure.

“That’s probably the biggest thing that’s changed, really, they’re playing three different defenses,” Miller said. “And you have to recognize the defense they’re in. You have to make sure that you can handle the ball and get good shots.”

ABOUT COUNTERING THAT …

The Wildcats have widely been regarded as a better offensive team with backup point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright on the court.

His ability to read defenses and sniff out holes in the zone could be beneficial.

Call him the key player.

Taking this idea further, Xavier’s best player is Trevon Bluiett. It’s easy to guess that Arizona starting point guard Kadeem Allen will get a shot at the 6-foot-6 scorer who dropped 21 points with five threes on Maryland and then scored 10 of his 29 at the foul stripe against the Seminoles.

“Their coaching staff does a great job of creating set plays and action to get them shots,” Miller said of Bluiett and backcourt mate J.P. Macura.

The Wildcats can play Allen off the ball like they’ve done often, leaving Jackson-Cartwright in charge of the offense.

Perhaps Arizona’s answer to running an efficient offense against a chameleon-like defense — all while stopping Bluiett — is turning to Jackson-Cartwright heavily.

RAWLE RALLY

Arizona freshman Rawle Alkins looked ready to throw his name in the 2017 NBA Draft after a 20-point, 8-for-8 shooting performance to open the tournament against North Dakota.

Then, he dislocated his finger only to return for the Wildcats against Saint Mary’s. He scored six points and grabbed two rebounds, but he didn’t exactly prove his shooting touch was unaffected after the injury.

Defensively, he should still stand out, but Arizona wouldn’t be helped if he’s a handicap on offense.

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