Breakdown: ‘Cats thump Washington State

The Lowdown: Thursday seems to be kind to the
Wildcats as they improved to 5-1 with a convincing 85-61
win over the Washington State Cougars. The team was led by
dynamic freshman Josiah Turner and team leaders Kyle Fogg
and Solomon Hill.

In the first half, a three-point barrage led to a double-
digit lead sparked by Fogg and Kevin Parrom. The duo
combined to knock down five threes leading to a 40-27
margin at the half.

The second half was more of the same with different faces
as Brendon Lavender and Solomon Hill contributed six more
big threes to extend the margin to 20+ and the Wildcats
never looked back. It was cruise control in Tucson as the
they knocked off a marginal Pac-12 team in one of their
more dominant displays of the season.

What went wrong for Arizona: Early on the Wildcats
could not defend Brock Motum and Faisel Aiden who combined
for 16 of the Cougars’ 27 points in the first half. If
Aiden did not go down with an injury, this could have been
a very different game.

When it was over: During a flurry to start the
second half where Turner took it to another level scoring
six quick points while adding an assist and a steal. The
self imposed 8-3 run created a hole that was far too deep
for Washington State to dig out of.

Who stepped up for Arizona: Fogg was undoubtedly
the player of the game. Early in the first half, Fogg was
playing at another level, knocking down threes and running
through back screens like a master of his craft. Before
halftime, Fogg went 3-for-5 from deep, pushing the
Wildcats’ lead to double-digits. As any smart player does
when they get into a rhythm from deep, Fogg used his
shooting as a setup for penetrating and dishing to his
teammates.

Who needed to step up: A win is a win, but in this
win Jesse Perry was not on his game. Playing against a
team that offers talented big men, like against UCLA,
Perry is going to struggle. Luckily in this game his four
point, five rebound game did not cost the team.

Stat of the Game: Arizona finished with 23 assists
and only 9 turnovers, a far cry from some of the games
this season. Playmaking and ill-advised miscues have
plagued the Wildcats all season and today they displayed
exactly how good they can be with Turner and Jordin Mayes
at the point.

They said it: “I felt good out there; people said I
was in a slump but I wasn’t. My teammates found me and we
were able to go on a good run to win the game.” –
Arizona guard Kyle Fogg

What it means: The Wildcats win put them at 5-3 in
conference, tied with Stanford for 5th place. They are one
full game out of first place in the Pac-12. Overall they
stand at 14-7 in the weakest of the Big Six conferences
which is not going to get them into the dance.

What’s Next: On Saturday comes the biggest test of
conference so far as Washington visits McKale Center. The
ESPN College GameDay crew will be in Tucson for the game
that could vault the Wildcats to a share of first place.
The Huskies will be a tough matchup with the formidable
combination of the athletic Terrence Ross (15.2 PPG),
sharp shooting C.J. Wilcox (15.5 PPG), and freshman Tony
Wroten, who is coming off a great game in win over Arizona
State on Thursday

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