Arizona finally jumped to a lead w/ about 7:30 left, went on a little run, then shot free throws for the last 4 minutes to get a 17 point win
team was booty booty butt cheeks in the first half, the offense really struggles when they can't generate fouls inside or convert turnovers into fast break opportunities. Their initial lead was established from finding pockets in Irvine's 2-3 zone and creating from there with either Hollis-Jefferson or McConnell as the ballhandler, and I think it wasn't until they found that spot in the middle of the floor again late in the second half that the offense got into a rhythm. FT shooting, which has been a sore weakness in recent years, picked up in the final stretch, mostly due to Rondae finding his comfort zone at the line and York and McConnell handling the ball in garbage time; but I think it remains a salient point that the inability to get Tarczewski and Ashley, Arizona's most consistent FT shooters, in position to draw fouls neutralized the offense for 20+ minutes.
Defense also looked really bad, particularly rotational and weak side interior D. The lack of a lanky weak side shot blocker in Gordon's absence was felt tonight, I think finding an identity on D in order to generate offense is going to be the biggest hurdle/objective in this OOC slate. Stanley Johnson looked like the worst perimeter defender in the country, I'm not a fan of the Arizona's-defense-takes-a-huge-hit-w/o-Nick Johnson narrative, but it seriously couldn't have been any worse tonight.
