Arizona Wildcats (6-1) vs. UNLV Rebels (7-0): Scouting report and other fun facts

Arizona coach Adia Barnes on facing the Rebels: “UNLV is a really talented team. Good inside presence. They shoot the ball really well — two shooters on the perimeter. I think they're a solid team. I think they are an NCAA tournament team for sure that should win their conference. And we definitely don't take them lightly at all. We know it's going to be a very tough game there and they're playing good basketball.

“We’re going to go in there and have to play. They're aggressive on pick-and-roll situations, are good in transition. They have a great point guard that can drive it. They're a solid, complete team. We're going to have to play well, and it's going to be a test for us.

"I feel like this nonconference we're going to have some really tough tests that are going to prepare us for the Pac-12. Because the Pac-12 is going to be brutal. It's going to be hard for any team to be .500 in the Pac 12. I think for us getting these games under our belt and playing some quality teams is good preparation, but December is a tough month for us.”

Arizona connections

UNLV junior forward Alyssa Brown played high school ball in Tucson at Sahuaro. She’s earned academic honors in her two previous seasons — dean’s list and as an Academic All-District selection. The 6-1 starter is averaging 6.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game this season. 

UA men's basketball assistant Jack Murphy has known UNLV coach Lindy La Rocque since she was six years old. Her dad, who was the basketball coach at Las Vegas' Durango High School, helped Murphy get his student manager position at Arizona; Al La Rocque played for a young Lute Olson at Long Beach City College. Murphy said that La Rocque is like a "little sister." 

Time change

The time of Saturday's matchup was moved to later in the day Saturday because the Mountain West football Championship game (Boise State at UNLV) starts at 1 p.m, also on Saturday. Women's basketball was originally scheduled for a 3 p.m. tip. Arizona was notified during the week that this might be a possibility. Still, the Wildcats had to scramble to line up a flight back to Tucson. 

A long break

Twelve days between games may seem like a long break, but the Wildcats put this time to good use fine-tuning.

They have worked on cutting down their turnovers. Most of these have been self-inflicted by throwing a risky pass, traveling, charges and not jump-stopping.

“That tells me we need more reps,” Barnes said.

She added that if everyone makes the safe, fundamental pass, that alone eliminates many of those turnovers.

The Wildcats have also tallied a lot of fouls in the first seven games of the season. Barnes has been teaching her young players when and where to be aggressive and when to pull back or contain. For example, when there are only seven seconds left in the shot clock is not a time to go for a reach. It’s about communicating so everyone is on the same page and knows what to do in certain situations.

Getting in the zone

After the loss to Ole Miss in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament, Barnes had an extra-long film session to show her team how to break through zone defense.

Barnes said that it really wasn’t about “losing or winning. If they didn’t figure this out, it was “going to be a long December," she added.

“(It’s about) teaching what you're trying to accomplish in a zone,” Barnes said.

“A zone is very simple. ... You should be able to break a zone whether you can shoot it or not. I think there are ways you can pick apart zones and there are a lot of holes. I think in basketball great defense is man-to- man defense and it's very hard to teach that’s why a lot of people don't do it. I think understanding the objective (which) is where you are trying to get the ball; if someone's from the bottom is guarding you what's open.”

The Wildcats had less than 24 hours to learn what to do when they were facing a zone defense — from driving, passing, and collapsing.

After watching film for three hours, freshman Skylar Jones said, “(Coach Adia) turned the whole projector off and said ‘We’re not talking about it anymore; we’re done. We're not going to drown in it. We have a game tomorrow.’ And then that's what happened.”

“We really just flipped the page,” Jones said. “We all want the same (thing). We all want to win. I think we're all able to put the past behind us so we could get the next one ... get back on our winning streak.”

By the numbers

5: The number of knee surgeries — right and left combined — that UNLV graduate guard Ashley Scoggins has had since 2015. She has torn the ACLs in both knees and had at least one meniscus repaired. She will be 26 after this season ends.

1: Breya Cunningham is averaging 2.4 blocks per game, which leads all freshmen in the nation. There is only one Pac-12 player in front of her — Stanford All-American Cameron Brink, who is averaging 3.9 per game.

2: UNLV has back-to-back winners of the Mountain West’s Sixth Player of the Year award. Senior forward Nneka Obiazer won in the 2021-22 season and was followed by junior guard Kiara Jackson last season.

10: UA is 10th in the nation — first in the Pac-12 — with 13.6 steals per game. In seven games, the Wildcats have picked 95 steals. They are forcing 22.6 turnovers per game, which is first in the Pac-12 and 21st in the nation. They have forced 158 total.

88: Esmery Martinez leads the Wildcats in making 88% of her free throws (14 of 16).

How to watch

In the Tucson area, the game will air on Stadium College Sports Atlantic, available on Channel 325 for Cox Cable customers; for other providers, check your local listings. Or, watch for free by downloading the Mountain West app available for iOS via the App Store, from Google Play, or through AppleTV, Fire TV, Roku and Android TV devices.