Scouting report: No. 23 Arizona vs. Washington

Game info 

Matchup: No. 23 Arizona (18-5, 6-4 Pac-12) at Washington (15-7, 7-3) 

Time: 2:30 p.m. Saturday 

Location: Alaska Airlines Arena, Seattle 

TV: FOX

Radio: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM 

Probable starters for Arizona 

Probable starters for Washington 

How they match up 

The last time: Arizona pounded the ball inside against the quicker but smaller Huskies, and sprinkled in some zone defense to help hold Washington to 30.3-percent shooting in the second half of its 99-67 victory on Jan. 14 at McKale Center. Kaleb Tarczewski had 16 points and 13 rebounds in UA's first game this season against Washington, while Ryan Anderson had 21 points and nine rebounds. UA held UW guards Andrew Andrews and Dejounte Murray to 6-of-23 combined shooting. 

What's new with the Huskies 

Washington has gone 4-2 since losing at McKale Center, staying a game above the Wildcats in the Pac-12 standings. Their 7-3 record is their best league mark after 10 games since 2011-12, and they’ve only lost to Utah in overtime in conference home games so far. While their starting lineup hasn’t changed, Washington has turned more often to forward Dominic Green off the bench and has dealt with a nagging foot injury to center Noah Dickerson since playing UCLA last week. Meanwhile, guard Dejounte Murray and forward Marquese Chriss keep accelerating as two of the Pac-12’s best freshmen. Murray had 34 points and 11 rebounds in UW’s overtime win over ASU on Wednesday night. 

Washington's key player: Andrew Andrews 

The Huskies may be loaded with young talent at every possession but they tend to struggle when somebody stomps on their heart: The Pac-12’s leading scorer, Andrews, shot 30 percent or less in losses to Oakland, Santa Barbara, Arizona and USC. 

Arizona's key player: Kaleb Tarczewski 

The Wildcats may be more comfortable in a Washington-style uptempo game this season, but they'd also be crazy not to run some sets for their senior 7-footer — because Washington doesn't have anyone who can match up with Zeus physically. 

The scout says 

“Murray looked like an NBA player against ASU. That’s certainly a concern. The other thing is Andrews and Murray didn’t have a particularly good game against us so they’ll be ready. Marquese Chriss is playing well and averaging about five points a game more (since last month’s game). He’s an elite offensive rebounder; he’s a monster right now. … I think they’re gonna have a great crowd and be in all-out attack mode. We have to be sure with the ball and get back in transition.” — UA assistant coach Mark Phelps, who scouted the Huskies. 

Washington offense vs. Arizona defense 

If the young Huskies were going to hit a freshman wall, it probably would have happened already. Instead, Washington just keeps going and surpassing expectations. UW recently finished playing five of seven games on the road, and won three of those road games to stay in a tie for second-place in the conference. They run the fastest tempo in the Pac-12, according to kenpom.com, and average 87.7 points a game in league play. A league-best 7.9 steals average in conference games fuels their attack, led by guards Dejounte Murray (2.0) and Andrew Andrews (1.7). Murray’s 2.0 average is first in conference games, just ahead of Oregon State’s Gary Payton II (1.8) and Stanford's Marcus Allen (1.8). A contender for Pac-12 Player of the Year, Andrews is also leading in points scored (21.7) and is third in assists (5.4). 

The scout says 

“What you prepare for on this trip is two fast games. Two 40-minute games that add up to 80 minutes of transition basketball. It’s a frenetic pace that both teams like to play. And our depth is a problem right now — I don’t know if it will be solved by Wednesday or Saturday — but we have to be really smart in how we prepare and our guys are going to have to give tremendous effort. …. (The Huskies) won some great games on the road, at ASU, Washington State and UCLA. And we all know playing in Seattle is a difficult task.” — UA coach Sean Miller.

Frenemies 

Washington coach Lorenzo Romar welcomed Sean Miller into what was the Pac-10 by beating him in five of their first seven matchups, including a memorable overtime finale in the championship of the 2011 Pac-10 Tournament.

Miller responded by snagging longtime U-Dub recruiting target Aaron Gordon out of Romar's hands, along with Seattle native Allonzo Trier.

“Yeah, Allonzo,” Romar said, smiling, having known Trier since he was in fourth grade. “Hey, it hasn’t been just Allonzo. How about Aaron Gordon? Yeah.”

But even with that, and the fact that the two coaches didn’t know each other when Miller took over the Wildcats in 2009, Miller and Romar have developed a friendly relationship.

Earlier this week, Miller praised Romar for sticking to his principles during some difficult recent seasons, while Romar praised Miller for what he’s done at Arizona and his personality.

“He hasn't been one to keep to himself,” Romar said. “When we’re on the road recruiting, we talk. We’re pretty open about things. I don’t think either one of us is trying to keep secrets from the other – well, maybe some – but I just I have a respect for what he’s doing.” 

Back to work 

After beating Washington State on Wednesday night, the Wildcats didn’t arrive at their Seattle hotel until after 1 a.m. on Thursday. They were also still banged up, with Allonzo Trier sitting out again with a hand injury and Kadeem Allen shaking off a virus.

But after they had a chance to sleep in, watch film and catch up on academics Thursday, the Wildcats still filed on a bus to Seattle University for a light practice on Thursday afternoon.

“Eventually you can only hang around and do nothing for so long,” UA coach Sean Miller said. “Once you knock out film and study table, I think sometimes it’s therapeutic for our guys to move around and get in the gym.”

The Wildcats only went for about an hour Thursday and then returned for a normal practice on Friday at one of Washington’s practice gyms. 

Just like old times 

Washington had only about 600 tickets remaining as of Friday afternoon for Saturday’s game and is expecting its first sellout since the 2011-12 season at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, site of many sold-out UA-UW games.

Moreover, Washington was expecting students to start camping out in rainy, sub-50-degree temperatures immediately after hosting a Top 25 women’s basketball showdown between Washington and Oregon State on Friday. UW men's players are expected to bring them breakfast Saturday morning.

“I love it,” Washington freshman forward Marquese Chriss said. “I love seeing the support.” 

Numbers game: 4

4: Washington wins in its last five games at home against Top 25 teams. 

Numbers game: 53.2

53.2: Combined trips to the free-throw line Arizona and Washington will make Saturday if they stay at their averages, which are both in the Top 20 nationally in their frequency of taking free throws: UW ranks 12th and UA 16th. They made 39 trips combined on Jan. 14 at McKale Center. 

Numbers game: 442

442: Games since the Wildcats had three players grabbing double-figure rebounds, as Ryan Anderson (12), Mark Tollefsen (10), and Kaleb Tarczewski (10) did Wednesday at WSU. The last time UA had that kind of rebounding trio was against ASU on Feb. 2, 2003, when Luke Walton, Ricky Anderson and Channing Frye all had 10 or more.