Rushed Reactions: #3 Arizona 61, #15 San Diego State 59
Posted by rtmsf on November 27th, 2014
Three Key Takeaways.
- San Diego State Needed This More Than Arizona. And they weren’t able to get it, in large part because of the same old bugaboo that has limited Steve Fisher’s teams the last few seasons: offensive production. From the 9:17 to the 0:18 mark of the second half, the Aztecs scored a grand total of three points on a Skylar Spencer free throw and a Trey Kell jumper. What will cause Steve Fisher to lose even more sleep over this loss tonight is that Arizona only moderately took advantage of the drought (going from a one-point deficit to a six-point lead) — opportunities were there, and Fisher mentioned as much in the postgame press conference. But far too often, the Aztecs simply don’t know what to do with the basketball on the offensive end other than to give it to Winston Shepard (14 points, six rebounds) and ask him to create something. There’s more on a possible remedy to that problem below, but the bigger takeaway here is that this was a winnable game that could have really bolstered the Aztecs’ seed line in March when they have another gaudy record that people are uncertain about. Arizona, on the other hand, will play Gonzaga and Michigan in coming weeks to bolster its bona fides as the Wildcats position themselves for another #1 seed in the West Region.
- Stanley Johnson is the Real Deal. I’m not sure if I was more impressed with the all-around abilities of Johnson in his Tournament MVP performance, or his relative nonchalance while dominating the action here in Maui. With four California state titles under his belt, Johnson was as well-decorated as they come heading into college. But his demeanor on the floor is so unflappable that, incessant chewing of the mouth guard aside, it belies his relative inexperience in a college uniform. In what was easily the poorest shooting night of his young career (4-14 FG), he still found plenty of ways to impact the game beyond scoring (which he made up for at the line): nine rebounds, including five offensive; three big steals; a block; an assist. Sean Miller said after the game that Johnson has only recently — the last month or so — started to understand what it takes to be successful at this level: “He couldn’t have won Tournament MVP a month ago.” God help us all once he puts it all together. He’s a game-changer in the best possible way.
- The Offensive Development of Trey Kell Will Make or Break the Aztecs. San Diego State will beat a bunch of teams with its defense alone, but in order for this group to break through and realistically become a Final Four contender, Fisher needs Trey Kell to become his second reliable scoring threat. Dwayne Polee is a nice third guy in an offense — the kind of player who is best served when defenses aren’t designed to specifically stop him — but Kell showed through three games in Maui that he is more than capable of putting up nice numbers (14.7 PPG on 60% FG and 76% FT) for a team that ranks among the slowest-paced 20 percent of all Division I teams. The question is really whether he can do it reliably. Shepard, as talented and versatile of a player as he is, needs a teammate who can take the offensive pressure off of him, and the freshman clearly has the stones (hitting the big four-point play to give SDSU its final life with 18 seconds remaining) to make a run at it. Mark this down: If Kell becomes an all-Mountain West caliber player this season, San Diego State will play in the NCAA’s second weekend and have a favorable match-up’s chance at the program’s first Final Four.
Star of the Game. Stanley Johnson, Arizona. Johnson did not shoot the ball well tonight, but the Tournament MVP was productive in so many other ways beyond providing 18 points of offense. He corralled nine rebounds, ripped three steals, and got a block in an all-around effort that showed this young man is only scratching the surface of his abilities.
Quotable.
- “We’re very disappointed we’re taking home the second place trophy… yet this was a phenomenal experience for our team in so many ways.” — San Diego State head coach Steve Fisher.
- “I feel like we shoulda won three of the four, in my opinion.” SDSU’s Winston Shepard, referring to the last several games the Aztecs have played with Arizona.
- “I don’t think I’m fully adjusted [to the college game], to be honest… still have a long way to go.” — Arizona’s Stanley Johnson, on his own development.
- “If we had played in this tournament a month ago, [Stanley Johnson] would not have been the MVP.” — Arizona head coach Sean Miller, on Johnson’s maturity and development.
Sights & Sounds. One reason that every non-affiliated fan and media member was quietly hoping for a battle royale between Arizona and San Diego State today was simply because these are the two best fan bases on the West Coast. With Lahaina Civic Center packed to the gills in various shades of red, black and navy blue, some not-so-good-natured ribbing by the fans of each other was the order of the day. The Arizona “U-of-A” chant during timeouts was met with a resounding “sucks!”, while the Arizona people clearly rejoice in their ownership of Steve Fisher’s program over the last two years (4-0). It made for a raucous environment throughout the game, and with the two teams trading the lead throughout, there was plenty of back and forth cheering to keep things interesting.
#theshow in Maui. @mauiinvitational #mauihoops A video posted by RTC (@rushthecourt) on
What’s Next. Both of these teams leave the Hawaiian Islands knowing quite a bit more about themselves. For the Aztecs, there are a pair of tricky road games at Washington and Cincinnati coming in December, but both should be manageable and set up Steve Fisher’s team nicely to get to Mountain West play with just one loss. For the Wildcats, the road to a perfect record until Pac-12 play goes through tough home games against Gonzaga and Michigan followed by sneaky road trips to UTEP and UNLV. Both teams should be well-positioned, though, to get to the new year with at most one loss each, allowing them to move into conference play with top two NCAA Tournament seeds well within their sights.
