Oregon presents big test for Cats

I think that Oregon's 3 point shooter % is an accurate representation of them. Altman does not use the 3 ball that much and they do not shoot it well. They also have not played teams that are great at defending the 3. I think we win this one because our big weakness is defending the 3 but Oregon won't be able to take advantage of that. We are a bad matchup for them in my opinion.

My big key was Arizona winning the rebounding, in large part because of its usual double-digit offensive boards. Credit Oregon for equaling Arizona on the glass tonight and getting a big win at home.

Arizona suddenly having some chemistry issues on both ends of the floor. They need to fix their communication on defense and willingness to make the extra pass on offense in order to reach their potential.

Extra passes only work if they are crisp passes. We have a tendency to make lazy passes that cause turnovers.

I remain perplexed as well with the rotation. I understand you can't just throw guys who haven't played in a while directly into the fire, especially on the road, because you can't afford the typical mistakes while the engine is being greased. However, Arizona's main contributors are making tons of mistakes, defensive breakdowns and the list goes on so IMO if something isn't working try another option. Seriously, I'm getting weary of the wasted talent sitting at the end of Arizona's bench, but that's just my personal opinion.

Totally agree Gary. It also seems like the freshman as being effected by lack of solid minutes. When we were up 11-0 Zues was sat after the timeout and things went south. Not saying it was because of him but that has to play with the mind set of these young guys.

Making matters worse up come the Beavers, who succumbed to the mighty Sun Devil's at home last night by ten. This next game is critical from many stand points. Also ASU is becoming more than respectable, and a cause for concern( hell every one is).

I have yet to see the game, had to record it and will watch this afternoon.

It is interesting to me that I was one who 'previously written' that we had some issues and that we were not as good as our ranking and got blasted with lots of snide comments "we're 12-0, what's the problem?" or 'Miller sucks"...

Well, it sounds like the problems I identified and wanted to discuss are exactly what the issues are (according to your own reports). Not sure why it's OK for some to address them now but not earlier.

Gaining some perspective by watching other games was advised. So, after watching Bob Huggins switch from man to man to an extremely effective 1-3-1 to beat Texas and watching Romar keep switching his defense (I think they were playing some sort of box and one at one point) to keep Cal totally confused and on the ropes and watching a few minutes of a Syracuse game in which Boheim pressed in the first 1/2, I got some perspective. I also watched Iowa State play man to man for an entire game against Kansas and lose in overtime - there was absolutely no reason for Self to make any adjustments (and he made none), sooner or later his talent was going to bury Iowa State if they did not press or throw a surprise defense at KU - which they did not, that too gave me a little perspective.

My perspective: Great coaches have a lot of different looks they can throw at the opposing team. Miller is trying to do it with substitutions alone. We have no zones, no press and one offense that we run for 40 minutes each night. Arizona has to be the absolute easiest team in the PAC-12 to prepare for. If Huggins, Romar and Boheim, (and Olson for that matter) all with at least a decade more experience, most with several decades more experience, can switch defenses in the middle of a game, Miller is stupid not to have at least a few different looks for opponents. Zone defenses can also compensate for weaknesses, i.e. when players are not playing well. Is there a single great coach in America who runs 1 defense and 1 offense for 40 minutes, every night, all season long? I know that Izzo, K, Montgomery, Barnes, Pitino, Pastner, Calipari all switch their defenses up.

Robinson may not be the best coach in the league, but when the guy coming in is the most predictable coach in America, he does not need to be to beat Arizona.

In the Super Bowl, Lombardi's Offensive Linemen told the defense what they were about to do and they did it. We're not as dominate (yet) to do that. We need to start making people guess. Parrom starting instead of Ashley... (although I applaud that move) not really a big surprise. Switch to a 3-2 for a few sets after their first 3 pointer - that would shock the world - force their PG to call time out or maybe take a poor shot...

wine, the reason you got blasted is because you made some mountains out of mole hills. No one is blind to the fact that the Cats have some "minor" issues, but they're simply that, minor.

Freshmen playing inconsistently is nothing new to the game of college basketball. Add in road trips and freshmen become even more inconsistent. As others have mentioned, the Cats are relying on a front line comprised entirely of freshmen. Their inconsistency has forced Miller to break from what was intended and move Hill to the 4 way too many times. I trust Hill at the four, but this team was built for Hill at the 3 this season.

Bottom line is Arizona needs to return to its normal practice schedule so development can occur in a controlled setting. Even this week, Arizona's first normal week of practice in almost 3 weeks was cut short because of the road trip. I don't expect to see a better version of the Wildcats until next week when the Cats only have one game and it's a bus ride up to Tempe. Arizona will get a full week's worth of practice before and after their next home stand and that should be enough for the team to work out its kinks.