Friday, November 26, 1999
'Cats see double in NIT final
Arizona could challenge UK with big men
BY JENNIFER SCROGGINS
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEW YORK — These Wildcats are quick. They're a bit young, but they have a veteran big man to anchor them. They have a talented forward who can take over a game. They're 3-0, and they're in the final of the Preseason NIT.
We're talking about No. 11 Kentucky. Or we're talking about No. 8 Arizona.
|
UK vs. ARIZONA
|
• When: 9 p.m. today
• What: Preseason NIT finals
• Where: Madison Square Garden (20,000), New York
• TV: ESPN
• Radio: WSAI-AM (1530), WNKR-FM (105.1)
• Records: UK 3-0, UA 3-0
BY THE NUMBERS
• 2-2: UK's record against Arizona. All four games have been played at neutral sites, as tonight's will be.
• 2: Number of UK players (Jamaal Magloire and Steve Masiello) who remain from the 1997 NCAA championship game loss to Arizona (U of A won 84-79 in overtime).
• 1946: The first time Kentucky and Arizona met. UK defeated Arizona 77-53 in the NIT en route to its first national championship, the '46 NIT title.
|
Either way, when the teams play at 9 tonight in Madison Square Garden, the tempo will be fast, and each will pose problems that its opponent probably hasn't faced yet.
“That's what we need now are problems, so that we can try to sort them out,” said Arizona coach Lute Olsen, whose team reached the finals by shaking off Notre Dame for a 76-60 victory Wednesday.
Arizona's backcourt is highly praised but inexperienced. Gilbert Arenas and Jason Gardner both start as true freshmen. They combined for 23 points against the Fighting Irish, but Gardner struggled with 2-of-7 field-goal shooting.
The test for Arizona will be Kentucky's defense, which forced 20 turnovers in a 61-58 win over No. 24 Maryland. Eleven of those miscues came from Terrapins guards, including six by sophomore Juan Dixon.
The Arizona frontcourt may make the difference. Sophomore Michael Wright is undersized as a 6-foot-7 power forward, but his athleticism compensates for that. He had had 22 points and 11 rebounds against Notre Dame. Junior center Loren Woods, a transfer from Wake Forest, added 13 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots.
UK's 6-10 center, Jamaal Magloire, will have his hands full with Woods, who is quick for his size and distributes the ball well.
“(Wednesday) was far and away his best game,” Olsen said of Woods. “You can see how critical he is to us, not only defensively, but he's critical to us offensively, because he does such a great job of passing the ball. At his size, he sees over the top of the defense and he can find the open man.”
Magloire lost the battle inside Wednesday. He finished with six points on 2-of-9 shooting and collected six rebounds. Freshman Marvin Stone came off the bench and snared 13 rebounds for UK.
Stone could be pivotal tonight as depth comes into play. Arizona went 11 deep Wednesday. UK played 10, but sophomore forward Tayshaun Prince stayed in the game 37 minutes.
In UK's three games so far, Prince has been the team's most valuable and consistent player. He was huge Wednesday with 21 points and nine rebounds and a steady hand directing the offense.
After two woeful shooting games, freshman guard Keith Bogans showed signs Wednesday of being able to take some of the load off Prince's shoulders. Bogans scored 17 points, and though he committed four turnovers, he gained important experience against a speedy, harassing Maryland team that should have prepared UK well for Arizona.
Magloire said he expected tonight's game to look a lot like Wednesday's in terms of the frenzied pace.
Magloire should know. He and reserve guard Steve Masiello are the only UK players still around from UK's overtime loss to Arizona in the 1997 national championship game.
That nail-biter was the teams' first meeting since another classic, the 1993 Maui Invitational finals, when Jeff Brassow's last-second tip-in won the title for UK 93-92.
“We've played a couple of great games with them,” Olsen said. “We played them in the final of the Maui Classic back a few years, and that one went to the last shot. And, of course, the championship game ... They'll create different problems for us.”
Sports Stories
Xavier 81, Louisville 79
Kansas 88, Georgia 78
Xavier's menu not just hoops
Not just a day at beach for UC
Bengals fans staying home
Bengals as bad as old Bucs?
Steelers share doom, gloom
